


People aren't always who they seem

by EinsteinsMask



Category: Glee
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-21
Updated: 2017-03-12
Packaged: 2018-03-14 09:13:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 155
Words: 494,789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3405230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EinsteinsMask/pseuds/EinsteinsMask
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's the end of Blaine's junior year, but his summer doesn't go how he thought it would. There's angst and blossoming friendships, one from an unlikely source. When he finds out everything he thought he knew about love seems to be a lie, who will be the one to show him what true love really is?</p><p>Warning: Not Kurt friendly</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The beginning of the end

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Drive-In](https://archiveofourown.org/works/884582) by [civillove](https://archiveofourown.org/users/civillove/pseuds/civillove). 
  * Inspired by [Take a Break and Relax](https://archiveofourown.org/works/884506) by [civillove](https://archiveofourown.org/users/civillove/pseuds/civillove). 
  * Inspired by [Being a Winner](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1538618) by [RandomestFandoms](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RandomestFandoms/pseuds/RandomestFandoms). 
  * Inspired by [La Belle Ville de Paris](https://archiveofourown.org/works/992188) by [blainedarling](https://archiveofourown.org/users/blainedarling/pseuds/blainedarling). 
  * Inspired by [celebration for two](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/99632) by Magick. 



> This is my very first fanfiction, I have taken story lines and real life facts and twisted them and changed timelines to fit my story. The first couple of chapters are more like 'scene setters' as I didn't want to take too long getting the story going and they ended up long enough as it is! I hope you like it. Any feedback welcome. This is still very much a work in progress and I have no idea as to what the final length might be.

It’s mid-May and Blaine is starting to prepare for his birthday and the departure of the graduates who will all soon be going their own ways. Kurt hadn’t gotten into NYADA and although Blaine was sad for his boyfriend he was also slightly relieved that he wouldn’t be left alone so soon. Kurt hadn’t been able to meet him tonight as usual, saying he had family obligations. Blaine thought it was a little odd as Burt would normally make a point of him going over on family nights, but figured there must be a reason why tonight was different. 

Blaine shook his head trying to get rid of any doubt. Doubts he’d been having ever since he’d found out about Chandler and the following argument. Kurt had said he’d stopped texting Chandler. Chandler was just some guy who was now in New York and Kurt wasn’t in New York, yet, his brain helpfully added. Plus Kurt assured him he had been over reacting, the texts meant nothing and it hadn’t been cheating, more of a misunderstanding and the result of Blaine making Kurt feel self-conscious, so he’d been sure to make an effort to never make Kurt feel that way again, even giving up solos and chances to perform and being sure to compliment him even more frequently.  
Bored, Blaine starts scrolling through Facebook to see what all the graduates and his old Warbler friends have been up to with their long summers so far; even though he didn’t talk to the Warblers anymore, Blaine still cared about them and enjoyed looking at the antics they were getting up, even if it did leave him will a sense of longing. School for the rest of McKinley hadn’t finished yet. When his phone buzzes with a message from Kurt, Blaine can’t help the grin that spread across his face; he hadn’t expected to hear from his boyfriend at all. Opening the message Blaine’s smile quickly fades. ‘I’ve got an internship at Vogue NY! Now going to the airport with Rachel. Will call you when we get to our apartment’. 

Blaine couldn’t believe it. On Kurt’s last day in Lima he had avoided Blaine and told him the news via text, not even a phone call, three days before his birthday, Blaine guessed it was just bad timing but still, part of him had hoped Kurt had been planning something or they’d at least get to celebrate it together. Blaine knew he should feel happy for his boyfriend but at the moment he just felt hurt for the way Kurt had broken the news. But he refused to be the unsupportive boyfriend so quickly replied ‘Congratulations I’m so proud of you! Look forward to speaking later. :)’. Blaine continued to scroll through Facebook only to see Kurt had posted the news an hour or so earlier. Great, he wasn’t even deemed important enough to be told before that post went up. Why was he an afterthought? No. Kurt is just excited, it doesn’t mean anything. So Blaine waited up for a call that never came, eventually drifting to sleep with tears in his eyes.

Three days later Kurt called him. Blaine knew his boyfriend wouldn’t apologise for going MIA but was glad he was at least getting a birthday phone call. How wrong he was. Kurt spent 5 minutes filling him in on their apartment and his meeting at Vogue and how excited he was and how he was finally getting to live his dream and meat all these amazing people. Blaine managed to feign happiness and pride while swallowing the sobs that were dying to escape. Kurt quickly ended the call saying he and Rachel were going to spend the day with some people they met last night, getting to know the area better. As soon as Kurt hung up Blaine cried, Kurt had forgotten his birthday and hadn’t even said ‘I love you’. How was he already being forgotten? Kurt knew that’s what he feared the most after everything that happened with Cooper. Blaine got the usual phone call from his parents, who were both still away on business or pleasure, Blaine couldn’t remember and didn’t care anymore. They had spent as little time with him as humanly possible since he came out and the events of Sadie Hawkins. They couldn’t seem to understand or cope with the idea that even after that horrific night Blaine was still gay, as if he had a choice in the matter.

Blaine got a few messages through from some of his friends but felt alone. He received messages from the Warblers and Sebastian, though he hadn’t spoken to them in a long time. Most of the New Directions, the people who were meant to be his friends, had forgotten, or didn’t even know it was his birthday and the ones who did were all moving away and would soon forget about Lima and Blaine too. Blaine had only really been friends with some of the graduates because they were Kurt’s friends and he’d ended up in the senior classes as they were the equivalent of junior classes at Dalton. Blaine wasn’t sure how he was going to get through next year. He knew he needed to make some more friends or else he’d spend the year on his own. His only saving grace was that Brittney was staying and he supposed he still had Sam, though they weren’t really friends. They’d hung out and had some conversations but only with Mike, Puck and Finn present. He’d been much closer with Mike, Puck and Quinn but they were all soon due to leave town.  
Blaine and Puck had become good friends at everyone’s surprise, including their own. They’d bonded over time spent at the gym, where Puck had been surprised to see Blaine boxing. They also shared something else in common – parent issues. Blaine’s had for all intense and purposes abandoned him when he came out and Puck’s dad had actually left him. Puck would never forget the first time he’d invited Blaine round for a games night with the other guys, he would still swear one of the best things you could ever do would be to give Blaine ‘I’m so dapper and polite’ Anderson a few drinks and set him loose killing some zombies. Puck couldn’t believe how competitive Blaine was or the language that came out of his mouth when he let loose. 

Blaine and Mike shared similar tastes in many things and had spent time together at many of the guy nights Blaine had ended up being invited too, when Puck discovered the girl films and nights weren’t exactly how Blaine liked to spend his evenings, despite Kurt’s insistence that he should. Puck of course didn’t say anything to Kurt but made sure Blaine could come by making something up about including him in the group. Puck and Kurt had never been close; they were very different people.  
Blaine and Quinn bonded as Blaine was there for her, as well as Joe, during her recovery. Blaine wouldn’t tell her why but said he understood what it was like to recover from trauma and helped her face the fears it left behind, something nobody else really understood. Quinn never asked him what happened, just gratefully accepted the help. He and Santana had even found respect for each other after the whole splitting of the glee club and Michael Jackson fiasco. Brittney didn’t really speak to him much but she like him, he never made her feel stupid and she liked that he loved dancing and disco as much as her, he could even keep up though he readily admitted Brittany was the better dancer. The new seniors, like Sam, were people Blaine had spoken to, but were more fond acquaintances than friends. So now the graduates were gone he felt desperately lonely.  
Blaine stayed in for the rest of his birthday, ordered some Chinese food and watched some movies. When Wes called Blaine ignored it. Wes had been sure to keep in touch with Blaine and saw him very much as a younger brother and was most definitely protective, particularly when Blaine transferred to McKinley after finely caving to Kurt’s guilt trips. Blaine knew Wes would be able to tell something was wrong but he just couldn’t face talking about it at the moment. Cooper called but was too excited about the latest commercial coming up so spent most of the time talking about that. To be honest Blaine was relieved. He’d been closer to Cooper since his last visit but couldn’t deal with any sympathy and pity right now. He just wanted to forget it was his birthday and left his cards and gifts (obviously from Cooper and Wes) unopened. 

The last few weeks of the school year kept him preoccupied, members of the New Directions thought he’d seemed even quieter than usual but assumed it was because he was missing Kurt. They were right of course but none of them knew how Kurt had cut contact almost completely, forgotten his birthday or of the extent of the whole Chandler fiasco. When school was over for the year the long summer stretch seemed like a long dark tunnel it would be hard to get out of. After a few days only leaving his bed to get food and go to the toilet Blaine made himself go out and not become a complete recluse, after all Kurt would never want him if he was pathetic and needy. 

XXXXXXX  
One day in the Lima Bean Sebastian spotted Blaine at a table in the far corner. Blaine hadn’t spoken to the boy since the apology before Regionals, partly because he had been mad but mainly because of Kurt. Sebastian collected his coffee and after some deliberation made his way over. Blaine spotted Sebastian out of the corner of his eye but didn’t move. Although Blaine didn’t really want to talk to Sebastian, because of Kurt and how he might react, he had missed the tall boy’s friendship; nobody seemed to understand that he and Sebastian had actually become good friends before everything.

“I was starting to think you’d disappeared off the planet, the other Warblers were going to send out a search party soon, guess I can tell them to call it off.” Sebastian smirks.

“What do you want Sebastian?” Blaine says a little too bitterly.

“Ouch, though I guess I deserve that.” Sebastian looks at Blaine and notices the once happy and loving eyes now look empty and had bags under them. “Can I sit down?” Blaine replies with a slight shrug and goes back to staring at the table. “Look I know I was a complete asshole and to be honest I’m grateful you could even bare to look at me. I like to think the handshake was a sign of a truce…Anyway I really am sorry for everything that happened last year and you know...if…if you need someone to talk to, I’m here. I promise no blackmail, bribery or ulterior motives. I’ll even try and play nice with Kurt.” Sebastian notices how Blaine grimaces at the mention of Kurt’s name but doesn’t say anything.

Blaine wasn’t sure what was happening anymore. Were he and Kurt even still boyfriends? Should he feel guilty about speaking to Sebastian? Blaine had forgiven Sebastian ages ago, he knew it was a prank that had gone horribly wrong, but Kurt being there always stopped him from making contact. The only thing he did know in that moment was that when Sebastian had spoken it had been full of honesty. After a long silence of Blaine being completely lost in thought Sebastian goes to stand up and leave.

“Please stay.” Blaine says so quietly Sebastian thought he imagined it until he looks back and sees the boy’s watery eyes and quickly sits back down. Another minute of silence and Blaine looking everywhere but him before he finally says in a quiet, breaking voice, “You know I forgave you ages ago right?”

“To be honest I wasn’t sure that you had, or that I deserved it.” Sebastian replies flatly.

“Everyone deserves a second chance Sebastian.”

“I think I’ve had more than a second chance by now.”

“Well then everyone deserves a third and a fourth chance if they try. You know I wouldn’t have shaken your hand to be polite. It wouldn’t have been worth the wrath of the New Directions.” Blaine tells him with a weak smile, before continuing. “I just wanted you to know there were no hard feelings.”

“You know a message or something saying that would have been much clearer” Sebastian teases trying to lighten the mood. Blaine only looks down and hums. “So do you want to talk about it?”

“Kurt’s in New York.” Blaine blurts out before he could stop himself.

Sebastian saw Blaine’s eyes go wide in surprise with himself but doesn’t point it out. “So you’re missing him? What’s he doing?” Sebastian says slightly unsure of how to handle the situation. 

“He’s got an internship at Vogue.” Blaine purposefully avoids the other question through fear of what else he might spurt out. 

“Well he must love that.” Being surrounded by women’s clothing, gayface in heaven.

“I guess, though I wouldn’t really know.” Sebastian waits for Blaine to continue, knowing there was meaning and a story behind that comment. “Sorry you don’t want to hear about this, I’m sure you’ve got better things to do. I shouldn’t even be talking to you about it.” Blaine goes to stand up but Sebastian grabs his wrist.

“Let me grab some coffees to go and we can take a walk. I won’t even step behind to take a look at your delicious ass” Sebastian winks, again trying to lighten the mood. That kind of comment used to make Blaine smile and blush, but from the look on his face Sebastian wasn’t even sure he’d registered the words. Blaine just smiled ever so slightly and went to wait for him by the door, being pleasantly surprised when Sebastian remembered his coffee order. They walked in silence for some time before Blaine started talking again. He had no idea why he was telling Sebastian of all people about how Kurt had gone MIA, but Sebastian was a good listener. Then Blaine remembered Sebastian had always been a good listener and thought maybe that was why. At one point, when they stop, their coffees get mixed up and Blaine smiles in delight as he takes a sip.

“What’s in that? It’s a medium drip with cinnamon, but what else?

“That would be cayenne pepper.”

“Wow it’s really good. Sorry here...”

“No you might as well finish it; it was getting kind of cold anyway.” Sebastian lies, having seen Blaine actually smile for the first time. Of course it would be coffee that made Blaine smile.

Blaine knew the coffee wasn’t cold but didn’t say anything as Sebastian then picked up his to finish. “You know if you ever need to talk to someone you can call me Blaine. I’ve got to find a way to fill my summer in lame Ohio after all.” Sebastian adds with a wink.

“Gee thanks” Blaine says as he rolled his eyes.

“Seriously though, I’ll send you my number, unless yours has changed?” 

“Mines still the same and um there’s actually no need. I…um…actually still have your number.” Memorised and on a piece of paper at the bottom of my desk drawer after Kurt made me delete it.

“No excuses then Killer.” So he would have known that birthday message and the others were from me. Sebastian couldn’t help but wonder what Blaine would have done for his birthday considering what he’d just been told. The boy in question quickly interrupts his thought process though.

“Thanks Bas” Blaine replies as he turns away, not even realising he’d used the name from when they were friends. It isn’t lost on Sebastian though; he never let anyone give or call  
him a nickname apart from Blaine.

XXXXXXX  
When Sebastian got home that night he sent a message out to the Warblers to let them know that he’d seen Blaine as they’d all been worried, but refused to answer their twenty questions about how Blaine was or what they talked about. Sebastian knew from when they were friends that Blaine wouldn’t want their afternoon gossiped about.  
Nick and Jeff go to see Sebastian, whose good mood isn’t lost on either of them. As they leave Nick looks across to Jeff and mutters, “Well, it must have gone well for Sebastian to be actually smiling again and not constantly scowling.”

“For Blaine’s sake this can’t get back to Kurt. You know he’d freak if he thought Blaine was talking to Sebastian again.” Jeff replies. The two form a silent pact to keep a distant eye on the situation and to try and shield their friends. Although they’d barely spoken to Blaine recently they were all too aware of the guilt trips Kurt had played on him when they had been in contact or had hung out. Though they did agree to tell Wes who had been hounding them about Blaine after a series of unanswered phone calls, which was completely out of character and made him worry about the boy he’d taken under his wing. Nobody knew why but it was widely acknowledge that Wes was fiercely protective of Blaine, and although they didn’t know details they knew Wes had been the one to build Blaine up from the quiet, shaking boy who had first arrived at Dalton into the legend that is Blaine Anderson.

XXXXXXX  
Sebastian and Blaine kept in contact via text and soon found they were calling each other regularly as before and met up for coffee. Sebastian knew Blaine felt lonely and couldn’t believe the way Hummel had acted and was determined to be there for his friend; well he hoped they were friends again, it certainly seemed that way. Blaine was getting more depressed as Kurt never contacted him or answered his calls and messages. When he did get through they would have a 30 second conversation about some amazing New York thing before Kurt hung up, never asking about Blaine or how he was doing. 

Blaine couldn’t help but think about Chandler being in New York and wondered if Kurt was always so busy because he was with him. He knew it was stupid but the thoughts kept appearing and were driving him crazy. One evening Sebastian told Blaine to spill what was eating him up. Blaine eventually caved and told Sebastian about how Kurt announced he was leaving and how things seemed to be spiralling before Kurt left for New York and all about Chandler and how he was freaking out. By the end of his massive rant Blaine took a deep breathe, not having realised he was running out of oxygen as he was in full flow.

Sebastian couldn’t believe it. How could anyone be with Blaine and still want more? Blaine was an incredible person, insanely talented and immensely hot. He wasn’t a thing to be there at someone’s beck-and-call. He always knew Hummel wasn’t good enough for Blaine and this just proved it. ‘Alpha gay’ - what a load of crap. All Sebastian wanted to do was punch Kurt, or rant about it but he knew that’s not what Blaine wanted to hear and would push him away again. Sebastian could tell it was only going to get worse before it got better, if it did, so bit his tongue (literally) and was there as an ear for his friend. Friend, it never felt so good as when Blaine told him late that night “Thank you Bastian, you’ve been a really good friend.” Friend wasn’t exactly what Sebastian wanted, but he would take anything of Blaine he could get. What was he thinking? Sebastian didn’t do relationships. No. He was Blaine’s friend and nothing else. Though he knew deep down Blaine had never been just a friend to him. That’s why he ended up lashing out so badly last year.

The next day the Warblers were all meeting up in Westerville to go bowling, Sebastian really wasn’t in the mood to go but knew he wouldn’t hear the end of it if he didn’t. Jeff and Nick could tell Sebastian was angry but had no idea what about. They knew the tall Warbler was in regular contact with Blaine so thought they might have fallen out. The reason was soon revealed though after Sebastian answered his phone. As soon as he finished his call he went back to the group and said he was bored so was going to go get some coffee as he’d got a better offer. While Sebastian was at the shoe exchange Nick and Jeff approached to see if they could tag along, knowing Sebastian was going to see Blaine, but stopped when they could hear Sebastian muttering “fucking Hummel, what an asshole” over and over. The two quickly backed off and messaged Wes with an update. They felt uncomfortable messaging Wes behind the others’ backs but had promised to keep him in the know as Blaine was being incredibly cagey with him, which made Wes immensely worried as he could see Blaine reverting to the boy he first found hiding in the Dalton library.

XXXXXXX  
One night Blaine’s sat at home in his sweats and an old Captain America t-shirt when the doorbell goes. He gets up to answer not having any idea who it could be but expects it to be some solicitors. The last person he expected to see was Sebastian. When he thought about it though; Sebastian was probably the only person who would visit him, so it shouldn’t have really been a surprise to see his friend there. Quickly remembering his appearance Blaine’s eyes go wide and he reaches to touch his hair, which was he hadn’t gelled and could feel curls sticking out in every direction.

Sebastian laughs when he sees Blaine go bug eyed. He had never seen Blaine look so casual, though he did enjoy seeing his natural hair. He had no idea Blaine’s hair was so curly and he couldn’t stop himself from thinking about how it would give him something to hold on to. The thought was quickly stopped though when Blaine finally said something after they had both been staring at each other for a few moments.

“Sebastian. What are you doing here?” Blaine asks cautiously.

“Jeez is that how you greet all your guests? Here was me thinking you had manners.” Sebastian replies in a teasing tone. “Are you going to let me in or are we going to stand here all night?”

“Oh right…yeah…sure...err...come in” Blaine says completely flustered and looking absolutely adorable. 

“We are going out tonight killer. No arguments. It’s getting depressing knowing you’re sat here every night. So go get that fine ass of yours in the shower and get ready.” From the look in Sebastian’s eye Blaine knew it was pointless to protest, plus he had been getting bored with the evenings spent on his own waiting for Kurt to call him back.  
Blaine didn’t however expect Sebastian to by lying on his bed reading his copy of ‘The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy’ that had been on his nightstand when he walked into his bedroom from his adjoined bathroom. Sebastian peaks over the top of the book and enjoys the view of a brightly blushing Blaine with a towel round his waist and water droplets falling from his hair and cascading down his body. 

Blaine, not once looking in Sebastian’s direction, walks over to his drawers and takes a pair of boxer briefs out and slips them on under his towel, which he then takes off and throws at Sebastian, hitting him square in the face. “You better not have lost my place Smythe”. Sebastian smirked; he loved this side of Blaine, the fact that Blaine could keep up and would banter back was what had pulled him in so deep in the first place after the initial flustered (on Blaine’s side) meeting. Though Sebastian also very much loved to see Blaine get flustered and blush, the combination of sass and blushing school boy was one Sebastian was sure he could never get bored of. He also most certainly enjoyed the view of Blaine in his tight blue boxer briefs as he watched him go through his closet trying to pick out something to wear. Sebastian knew Blaine had toned arms, a tiny waist and a great ass; his skin tight clothes revealed as much, but he was delighted to see the toned chest and stomach and V-shape made by his hipbones, and couldn’t help but think of how he’d trace out the lines and curves of Blaine’s body with his mouth. 

Blaine was trying to keep his nerve and not be too self-conscious in front of Sebastian. He wanted to appear confident and to be honest found the attention Sebastian gave him flattering. Nobody, not even Kurt, had looked at him with such want before, but he was also keen not to give Sebastian the satisfaction of once again making him flustered. Blaine then became aware of the other boy standing closely behind him. 

Sebastian reaches around Blaine for a shirt “You should wear this one killer.” Blaine gulps and could feel the blush spreading across his cheeks; he takes the shirt from Sebastian before slipping it on with some tight dark jeans before heading back to the bathroom to gel his hair before it dried and got out of control.

Sebastian drove to Scandals saying Blaine needed to unwind and have a good time. Blaine was a hilarious drunk when he got going that evening. He went from dancing on the tables, attracting plenty of attention to finding ‘Waldo’, a man in a red and white striped top. The highlight though for Sebastian was when Blaine jumped on the back of some 400lb guy and pretended to ride him like a rodeo bull. Sebastian took Blaine home and stayed with him when Blaine asked him to saying he didn’t want to be alone again in that house. Sebastian, not knowing what to do found an extra blanket and went to get settled on the floor. 

“Bas what are you doing?” Blaine groggily asks.

“Staying like you asked me to.”

“You don’t have to sleep on the floor. There’s plenty of room.” Blaine tells him as he patted the other side of his bed. Sebastian got settled on top of the duvet, as far away from Blaine as possible. He wasn’t sure if Blaine would remember any of this in the morning and the last thing he wanted was for Blaine to wake up and freak out, so he wanted to make sure it was clear that nothing happened and that he, Sebastian, had made sure of it and had just followed his friend’s request. His decision seemed to be the right one as Blaine drifted off to sleep he seemed to navigate to Sebastian’s body and he wasn’t sure how he would have coped if he’d had Blaine wrapped around him all night.  
Blaine woke up to see Sebastian was still there. A warm feeling rose in his chest, particularly when he realised Sebastian hadn’t even gotten into bed with him. Blaine knew Sebastian was still unsure of boundaries sometimes and was really trying to be a friend and this just proved it. The boy had changed and actually seemed to care about Blaine. Blaine didn’t remember much from the night before but Sebastian happily filled him in, with photo evidence, including a picture of him and ‘Waldo’, making Blaine blush a deep red. 

Blaine was a little surprised at how attentive Sebastian was about his hang over. He was sure Sebastian was never like that for anyone else and decided the ‘new leaf’ thing wasn’t really a ‘thing’, this was the real Sebastian he knew was there all along, the one he’d got glimmers of through late night texts and calls before stupid rivalries had ruined everything. All Blaine knew was he was happy to have his friend back and although they would be at different schools, he knew he wouldn’t feel as lonely as he thought he would and that this year might not be as bad as he had dreaded.

Kurt found out Blaine had been spending time with Sebastian and flew off the handle. It was the only time in the 6 weeks he had been away he contacted Blaine; it had always been the other way round. Kurt forced Blaine to stop contact with Sebastian, saying he couldn’t see a future for them if he knew Blaine would be with him, after everything he had done. What Blaine didn’t know though was Kurt only knew about him and Sebastian as a friend of Chandler’s in Lima had posted a video of the night Blaine had been at Scandals. The video captured Blaine dancing on the table and then jumping into Sebastian’s arms to get down. Chandler’s friend had innocently posted the video on Facebook with the caption ‘tonight’s certainly lively’. Kurt then saw the video when Chandler showed it to him having found it hilarious, not knowing the guy in it was Kurt’s boyfriend.  
Blaine broke contact with Sebastian as promised and felt so alone. Kurt then went back to ignoring Blaine. 10 days later Sebastian gave up trying to contact Blaine anymore after saying that was why he never did friends before, because feelings hurt, leaving Blaine to feel awful and guilty.


	2. The break up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The start of Blam!

In a night of desperation Blaine ended up with Eli, he hated himself for it and was physically sick, but he’d felt so lonely and having someone talk to him again and to want him had been overwhelming. Blaine flew out to New York as soon as possible to admit everything to Kurt, hoping there was some way they could make it through. They didn’t. Kurt said he was disgusted with Blaine and blocked all calls and messages. Kurt wouldn’t listen when Blaine tried to explain how guilty he felt and how he’d done everything Kurt had asked but was still left alone. Kurt said it made no difference and that Blaine had ruined everything. “You’re nothing but a disgusting whore! You don’t think I haven’t had temptations? You’ve ruined everything!” Blaine wanted to talk to someone, but couldn’t. His only friend had been Sebastian but he’d cut that tie for Kurt. He was sure the graduates who had been his friends would now hate him and he couldn’t even imagine going back to school and seeing everyone in that glee club again.

Sam bumped into Blaine in a comic book shop and almost didn’t recognise him. Blaine was obviously upset and close to breaking point. Sam drove Blaine back to his house where he tearfully confessed everything to Sam. Including Chandler, and the lack of contact despite promises, through to becoming friends with Sebastian again, then cutting ties, a bigger spiral of loneliness and the biggest mistake of his life, then the night he told Kurt. Sam was sceptical of Sebastian but knew he and Blaine had actually been pretty close friends before everything kicked off last year and told Blaine to contact him, admitting that if he was his friend he would have forgiven him too and would want to be back in touch and that Blaine shouldn’t feel guilty for it. Blaine was entitled to have his own friends and Kurt had been wrong to tell him otherwise and now they’d broken up there was nothing stopping him. Throughout Blaine’s confession Sam’s big brother instincts had taken over and he’d found himself hugging onto Blaine as his body shook with sobs. Blaine also realised from what Sam said that he was a very perceptive person; nobody else had picked up that his friendship with Sebastian had meant a lot to him but Sam clearly had. 

Sam was also sympathetic to everything that had happened that had led Blaine to that one night with Eli. Sam pointed out to Blaine that his and Kurt’s relationship was obviously already breaking before Kurt moved to New York and that yeah it wasn’t right but neither was the way Kurt had been acting and that one mistake didn’t make Blaine a bad person. Sam stayed over that night and they both found out they loved all things Marvel and DC and decided they would start a super hero club as soon as school went back.  
Blaine wanted to talk to Sebastian but couldn’t bring himself to contact the Warbler, knowing that he’d hurt him, he was sure Sebastian would want nothing to do with him anymore.

Brittney and Sam started going out and spent more and more time at Blaine’s. The spare room eventually became Sam’s room. Blaine’s parents were never at home but his dad was all too happy for Blaine to have a straight quarter back room mate with a cheerleader girlfriend so agreed for Sam to move in with him, as he would be a ‘good influence’ for his senior year.

XXXXXXX  
The first week of school was horrible – apart from Sam and Brittney, Blaine had no friends so spent most of his classes alone. Tina approached him one day as she’d heard everything that had happened from Mike, who’d heard details from Finn and then had called Sam to tell him to watch out for Blaine. Sam then told Mike everything. Mike then called Tina, who was also sympathetic with Blaine. Yeah cheating had been wrong, but they could see how it had happened and how Blaine was torturing himself for it. On a call one night Sam and Mike had also discussed how Blaine wasn’t the same confident, slightly cocky guy they’d met and they couldn’t remember when he had last been that way, realising Blaine had probably been unhappy for quite some time. 

Tina was also shocked to find out the extent of Kurt’s texts with Chandler. She didn’t think it was right that Kurt had dismissed Blaine’s feelings about it and couldn’t help but think it had a big impact on what happened with Blaine. Although her and Mike had split up, they’d remained friends. Blaine couldn’t help but feel jealous, but was more than happy to have her as a friend as they had many AP classes together.

Tina rushed to find Sam and Brittney one morning, hoping to speak to them without Blaine. She found them in the choir room but hadn’t noticed Artie at the other side of the piano before she started rambling. “Mercedes called last night asking if I knew what had gone on with Kurt and Blaine. Kurt had told her that Blaine cheated on him but seemed to have missed out the whole Chandler, going MIA then banning Blaine from seeing the Warblers thing. Guys I’m worried about Blaine, he’s still really low and I don’t know what to do about Kurt spreading his rose tinted victim story to everyone. You know this will only make things worse.”

Sam turns to Artie “So dude, it goes without saying but please don’t tell anyone else what you’ve just heard.”

“Oh God Artie I didn’t realise you were here!” Tina exclaims.

“Did you think he was a robot? When we were dating I sometimes thought he was a robot” Brittney asks.

“Guys, I obviously don’t know everything that happened, but it’s clearly not a black and white kind of story. Blaine’s not the kind of guy just to go and cheat on a whim and he’s definitely not himself at the moment. All his swagger’s gone y’all! Look I won’t say anything, but if this is starting to go round the New Directions rumour mill in an evil vs. good kind of way you might want to start doing some damage control, or at least shield him for a bit. The guy doesn’t look like he can take much more. We need him this year and he clearly needs us.” Artie says before rolling out the choir room leaving the other three to think about it.


	3. The make up

The Nationals trophy is stolen by the new captain of the Warblers and Blaine agrees to go back to Dalton to retrieve the trophy, despite his fears of bumping into Sebastian. Sam knew Blaine was worried and that he hadn’t contacted the Warbler yet so didn’t let him back out of it. Blaine bumped into Sebastian, who was clearly mad at him but went along with Hunter’s plan. Blaine sang ‘Dark side’ and was clearly not himself, though nobody seemed to notice, or if they did they said nothing. Hunter tried to make Blaine go back to Dalton, but Blaine knew he couldn’t, plus how could he face Sebastian each day? Sebastian was pissed but could see something was seriously wrong with Blaine so asked him to go for coffee.

Blaine was also annoyed at Sebastian for stealing the trophy, but could tell he was being truthful when he said he’d had nothing to do with it.  
“Just putting it out there but I had nothing to do with stealing the trophy. I honestly have better things to do with my time than break into a public school to steal such a ridiculously big and ugly thing” Sebastian tells him plainly. 

Blaine agrees to go for coffee with Sebastian and crumbles; admitting everything, pushing back sobs and tears as much as he could. Sebastian was pissed at Kurt for doing that to Blaine. Blaine had kept his head down throughout the whole account; too scared to see what he thought would be disappointment and disgust in Sebastian’s eyes. 

“Hey look at me.” Sebastian waits for Blaine to make eye contact before continuing, “If you want someone to reprimand you, you’ve come to the wrong person. Loneliness can do a lot of stupid things to people. It can make you cheat on someone or convince you to devise a stupid plan involving slushies and rock salt. You know this doesn’t define you right? It doesn’t make you a bad person…trust me...I should know”.

“You’re not a bad person Bastian……I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have frozen you out like that. You didn’t deserve it. I wouldn’t blame you if didn’t want anything to do with me, I’ve given you nothing but a headache the whole summer.”

“Hey everybody deserves a second, third and fourth chance right? It wouldn’t be fair for me to have so many and not return the favour.” Sebastian says as he reaches across the table taking Blaine’s hand, “Plus without you I would never have found Waldo.” That comment makes Blaine smile shyly with a blush kissing his cheeks. Both were completely unaware the whole exchange was being watched.

When Sebastian gets back to his dorm room his is bombarded by Jeff, Nick, Thad and Trent.

“What’s going on with Blaine?!” Nick demands.

“I don’t know, why don’t you ask him?” Sebastian flippantly replies.

“Don’t toy with us Smythe, we saw you in the cafeteria. So what’s going on with Blaine? He was obviously upset. He was crying for God’s sake and could barely look at you!” Thad barks at him.

“Look your concern for a certain Blaine Anderson is touching, really, if not bordering on obsessive. If you really want to know what’s going on why don’t you ask him yourselves like friends should” Sebastian retorts, seriously beginning to lose his cool with the whole situation.

Trent is the next to pipe up, “He has a boyfriend you know Sebastian. I don’t know what but my guess is something has happened for him to be looking like that. Maybe you should back off a little and let him sort whatever it is out with Kurt.”

That was the last straw. “No he doesn’t! None of you have any idea what gayface has put him through this summer! You’re telling me to back off?! Yeah because leaving him alone when most of his friends have gone and his douche of an ex has been treating him like crap is really the best thing to do.” Sebastian was red with anger by the time he finished speaking. 

“Sorry man, we didn’t know. We were just concerned. Me and Nick at least have tried messaging him a few times but we never get anything back.” Jeff says.

“Whatever. Just get out. All of you.” Sebastian spits as he herds them out of his room.   
Once out in the hall the four Warblers look at each other. 

“Well I don’t know about the rest of you but I feel like an asshole now.” says Thad as they started walking down the hall.

“Yeah me too, I just can’t believe it, poor Blaine. I’ve never seen Sebastian so angry before. Though it can’t be helping the whole situation with him about, we all know what Kurt thought of him” Trent adds.

“Of course you’ve seen Sebastian like that before. When Blaine got hurt last year Sebastian went into a flying rage; he was so angry at himself. You can’t deny when it comes to Blaine, Sebastian is different. You saw them earlier; when has Sebastian ever been like that with someone else? He would never purposefully hurt Blaine. Plus we don’t know what happened with Kurt and Blaine. Maybe it’s best they don’t work it out. We should be thankful Sebastian is there for him at the moment, and that Blaine is letting him in; he clearly needs him.”

“I don’t know about that.” Trent mutters under his breath but it doesn’t go unheard.

“Are you sure your feelings for Blaine aren’t clouding things?” Nick asks Trent as he and Jeff split from the other two to head back to their dorm.

“You know we need to let Wes know what’s going on right.” Jeff says, “As much as I hate reporting back I get the feeling Blaine could be needing Wes soon, and there’s obviously a reason why Blaine hasn’t spoken to him about everything, which is crazy, he should know Wes would never think badly of him.”

“Yeah I know what you mean. We’re missing something here. But you’re right. I haven’t seen Blaine look that lost since he first transferred here.”

XXXXXXX  
Sam was happy when he found out Blaine had spoken to Sebastian. Although Sam was still wary of the Warbler, he knew Blaine needed friends and that he’d lost many when he moved for Kurt and then had cut ties with them, for Kurt. As Sam spent more time with Blaine and learnt more about his relationship with Kurt, he became sure it wasn’t healthy. Who goes through their boyfriend’s wardrobe and sorts his clothes so he looks the way he wants him to? Not even Santana did that and she was possessive. Sam also thought back to the cocky Blaine he first met who had a certain swagger and thought more about how that Blaine hadn’t been around for a long time now and managed to pin point the change from when Blaine got the role of Tony. 

Sam was scared Blaine would transfer back to Dalton and knew it wasn’t the right thing for Blaine to do, so set out on a mission to prove to Blaine that he was still one of life’s heroes and the two went on to win president and vice-president.

Unbeknown to Sam even if Blaine truly had wanted to go back to Dalton there was no way he could, that would mean asking his father to sign transfer papers and pay tuition again. When Blaine had transferred his dad had made it clear that it was Blaine’s mistake and he’d have to face the consequences, no matter what they were or how many hospitals he ended up in. Sam and Blaine went back to Dalton to steal the trophy back in their superhero costumes. Sebastian saw them running out of the grounds and couldn’t help but smile; even though he was a little gutted Blaine wouldn’t be returning he knew it was the right thing for him, particularly as he seemed to have a true friend in the blonde boy. Hunter just stood frozen on the balcony and then started swearing and screaming loudly. 

Later that evening, Blaine received a message from Sebastian and shouldn’t have been surprised to see it was about the tights and cape. ’You’re such a dork. Though I can’t say the tights didn’t have certain advantages. The view the cape revealed was pretty spectacular.’

Nick, Jeff, Thad and Trent were glad Blaine seemed to have a friend in the costumed blonde boy he’d stolen the trophy with and decided it was time to message him. They’d all been waiting as they knew too well not to push Blaine too soon or he’d completely shut himself off. So they messaged him, apologising for everything and making sure he knows he’s not alone. They are all delighted to get a reply from Blaine saying they should meet up sometime and that he promised to keep in contact this year. Individually they all replied with the same promise. Blaine was glad to hear from some of his old friends as he truly thought he’d lost their friendship. Bit by bit everyone could see some life was slowly starting to return to Blaine Anderson.

Blaine feeling a little better even took part in the competition to crown ‘the new Rachel’ and was delighted to win. He messaged Sebastian to tell him. ‘Well duh. Though it doesn’t do you justice.’ was all he got back but couldn’t help but smile. They were also tasked with taking a popular song and rearranging it. Every person was to perform as an individual then there would be a vote and the winner, and their song, would be the solo at sectionals. Sam challenged Blaine to sing his and Kurt’s song to prove to Blaine that he was starting to move on from Kurt and shouldn’t keep holding back and punishing himself. Blaine’s arrangement and performance of teenage dream won him the solo at sectionals. Sam also realised about Blaine’s crush as during the performance Blaine kept glancing over at him.

“So dude, are you going to tell me who you were thinking about when you were singing?” Sam asked Blaine when they were alone after glee.

“I’m not sure what you mean Sam.”

“Come on man, I know. Just say it.”

“Say what?”

“I know you were thinking about me.”

“Erm..”

“Hey it’s cool. I know you’re crushing on me. I’m hot and you’re into dudes so it would be kind of insulting if you weren’t. Plus the attention is pretty flattering.”

“So you’re not freaked out? I mean we live together and I wouldn’t want you to think I was going to try anything. I seriously can’t lose your friendship.”

“Dude I said it was okay. Now give me a hug. Come on. Hug it out. Though be warned, Brittney is currently working on a PowerPoint to get you to join up for a threesome.”


	4. The spiral

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Don't hate me. There's a reason why Finn is acting out; remember two versions of what happened between Klaine are going round and he's only heard one. The first part of this chapter is kind of an overview of some of the things going on.

Blaine walked into the choir room on Monday with a spring in his step and a smile on his face. Both of which quickly disappeared with Finn was introduced as adviser for the New Directions. Finn starts making Blaine’s life difficult after hearing about Blaine cheating on Kurt, but doesn’t know the full story. Quickly Blaine becomes a recluse again and doesn’t take solos and doesn’t want to be in school production. Artie makes him take the Teen Angel role regardless and is pissed Blaine won’t take the lead of Danny. Finn goes off on one in front of everyone about Blaine not being a team player.

Sam feels stuck in the middle; Finn is a teacher now so there’s not much he can do without getting Finn into serious trouble and ending his career before it even started. Blaine’s change in character however does not go unnoticed by the newer members of the New Directions who had been watching him be slowly built back together by the other seniors. The only things keeping Blaine going are Sam, Brittney and the messages he gets from Sebastian. Tina has also proved to be a good support, making sure he’s never alone in the classes they share; she also gets super pissed at Finn for acting so unprofessionally, but keeps those thoughts to herself.

Tina and develops her major crush on Blaine. Sam and Blaine are in no doubt best bros and Brittney calls him her narwhal as he is dolphin cross unicorn because he has a little bit of magic. Blaine helps her and Sam with their dyslexia and supports Sam with his body issues that get worse after he flumps the first round of SATs. Blaine even makes sure all Brittney’s work sheets are put on pretty paper with space for her to drawer as it seems to help her work and pretty paper obviously makes everything better. 

Sam finds out Blaine never celebrated his birthday when he spots the unopened cards and gift Blaine had forgotten about on a shelf. Sam confronts Blaine who admits he just wanted to forget that birthday and how Kurt forgot. This makes Brittney sad so the three have a great day out at the zoo after Brittney insisted it was necessary as he was a dolphin. They all came away with a cuddly toy of their favourite animal. Brittney and Blaine become good friends in their own right – both having a loving take on the world around them, getting excited at what to others seem like the smallest of things. Blaine also joins the Cheerios after Brittney talks him into it. Sam loves the trio he’s found himself in, though can’t help but notice Tina’s increasing presence and her clinginess to a certain ex-Warbler. 

XXXXXXX  
Sam is staying at Brittany’s one night and Blaine, after a particularly horrid day with Finn, slips back into seriously beating himself up so goes to Scandals and drinks a lot to try and numb the pain and forget what a horrible person he is. 

While he dances one guy won’t back off despite Blaine making it clear he should do so. A second man crowds Blaine from behind so he can’t get away. Sebastian turns around from the bar and sees what is happening – Blaine trying to get away but unable, with the men’s hands starting to grab at his body. Sebastian goes over and rescues Blaine and takes him home. A drunk and tearful Blaine asks Sebastian to stay, so he does, he did before and he wouldn’t leave his friend in this state anyway. Despite everything Sebastian can’t help but feel drawn to Blaine in a way he never had to anyone else ever before. Blaine gets them both under the cover then cuddles up to Sebastian, who at first stiffens and has no idea what to do. After a moment he relaxes and lets himself hold onto Blaine as they both drift off to sleep.

In the morning Sebastian goes downstairs to get Blaine water, coffee and pain killers. When he goes back up Blaine is only just beginning to stir and his hands become visible above the covers. Sebastian notices Blaine’s knuckles are cut-up and very bruised and walks back to the bed placing the drinks and aspirin on the bedside table.

Sebastian sits on the edge of the bed and waits for Blaine to open his eyes. “Morning sleepy head” he says with a soft smile, “So are you going to tell me what last night was about and why you didn’t call me before you got yourself in that state?”

Blaine just looks back at Sebastian for a moment. His head is pounding and he’s still coming round from his sleep. Avoiding eye contact Blaine partially hides his face in the pillow. “I didn’t want to be a burden.”

“Killer the one thing you’re not is a burden. I’m actually pretty insulted you didn’t ask me to go with you” Sebastian teases. “Seriously though, what happened?”

“Finn’s come back as adviser for the New Directions and he’s having no problem letting me know what he thinks of me. It’s even worse than when I first transferred.”

“Hmm...So where does the need to be doing this to yourself come into it?” Sebastian asks as he pulls back the covers to reveal Blaine’s hands again. Blaine goes to move them away but Sebastian holds onto them and slowly starts tracing his thumbs over Blaine’s knuckles.

Blaine sits up and crosses his legs so he’s completely facing Sebastian and watches the taller boy’s thumbs tracing over the cuts and bruises. “I haven’t been feeling like me for a scarily long time now, but I’ve only just realised how long. I just needed to feel something again other than everyone’s constant disappointment or numbness.” Blaine pauses but Sebastian could tell he had more to say so just waits patiently. “I’m not even feeling this way because I want to get back together with Kurt anymore, but because of how I hurt someone I cared about and that I was weak to have done it in the first place. Even worse, after spending time with Sam and Brittney I can actually see that what I had with Kurt had become toxic, but that hurts in itself, I thought we’d been in a deep love, but now it all seems like a lie.” Blaine finishes. 

“The people who know what happened and who matter are not disappointed in you. Anyone who is can frankly go screw themselves. I have never met someone as selfless as you Blaine and this just shows it. You had one moment of being selfish and quite frankly it was about time. Now you need to stop punishing yourself and dwelling on what other people think, because at the end of the day what they think doesn’t matter. Look trust me I know what self-loathing feels like and how it can make you do stupid things. You might not like what I’m going to say next but just listen; you know I’m not saying it to cause trouble, we’ve gone passed that. As someone who watched from the outside it always seemed like Kurt was trying to mould you into someone he thought you should be, no drinking or clubbing or action films, giving you a hard time for solos and performing. You’re only going to be happy if you let yourself be you again.” Sebastian lets go of Blaine’s hands and gently holds onto his face, tilting it up so Blaine has to look into his eyes. 

“If you ever feel like you can’t feel anything and like you’re going to do this again you have to promise me you’ll call me first.”

“I promise Bastian….I’m so sorry”. A single tear falls down Blaine’s cheek, which Sebastian rubs away with his thumb.

“Stop you have nothing to be sorry for. Plus you’ve just made my day.” Blaine just sat looking puzzled. “You’ve just promised to let me help make you feel things killer…that was a dangerous thing to do.” Sebastian winks.

Blaine laughs “You’re incorrigible…and actually you’re not the first one to say that”.

“Oh I have no doubt you’ve had many offers”

Blaine chuckles and blushes, “That’s not what I meant.”

“I know,” At that moment Blaine’s stomach rumbles loudly causing him to blush bright red and Sebastian to laugh.

“Now go jump in the shower, you smell like stale alcohol, then we’ll get some food in you before you decide to eat me…though that wouldn’t be the worst thing”. Sebastian adds wiggling his eyebrows.

Blaine gives Sebastian a shove before heading to the bathroom. Before Sebastian goes downstairs he finds sweats and a t-shirt for Blaine to wear, smiling when he comes across an old Dalton hoodie, which he resisted getting out too. After looking round the kitchen for a while Sebastian decided to try to start cooking breakfast, although he only has limited cooking skills – a life of boarding schools and help at home tends to do that to a person.

Sam and Brittany arrive back at Blaine’s house and head into the kitchen where they hear what they assume is Blaine moving around. Sam sees Sebastian and immediately thinks Sebastian and Blaine have hooked up and gets pissed at him, thinking he’d taken advantage.

“Calm down Sammy, they haven’t done anything. I can’t smell sex.” Brittney says holding onto Sam’s arm.

“Are you sure?”

“Definitely”

“In that case I’m sorry dude. I know you and Blaine are friends but he’s going through a rough time again with everything and I just didn’t want anything to have happened he’d regret. Not that he would regret anything happening with the two of you, I just mean... Actually I’m just going to shut up now before I make it worse.” Sam rambles. 

Sebastian was a little taken aback by the odd situation he seemed to be in, who can smell sex at that distance? But he quickly collected himself, these were Blaine’s friends and they seem to be good people and clearly care about him a lot, even if they are a little god knows what. “No problem. It’s nice Blaine’s got people looking out for him. There’s only so much I can do from Dalton.”

“Trust me dude. You being there for Blaine after everything means more to him than he would say, though if you do hurt him, I will kick your ass.”

“Noted, but so you know I’d never intentionally hurt him.” Sebastian then went onto explain what happened last night and asked about Blaine’s hands. Sam is shocked – he’d never noticed Blaine’s hands and feels like he’s failing as a friend. Blaine appears at the door, and tells Sam he hadn’t been failing as a friend, far from it, but that he’d been hiding it, in the same way he feels like he has to hide who he really is by keeping up preppy appearances for everyone and acting how they seem to expect him to act. He also reassures Sebastian he hasn’t been a bad friend either when he sees him stood by the side looking conflicted. Brittney pulls everyone into a group hug, which Sebastian meets with a lot less resistance than he thought he would.


	5. The build

Sebastian, Sam and Brittany get Blaine to open up more while he cooks them all pancakes, much to Sam’s delight; although he’s still anxious about food he can’t help himself when it comes to Blaine’s pancakes. Blaine makes sure to put blueberries in Sam’s and chocolate rainbow sprinkles in Brittney’s, he puts both in Sebastian’s and gives him a wink as he passes the plate over. Brittney loves that Sebastian seems to appreciate the colours and tells him he’s much nicer with his new feathers. 

Slowly but surely Blaine starts to come out of his shell and even volunteers for a solo again in glee, reassuring Mr. Schue he’s still up for Sectionals and will be able to get through the solo. Blaine keeps in daily contact with Sebastian. He’s someone who understands him. He doesn’t have to hide who he is and he’s pretty sure Sebastian can read his mind at times. He’s also sure he’s gotten to know Sebastian better than anyone else has before, which makes him feel honoured as he knows how many walls Sebastian has built up. It’s probably one of the reasons why they get on so well; they both wear masks to protect themselves, albeit Blaine’s is to smile and be nice to everyone whereas Sebastian’s is to treat the world with snarky indifference, apart from Blaine that is.

Sebastian can’t help but open up to Blaine – he feels his defences falling, knowing he’s safe with Blaine. The only thing he’s scared of is that he’s never felt this way about anyone before – he’s pretty sure he is falling in love, though he would never admit that, after all Sebastian Smythe doesn’t do love. What scares him is that Blaine isn’t letting himself move on from Kurt. He says he doesn’t love him that way anymore but he can’t move on knowing he hurt someone who hasn’t forgiven him yet. 

The Warblers notice the difference in Sebastian and can’t help but think maybe he and Blaine will finally get together. They had all noticed from the moment they met the two had been undeniably attracted to one another but now they could all witness how they seemed to compliment and better the other.


	6. Sectionals - letting go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An unexpected visitor helps Blaine.

The Warblers and New Directions are in direct competition but the stupid rivalries of the previous year are long buried. The Warblers are up first and blow everyone away. Blaine can’t help but smile brightly and proudly at Sebastian, his eyes locking on him the entire time. Sam and Brittney watch Blaine and giggle to each other, though Sam knows the performance is going to be hard on him, but knows if Blaine can truly turn ‘teenage dream’ into another performance it will prove to himself that he’s more than just Kurt’s ex, that things he once loved shouldn’t be tainted by the toxic end of that relationship.

The New Directions take to the stage, Sebastian can’t help but laugh. Seriously, how did Gangnam style get picked as a good number for a competition? He soon stops laughing as just as the New Directions get to the end of the number Marley collapses. They quickly rush her backstage, Blaine grabbing her the juice box from his bag. Mr Schue tells them to get back on stage or risk disqualification as Sue walks into the choir room announcing they have been officially disqualified and victory handed to the Warblers, resulting in the disbandment of the New Directions. Everyone is gutted and Marley is clearly blaming herself. Blaine could see the turmoil going across her face that he only knew too well. He asks everyone to leave the choir room for a moment.

“Hey guys can I have a second with Marley?”

The room goes silent, nobody getting why Blaine wanted to speak to her or what about, but Sam could tell it was something important so with Mr Schue moved everyone out, apart from Jake who refused to leave her side.

“Dude not being funny but I’m not leaving my girlfriend now so whatever you’ve got to say you’re going to have to say it in front of me.”

“Sorry I didn’t mean to impose. Please don’t let any of this go outside of this room.”

Blaine takes a deep breath then pulled a chair round to sit in front of Marley and Jake. “I get why you’ve not been eating and I’m so sorry for not noticing sooner, but I’ve been too caught up in my own problems to notice anything around me, so for that I really am sorry.”

“This isn’t your fault Blaine” Marley replies softly.

“But I get it and you can’t do this to yourself. I know what it’s like to think you’re not good enough and hate yourself, but you’re beautiful and you’ve got to push those thoughts back, please stop hurting yourself.” Tears were in Blaine’s eyes at this point and both Marley and Jake knew there was more to what Blaine was saying. Neither knew what to say so the three sat in silence for a moment before Blaine rubbed make up off the back of his hands to reveal bruising, cuts and scars. “This is what I did. This is what happened; this is my form of not eating. You tell yourself it’s for a reason but ultimately it’s just a punishment, it’s just a form of pain that turns your self-loathing deeper and deeper and becomes addictive. So please talk to Jake, to me, to whoever you need to, you have the strength to stop.” Marley pulls Blaine into a hug, which Jake joins in. Blaine is the first to pull back and the three silently wipe tears on the backs of their hands.“So what do you say? We should all go out to dinner like we planned, I’m not going to force you to eat a lasagne and gorge on garlic bread but just come out with your friends and have something you enjoy. What’s your favourite delight Bread Sticks has to offer?”

“I always like their Caesar salad"

“How about it then? If Jake won’t beat me up will you be my date?” Blaine asks causing the other two to laugh.

Marley smiles, “Yeah okay, but we get to change right? We might look a bit overdressed for Bread Sticks.” She says with a laugh, though Marley had a feeling Blaine’s solo was meant to be his version of facing his fears, in the same way this dinner is for her. She’d noticed how he had been slightly edgy about it and how Sam had seemed to be nudging him along. At that moment she knew Blaine had to sing it. “On one condition though. You perform your solo when we get there.”

“Oh I don’t think anyone wants to hear that when they’re eating.” Blaine says cautiously.

“Come on I feel bad, you never got to perform it and you sound amazing singing it.”

Jake seemed to pick up on what Marley was doing though he wasn’t 100% sure why so added “Yeah come on dude, you can’t turn her down, particularly if she’s your date for the night.”

“Fine I’ll do it, just for you though.”

“But of course, you are my date after all.” The three laughed before Blaine went to tell the rest of the guys to change. Blaine was the first to finish changing and waited by the choir room for the others and was pulled from his thoughts by a familiar voice.

“How’s your friend B?”

Blaine looks round with a half-smile. “She’ll be okay, she hasn’t been eating. Congratulations though, you guys were awesome, you totally deserved to win.”

“It’s not fair you didn’t get to finish though. Are you okay?” 

“Yeah, I’m fine and even if we had finished you would have still won. Our second song would have had to kick some serious ass to make up for Gangnam Style, not that Tina didn’t kill it…it’s just not exactly a high scoring song.”

Sebastian laughs, “Well I’m glad you said it, I was worried about you there for a moment, who even chose it?”

“That would be Finn.”

“Ah Hudson, that would explain it.”

“SEBASTIAN!” Hunter’s voice booms down the corridor.

“Well thanks for coming to see how she was, but it sounds like you’ve got to go. I better see what’s taking everyone else so long; when the New Directions go quiet you know something’s going on.”

“Later killer” Sebastian had to stop himself from giving Blaine a kiss right there, but settled for squeezing his shoulder. Just as Sebastian had disappeared the rest of the New Directions filtered through and they headed to the restaurant.

After they placed their orders Marley reminded Blaine of his promise. Blaine spoke with the manager then made his way up to the small stage area. “I’m sorry for interrupting everyone’s evenings but I made a promise to a beautiful girl I’d sing my song from tonight for her so she’d agree to out to dinner with me.” Unbeknown to Blaine the Warblers were also at the restaurant but had been seated round the corner from them. Blaine started his beautiful rendition of ‘teenage dream’, his eyes finding Sebastian’s you’re my missing puzzle piece. At the end of the song the room filed with applause. Blaine gave a small bow then made his way to the toilets, Sebastian went to follow but before he could move spotted Sam heading that way. 

Blaine was splashing his face with water when Sam came in. “You did it dude, you faced your fears and now you’re free.”

“You my friend are ridiculous, but you’re right, I do feel free. Thank you Sammy.” The two share a tight hug.

“I hope I’m not interrupting anything.” Sebastian’s smooth voice came from behind them.

Sam pulls back from Blaine, “Nah you’re good. I got my hug, he’s all yours, but don’t keep him too long.” Sam left the bathroom, giving Blaine a reassuring nod and Sebastian a look that showed he was in protective mode.

“You’ve seriously just stolen Hunter’s thunder. It was unanimous round the table that if that was your solo from tonight you guys would have one hands down.”

“Thanks, but I doubt it”

“There you go being Mr modest again. Are you okay though? Jeff mentioned that song might have certain connotations.”

“Do you know what? I feel relieved and pretty great. It was Sam’s version of facing your fears to set yourself free and actually…it kind of worked.” 

“Glad to hear it, though I better let you get back or they’ll think I’m ravishing you right here and now.” As if on cue an embarrassed looking Ryder, who had clearly been sent by Sam, entered the room causing Blaine and Sebastian to laugh as they headed back to their tables.

XXXXXXX  
Blaine had been doing really well and he and Marley had been finding strength in the other, but things get bad for Blaine again when Finn comes back to coach the club and falls back to his old ways of dismissing Blaine and constantly putting him down. Blaine gets he’s being a protective brother to Kurt but it still hurts and opens up wounds he thought were healing.

On Friday Sam finds Blaine boxing without gloves again in the gym and takes him home before Tina can see him. As much as Blaine loves Tina she can get too much and it doesn’t help when he’s like this. Sam and, well everyone, apart from Blaine, have also noticed Tina’s huge crush. Sam calls Sebastian and explains what happened and asks if he and some of the other Warblers Blaine has been talking to would like to come round for the weekend and join in their movie marathons – the only condition they bring snacks and don’t complain at their film choices or impressions.

Brittany being upset at her favourite dolphin hurting himself again calls Santana and explains everything – how Blaine isn’t letting himself move on because he hurt Kurt and how he’s been punishing himself and boxing without gloves to hurt himself and feel pain. She also explains about Sebastian and says she thinks their meant to be and cries about how much she wants Blaine to be happy and that Sebastian actually deserves happiness too and that now he’s changed his feathers he’s a pretty bird. She explains Sebastian reminds her of her Santana but knows he’s hurting no matter how much he hides it and says she knows he loves Blaine.

The Dalton boys promise to join Sam at Blaine’s Saturday evening after their sports and homework. Sebastian however arrives earlier to see Blaine, having been left anxious after Sam’s phone call. Blaine is happy to see Sebastian again and greets him with a hug – the Warbler makes his heart flutter though he knows he doesn’t deserve happiness again and is scared Sebastian won’t want him in the same way – he’s never given any indication of wanting to be a boyfriend before and Blaine just can’t do casual, it’s hurt him too much to do that again, particularly as he has been developing feelings for the tall Warbler.

Another knock at the door goes and they are happy and surprised to see Brittney, but even more so to see Santana. Blaine flinches thinking she’s come to give her a piece of her mind over Kurt. Brittney cuddles on to him while Santana walks through to the living room telling him to sit. Sam and Sebastian come in to see what’s going on. Santana and Sebastian exchange some barbs but seem to have found a respect for each other. She then tells Blaine she’s there to get him out of his sorry ass slump and get on with his life “there are enough people out there who will hurt you; you can’t keep doing it to yourself”. Blaine goes to talk and she clips him round the head telling him that if he doesn’t shut-up and let her talk she will kick his hobbit ass all the way to Mordor, making Sebastian snicker and Blaine glare at him.

Santana goes on to explain that Blaine wasn’t the one who should take the blame for him and Kurt and that he needs to forgive himself as Kurt hasn’t ever shown any guilt. Blaine goes to talk and she clips him again. Santana explains that Kurt started hooking up with a guy 3 weeks before Blaine slept with Eli and is now officially dating him. Blaine and the others are all in shock. Blaine asks why he hadn’t been told sooner. Santana admits she didn’t know what had really gone down but that Rachel found out and had told her, who was feeling bad at letting her Tony take all the crap but couldn’t betray Kurt. Santana said she came to get Blaine out of his pathetic rut as it was making Brittany sad to see him hurt like that and nobody makes Brittney sad.

Blaine gets angry. In that moment he knew he really had moved on from Kurt and that he shouldn’t feel bad for doing so. He also realises that if Kurt can move on without feeling any guilt then why shouldn’t he. He says he can’t believe how many friends he’s lost over this but is obviously holding back – if Blaine lost friends, surely that means he is in fact not a good person. Santana can see where this is going so quickly picks her phone off the sofa arm where she had placed it, on speaker unbeknown to everyone else and talks at it, saying “Over to you Q”. Blaine is shocked when Quinn’s voice comes through the phone. 

“Hi Sweetie, so do you think I’m a bad person and shouldn’t have friends?”

Blaine stutters, “Of course not”

“Are you sure? I made peoples’ lives hell, cheated on Finn with his best friend, lied to him about being Beth’s father. Cheated on Sam with Finn to split him and Rachel up to get my reputation back at the school…do you want me to continue? Or do you want to explain to me why you’ve gone all MIA on me?” Sebastian makes a sideways glance at Sam who just shrugs his shoulders. The whole thing had hurt at the time but he was long over it. Though he hadn’t realised Blaine and Quinn had obviously been so close.

Blaine, completely forgetting there is anyone else in the room, starts talking to Quinn, voice quivering slightly, obviously holding back some tears. “I didn’t think you’d want anything to do with me. You were Kurt’s friend. I thought you’d be disappointed in me...”

Quinn shuts him off, “Blaine you were there every step of the way during my recovery. You were the only person who knew what it was like to be recovering from a trauma like that and let me know I wasn’t alone and that it was okay to have days where you feel defeated. If it wasn’t for you I probably would still be going into a panic each time I have to get in a car. Of course I wasn’t going to believe all I’d been told, I know there’s more to it than that, but I wish you’d felt like you could talk to me about it. Now go and have some fun, but remember I expect emails, texts and phone calls Blaine Anderson. I’ll be seeing you at Thanksgiving so you better watch out if you don’t.” It now all of a sudden clicked for Sam. The times Blaine and Joe would spend talking and how Kurt would get annoyed about Blaine going to another appointment, though at the time Sam obviously had no clue what or whose the appointments were.

Blaine asked the girls if they want to stay – they decline wanting to spend some time together and say they are going to catch up with some of the others while Santana is in town. Blaine asks if they will go to dinner with them on Sunday, to say thank you. Santana agrees as long as he’s paying and doesn’t put gel in his hair as having seen him without the gel or prom afro, he actually looks hot and she knows he never used to wear gel like that. Blaine goes to protest but before he gets a chance she reassures him his curls are hot and gives him some serum to stop them going like an afro. She doesn’t answer Blaine’s question about how she knows about his hair before. As she leaves she gives Sebastian a knowing look.


	7. The union

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Dalton boys are back.

Sebastian goes for a shower and comes back down to find Blaine and Sam have created blanket forts facing the television with the Iron Man, Captain America and Avengers DVDs all ready. He secretly loves the geeky side of Blaine, not that he’d admit that, yet. He goes in the kitchen and finds the boys collecting some snacks and drinks, while playing ‘don’t touch the lava’ and is a little loathed to have to stop watching them (Blaine) and leave when the doorbell goes.

Nick, Jeff, Thad and Trent are at the front door and do nothing to hide their amusement when they go into the living room to find Sam holding Blaine to his shoulders spinning around saying ‘admit it, I’m Wolverine’. They look over to Sebastian who just rolls his eyes and shows them where to leave their stuff. Sam sets Blaine down who wobbly goes over to the boys and introduces Sam. They fall into easy conversation until Trent asks how long they’ve been dating. Blaine chokes on his drink and Sam stops dead, having been about to put pizza in his mouth while Sebastian bursts out laughing. Sam starts explaining that he’s straight and he and Blaine are just best friends, although he knows Blaine does find him hot and so obviously wants to do him. Blaine throws a cup and hits Sam square on his head, before explaining that yes he did have a crush on Sam but that was over now – but agreed he’d always think Sam was hot – Jeff broke the tension by saying ‘who wouldn’t’. None of the Warblers take Blaine’s admittance of a crush seriously due to the way he and Sam joked about it.

They settle in their blanket forts, Blaine sandwiched between Sam and Sebastian. Sam works on his impressions and he and Blaine talk over a lot of the films, much to the others annoyance. Soon Blaine has drifted off, leaning heavily on Sebastian. Sam sees the way Sebastian looks at Blaine and the short kiss he places on Blaine’s head but doesn’t say anything.

The next day the Warblers leave, minus Sebastian who says he’ll be back later, after dinner. Nick waggles his eyebrows at Sebastian as he leaves, having noticed the way the two interacted the night before. Blaine gets a phone call and quickly has to leave to go to a Cheerios practice that Sue has put on at the last minute because ‘small dogs in clown costumes would do the routine better’. Blaine says Sebastian is welcome to stay there as they’re going out for food later and gives him a quick hug before running out the door and down the drive to his car. Sebastian admires the way Blaine looks in his Cheerios uniform as he goes.

Sam doesn’t mention the previous evening to Sebastian. They just help each other tidy the house and make general small talk, getting to know each other better. Although they’d seen one another a lot more recently because of Blaine they never really talked. Sam decides Sebastian is actually a genuinely good guy underneath it all while Sebastian decides Sam is a lot smarter than people give him credit for and can tell he and Blaine have really helped each other through a lot. Sam shows Sebastian where the games and DVDs are to keep him amused so he can get on with some homework. Sebastian pauses when he can hear Sam listening to a recording of Blaine talking over a softly strumming guitar. He moves to the dining room to see Sam sat reading while listening to the recording of Blaine. Sam stops, pauses the recording and looks at Sebastian before explaining about his dyslexia and how Blaine makes these recordings to help him with English. Sebastian smiles an almost proud smile then heads back into the living room.


	8. The other side

Later Sam, Sebastian and Santana are sat waiting at Breadstix for Blaine and Brittany to arrive. Outside Blaine pulls up accompanied by Brittany and Kitty, who’d invited herself along. The three are still in their Cheerio’s uniforms as practice ran late so they didn’t have time to change. The girls link arms with Blaine as they make to go across the parking lot to the restaurant. 

A group of guys approach making crude comments and then grab at the girls skirts. Blaine tells them to back off but they make a grab at Kitty again. Blaine pushes the guy away from Kitty and turns and does the same to the one who’d tried to wrap an arm around Brittney. The men stop and start making homophobic gestures at Blaine, asking if he’s missing out and jealous of the attention they are giving the girls. Blaine tells them to back off but the first guy he shoved takes offense and tries to punch him. Blaine ducks and lands his own punch on the first and second guy who try a similar move. The next thing he knows two guys are pining back his arms and another approaches the front. Blaine kicks out with his legs, sending the man flying backwards. The third man then grabs hold of Blaine’s legs as the fourth starts to land punches on his now vulnerable body. The two girls who had previously frozen all of a sudden burst into life and rush to the restaurant. 

Bursting through the doors they zero in on their friends and manage to shout ‘Blaine’ before turning to head out again. Sebastian is the first up and out of the restaurant, hurdling over chairs and tables. Quickly followed by Sam and Santana he makes his way across the car park to where the guys are still holding and hitting Blaine. Sebastian pushes the man as he was about to throw another punch with force back into a parked car. Sam is quickly beside him and they soon have the other guys off Blaine, who then make a run for it when the girls square in for some action too. They turn to face Blaine who has propped himself up against a nearby car and wince at the black eye and split lip, before realising he’s holding onto his side. They suggest taking Blaine to hospital, almost letting up until he becomes obviously dizzy. At that Sebastian scoops him up and secures him in his car before there can be any further arguments. Sam jumps in and the girls follow in Santana’s car.

When they arrive at the hospital Blaine is obviously worked up and agitated at being there. He is sent for X-rays and a CT scan, though none of them are sure why the scan was really necessary. Blaine made the staff let his friends into his room, refusing to cooperate otherwise. He then gets Santana to take everyone apart from Sebastian for coffee. Blaine knows Sebastian is wondering about the extra scans and had picked up on Blaine being so anxious to be there. Blaine really needed to talk to someone about it so decides to explain about the Sadie Hawkins attack to Sebastian, knowing he could trust him, though he was scared he’d see him differently. 

“If you hadn’t noticed I hate hospitals.” Blaine says with a smile to Sebastian.

“Yeah I had, but that’s not why you got Santana to take the others out of here.” Sebastian says as he pulls the chair closer to the edge of the bed.

“I need you to just listen, this is going to be hard and if I stop I don’t know that I’ll be able to finish.” Blaine tells him solemnly looking deep into Sebastian’s eyes.

“You’re scaring me killer. What’s going on? You know you don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to.”

“But I do want to tell you, I need to. It’s just…right…okay…this is the reason I transferred to Dalton and why I hate hospitals.” Blaine takes a deep breath before continuing looking down to his hands on his lap, “I came out to my friends in the summer before High School, I’d told my family sooner but after how they reacted I didn’t want to lose my friends too, but ultimately I didn’t want to hide anymore. Unfortunately my friends reacted in much the same way as my parents and didn’t speak to me for the rest of the holiday. In fact they did everything they could to avoid me. When High School started I literally had no one, but then it got worse when my ex-friends told everyone I was gay. It started with the usual name calling and locker shoves. It gradually got worse, my stuff would get stolen and the shoves weren’t just into lockers, but down stairs or simply onto the ground in the crowded corridors where no one would stop to help. I’d quite literally get walked over. They even cornered me in the locker rooms. It was…can you even call it sexual harassment? I don’t know what it was.” At that admission Sebastian’s breath hitched slightly but Blaine was too focused on getting the story out to notice. “Nobody did anything, my parents did nothing, I think my dad hoped by ignoring it I’d wake up realising I must be straight after all, as clearly building that car didn’t do the trick. Cooper by this point was too wrapped up in his new life in LA and had pretty much cut all contact with me so I didn’t even have my own brother. But then…” Blaine’s voice wavers.

Sebastian reaches out for Blaine’s hand and gives it a squeeze. This gave Blaine the strength to continue. “There was one other guy who was out at the school. He was a junior and was the only person who’d talk to me and try to stop what was happening. So when a Sadie Hawkins dance was organised I asked him to go with me as a friend. We actually had a great night; we danced and had a laugh and nobody bothered us. I thought it was a turning point. I was so stupid, when the dance finished we were sat waiting in the parking lot for his dad to pick us up, he must have been running late.” Blaine takes a big shaky breath and Sebastian had a feeling he knew where this was going so gave Blaine’s hand another squeeze. 

“These guys approached us. Three of them were seniors and three were juniors. My ex-friends walked over with them but kept back. We stood up and Charlie asked them what their problem was. They told him the problem we were the problem. That I was the problem as Charlie had never acted gay before I turned up. It turns out they’d seen videos of performances from my middle school and apparently a singing and dancing gay who then asked the other non-gay gay guy out was a step too far. They beat the crap out of us. My ex-friends ran away when it started and did nothing to stop it, they didn’t even get any help. Charlie tried to stop them but he was one against six. They knocked Charlie out then moved him to the side, saying it was my fault he’d gotten hurt and I needed to be taught a lesson. One of the guys took out a bat, then the next thing I knew, I was surrounded.”

By this point both Blaine and Sebastian had tears streaming down their faces. “I woke up in hospital four days later with a metal plate in my head. My arm needed pinning back together and my right knee had been broken along with my ankle and five ribs.” I spent another month in hospital before I could go home, but I was still basically bed ridden. I never heard from Charlie again; his family moved state and I had no way of contacting him. One of the nurses though told me he’d been released a couple of days after we were brought in as he only had a minor concussion and some superficial cuts and bruises; I’m glad he didn’t get badly hurt because of me but it still should never have happened. The worst thing though was the look of disappointment on my parents’ faces. My mum and dad have hardly spoken to me since that day, my mum even got someone to come and act as a carer as she couldn’t face me herself. Cooper came to visit for a couple of days when I got home but actually only came to see me once, and then it was to show me the latest commercial he was in. Funnily enough at the time I couldn’t care less about a stupid commercial and was still pretty out of it on pain meds anyway, but got told off for not being enthusiastic and supporting my brother. Then it was decided I should go to Dalton as a boarder to keep me out of the house and stop me bringing anymore shame on the family.”

“So I joined Dalton part way through my freshman year, Wes was the first person I trusted, he tutored me to make sure I didn’t have to drop back a year because of the time I missed… and the rest you pretty much know.” Sebastian didn’t say anything but just sat next to Blaine on the bed and enveloped him in his arms. “Bastian please say something…I don’t want you to think of me differently. I just needed you to know and I knew you wouldn’t pity me.”

“Sorry killer.” Sebastian pulls back a little. “You’re right I won’t pity you, but I do think of you differently.” Sebastian quickly carries on when he feels Blaine tense in his arms, “I always knew you were strong, but to overcome something like this. Wow B, you really are incredible, most people would have become bitter and twisted and shied away from the rest of the world but you became the legend that is Blaine Anderson, sex on a stick, voice like a dream and all round good guy.” Sebastian’s words were sincere and caused Blaine to blush. “Plus now I know next time I need someone to look at my car I can come to you.” Sebastian adds with a wink to lighten the mood slightly, causing Blaine to giggle.

The others come back, Santana noticing straight away something had shifted between Blaine and Sebastian but they both seemed too dumb to do something about what was right in front of their faces. The doctor came back with results; Blaine said he was happy for it to be discussed in front of his friends so they did. The doctor said the ribs targeted were luckily not any that had been previously broken, as such they had not sustained any real damage, just some heavy bruising which would be sore but clear up in a week or so. The black eye and lip had already been taken care of and wouldn’t leave any scaring. Then the doctor asked if Blaine had experienced any headaches, he answered honestly that he hadn’t and the doctor smiled – informing him the scan showed everything was fine, but checked his head anyway, there wasn’t any swelling surrounding the damaged area. The doctor said he’d arrange the discharge papers and would be back shortly with some pain meds for Blaine to take home.

His friends looked at him with confusion. Santana being the first to ask about the previous broken ribs and what was going on with his head. Blaine briefly explained about the attack after the Sadie Hawkins dance that left him hospitalised for 3 weeks and how his arm had needing pinning back together; he lifted his short sleeve to point out the small, now faded scars where the frame was. How he’d got 5 broken ribs, a broken ankle and knee and part of his skull had been smashed so he now had a metal plate – he looked at Sam and joked ‘I told you I was Wolverine’. Blaine was careful not to go into anywhere near as much detail as he’d told Sebastian but just enough that they wouldn’t press. Sebastian held his hand while he gave the account again, which didn’t go unnoticed by Santana; she knew in that instant that Sebastian knew the full story and that clearly was why Blaine had wanted them out of the room before, it would explain the obvious shift between them.

The group were shocked. Yeah the older three had heard about the incident before but they didn’t know that it was any different from a normal high school beat-up. They hadn’t realised that in fact Blaine hadn’t been beaten up but had been viciously attacked simply for being gay. Blaine told them nobody other than his family and Wes knew the details of the attack and asked them not to pass it on – they all silently nodded, Sam and Brittney with tears in their eyes. Sebastian could tell it took a lot out of Blaine to tell him and then the rest of his friends, but it also seemed to lift a weight off his shoulders. It also let him know why Wes was so protective of Blaine; he’d heard about it from the other Warblers and had experienced it first hand after the slushie incident when Wes went to town on them when he visited Blaine while he recovered.

The doctor came back saying Blaine could go as soon as a guardian signed the papers and asked if his parents were on their way. Blaine immediately changed; smile across his face and a false sincerity in his eyes only Sebastian immediately recognised. Blaine explained his parents could not return from their trips but had given him a secure fax line for which the papers could be sent, his Dad would then sign them and send them back. The doctor looked happy with the idea but said he’s need to talk to his parents as Blaine is under 18. Blaine gave the doctor a telephone number – Cooper’s. As soon as the doctor had left the room, Blaine messaged Cooper, who he’d become closer to since his last visit. Cooper called within a minute and Blaine explained what had happened and what his plan was. Cooper agreed to go along, knowing that if their parents found anything out it’d only make Blaine’s life worse. They ended the call when the hospital started to call Coop.

The doctor came back saying he was satisfied he’s spoken to Blaine’s father and the fax would be sent shortly. Blaine thanked him then turned to his friends. “Okay this is my dad’s signature, who can copy it?” they all looked at each other before Santana stepped forward to give it a try. Sebastian went next; one by one they all had a go. Sam’s artistic flare meant he did a perfect copy. Blaine asked Sebastian to take Sam home, wait for the fax to come through, sign and send it back then bring some looser clothes back to the hospital for him to change into to go home. Sebastian didn’t admit it out loud but he loved this previously unseen side of Blaine Anderson. Santana and Kitty also both looked pretty pleased, while Sam was shocked and Brittany didn’t even seem to notice this was so out of character, well at least appeared to be, but set about twirling Blaine’s curls and explained that she meant broccoli head as a compliment at the prom as broccoli was one of her favourites and that she’d been disappointed when Blaine started gelling again. Blaine laughed and said he’d thought his hair had gotten a little too wild that night, but that it suited the dinosaurs. Santana watched them, feeling happy Brittney had a friend like Blaine – he never made her feel dumb and seemed to get her, probably as they both had an incurable optimism, which she found astounding considering what Blaine had gone through.

By the time Sam and Sebastian got back to the hospital Blaine was ready to go, as soon as he’d put some clothes on. Santana took the girls home while the boys headed back to Blaine’s. Sebastian had already missed curfew so decided to stay the night and messaged Nick to let him know what was going on. A phone call later and Sebastian told Nick that the other Warblers were not to contact him or Blaine that night. Blaine privately called Wes knowing he’d freak out if he heard what happened from anyone else and wanted to be sure he got the right story. He also told Wes how he’d told Sebastian what happened at Sadie Hawkins and the others a shortened version. Wes said he was proud of Blaine and reminded him that he’s always just a phone call away, no matter what. 

The three boys made their way to Blaine’s room – got changed for the night and climbed on Blaine’s bed to watch a film. Blaine, in the middle, cuddled into Sebastian and fell asleep. Sam, who had been drawing Blaine, paused and looked up at the taller boy. 

Sam had a heart to heart with Sebastian about Blaine’s and his feelings and told Sebastian not to be scared and that surely he owed it to himself and Blaine to try at being someone’s boyfriend. Sebastian felt more at ease when Sam told him Blaine felt the same way but wasn’t sure if Sebastian wanted the same thing. Sam also said that Blaine knew Sebastian wasn’t perfect but didn’t care as he also knew that Blaine wasn’t perfect but accepted him for who he truly is. When Sebastian made a comment about not wanting to be the rebound guy, Sam told him he wouldn’t be because he had been. Sam then went onto explain that although they joke about it now, Blaine actually had had a crush on him. Sebastian found this slightly amusing but also a big relief. It also gave him a lot of respect for Sam, not many straight guys would be so relaxed about their gay best friend, who they lived with, having a crush on them.

The next morning Sebastian had to leave early to make it back to school on time for lacrosse practise but made Blaine promise to let him know how school went. Sam in turn promised Sebastian nothing would happen to Blaine and that he’d already got the guys on alert. The New Directions were in the parking lot when Blaine and Sam pulled into school that morning and went about protecting Blaine fearing the obvious injuries would spur the jocks into action. Tina was particularly clingy that day but as she and Artie shared most classes with Blaine, the others let it slide. 

Finn unexpectedly showed up to apologise to Blaine for everything and says he thinks it’s cool if the New Directions and Warblers can have a friendly rivalry this year and that it shows what kind of a leader he is to bring the two sides together. Blaine and Finn put it all to the side and agree to be friends again, with Finn admitting he also reflected his own hurt about being left behind by Rachel onto Blaine. At Finn’s admission Blaine reassures him he understands that Finn was also hurting and was just trying to look out for Kurt. Finn says he knows it was wrong, Blaine was his friend and it was unprofessional. Blaine knows Santana must have been the reason for Finn’s sudden change of heart and messages her thanks. ‘We got a surprise visitor today. Thanks Tana’, ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about’ was all he got in return.

XXXXXXX  
Following his talk with Sam the night before, Sebastian got a visit from Santana at Dalton. 

“Satan, what do I owe this pleasure?”

“Save it lurch, I’ve come to pull your head out of your ass. You do realise if you let Blaine go you’re an idiot.”

“And how exactly would I be letting Blaine go?”

“Come on don’t give me that crap, the way you two make heart eyes at each other is sickening. Plus he obviously told you a lot more about Sadie Hawkins than us, so he clearly trusts you and opens up to you, which believe me is something he never did with Kurt, not really, he couldn’t get a word in edge ways and then when he did he was shot down. He’s got some of the life back in his eyes that was zapped from him when he was punished for getting Tony. I was an utter bitch to Blaine when he came to McKinley, and then again when I was outted, even though he tried to help me, but even I had the sense not to push a good guy when he was down and doing so much good for so many of my friends. He’ll bottle his own emotions up to the point of bursting to not make anyone else down; it’s sickeningly sacrificial when you think about it, but for whatever god damn reason you seem to stop that from happening. He deserves someone who will put themselves on the line and will push him and fight for him, not against him.” 

“And you’re telling me this because you think I’m that guy? You’ve met be before, do you seriously think I could give Blaine what he needs?”

“Actually I do. We’re more alike than either of us would ever want to admit. I had Brittney then let her go because I was too afraid to get in too deep. News flash, I was already in too deep and doing what I did hurt her and now she’s with someone else. I’m happy I still get to have her in my life but now I have to watch her be happy with someone else and it sucks. Blaine clearly has feelings for you and the two of you have always had that spark and are clearly attracted to each other. How many chances do you think you’re going to get? Yeah relationships seem scary but surely letting him go and losing him is scarier? I know you’re not into the whole relationship scene but don’t you think that could simply be because you’ve never met someone like Blaine before? Man if he was a girl I’d snap him up and it won’t be long until someone tries to. So get a move on.”

“Is Santana Lopez trying to help me? I must be hallucinating. Or are you trying to lull me into a false sense of security before you pull razors from your hair.”

“Cute. Just think about it, though don’t hang around. My teeth will rot if I have to see his doe eyes look longingly at you again.” Santana turned to leave before, pausing to add “You hurt him though and I will hunt you down.”

“Trust me; I would never intentionally hurt him.”

“So get a move on then before you do.” With that Santana left his dorm room and walked down the hall, causing the heads of many boys to turn in her path.  
After dinner Sebastian decided to call Blaine to see how he got on at school and was delighted to hear how Finn had apologised and that he’d had a pretty good day with not too many whispers around him. Thinking back to Santana’s words Sebastian decided it was now or never.

“So killer what do you say to having dinner with me on Saturday?”

“Erm sure…where were you thinking?”

“Now that would be telling; wear something nice; I’ll pick you up at 7.”

“Great I’ll see you then.”

“It’s a date”

When the call ended both were laying on their beds with dopey grins fixed to their faces, which Sam noticed as soon as he walked passed Blaine’s room.

“So Sebastian finally asked you out then?” Blaine shot up not realising Sam had been standing in his doorway. “We’re having dinner on Saturday.”

“As a date?” Sam wiggles his eyebrows.

“Yes a date.” Blaine replies with the big dopey grin returning to his face.

“Good for you bro, you better tell Santana or you’ll be in trouble.” Sam turns to go to his own room before stopping and saying “Oh by the way man, you’re totally blushing.” The next thing he knew a pillow hit him in the back of his head and a mighty pillow fight breaks out.


	9. The date

Santana stopped by to see how Blaine was doing on Saturday morning, and to grill him about how she had to find out about his date with Sebastian from Brittney. Blaine admitted he was nervous and didn’t know what to wear as he doesn’t feel like most of the clothes he’s got are his anymore and wants to find his own style again. Santana happily offered to take him shopping to find ‘Blaine’s style’, which is much more like the kind of clothes Blaine wore before Kurt. Santana joked he actually looked like a real boy and not some gay granddad wanna be pin up. She knew she shouldn’t have been shocked that Kurt had seemingly designed Blaine’s wardrobe and it explained the change from when she’d seen him casually dressed to the clothes he wore once he started McKinley. “It’s nice to see you’re growing your balls back again Frodo, something tells me you’ll be needing them soon.”

Blaine blushed a deep red making Santana laugh. “Before we go anywhere else we’re getting that hair sorted. Trust me if you hate it you’ll still be able to dunk your head in gel each morning, but it’s a crime to hide those curls, most people would kill to have your hair.” Blaine admitted he used to leave his curls to have more freedom but things and people happened that meant when he went to McKinley that didn’t seem like an option, particularly after how Kurt and others had reacted at prom. The hairdresser Santana took him to cut his curls so they wouldn’t go fluffy and showed him which product to use when his hair was wet to keep the curls under control and in place throughout the day. After some lunch they headed back to Blaine’s house where Santana picked out his outfit from his new clothes while he was in the shower. 

As Sebastian walked up to Blaine’s door he was surprised to see Santana just leaving. She stopped and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll accept chocolates or wine as a thank you.” When Sebastian saw Blaine open the door he instantly knew what Santana had been talking about. There Blaine was in smart tight black jeans and a soft looking deep red v-neck jumper with his natural curls on display. Sebastian stood there motionless for a moment taking in the sight. Hell he’d always known Blaine was hot but now he was screaming sexiness. He snapped out of his daze as soon as he saw Blaine starting to look uncomfortable under his gaze.

“Looking good killer, ready to go?” Sebastian asks while looking Blaine up and down. Blaine blushed. How the hell did Blaine look that hot and bashful all at once? Sebastian felt like his brain was going to short circuit.

Sebastian took Blaine to his favourite French restaurant that actually reminded him of the food he had in Paris, the admission of which made Blaine smile with genuine happiness as he as starting to see more of the real Sebastian. When the waitress came over Sebastian ordered in French in hope of impressing Blaine and was shocked and turned on when Blaine joined in the conversation, also in French. When the waitress went Sebastian challenged Blaine about his hidden ability.

“Where did you learn that from killer?”

“Well I know my pronunciation is a bit off but that’s what you get from learning a language mostly from a tape.”

“You taught yourself?”

“Yeah for a while after…you know…I couldn’t play anything and it hurt to sing so I decided to teach myself French. I’ve always loved the language and enjoy hearing others speak it.”

“Are you trying to tell me you have a French kink?” Sebastian grinns; Blaine’s deep blush and the coy smile that crept across his face were the answer Sebastian needed so for the rest of the meal Sebastian refused to speak English. French food definitely wasn’t Blaine’s favourite and it was the first time he actually enjoyed it, probably because it was actually authentic and he loved how it let him see a bit more of the real Sebastian. Blaine admitted this to Sebastian and quickly reassured him that he shouldn’t feel bad for taking him to a French restaurant, that it was nice getting a glimpse of Sebastian’s Paris life and that he did genuinely enjoy the food. Sebastian felt a little chuffed that he’d been the one to introduce Blaine to proper French food and that he actually enjoyed it – no doubt he’d only had it before with gayface and there was no guessing how awful that completely American attempt at the cuisine would have been. After they finished they drove to the lake at the edge of Westerville.

“What have we come here for Bas? It’s beautiful but I’m not putting out in the back of your car if that’s what you had planned.”

Sebastian laughed at that comment. “Sorry to disappoint you killer but this is one of my favourite spots; you can actually see the stars away from the city lights. Plus I wanted to talk to you about something.” Blaine looked puzzled as Sebastian leant across and pulled a tape player out of the glove compartment. “Look I really don’t want to screw this up but, I was wondering why you gave me this?”

“Gave you what Bastian?” 

“This” When Blaine continued to look blank Sebastian press play. Immediately Blaine’s face dropped and Sebastian instantly regretted his decision.

“Where did you get that?”

“When you were in hospital Kurt gave it to me when the Warblers went to McKinley. I figured you must have been the one to tell them to hand it over. I was always so grateful, but at the time I didn’t deserve it, so I was just wondering if you could tell me why. I just want to make sure everything is clear before we go any further. I care about you too much for old skeletons to reappear…Please say something B.”

“I never knew about the tape. Why would they just hand it over? It should have been my choice. What did they say?”

“Santana said she was going to take it to the cops but Kurt threw it at me saying something about how he wanted the satisfaction of beating me at Regionals…I always thought it was because you told him to give it to me.” At that moment Blaine got out of the car and started to walk off. “Wait Blaine where are you going?!”

“I just need some space for a minute. Will you wait?”

“Of course I will but take this” Sebastian says as he takes his scarf off and ties it around Blaine’s neck. “Don’t go too far, there’s not much light out here and the path gets rough.” With that Blaine turned around leaving Sebastian to wait for him to return. Unbeknown to Sebastian, Blaine was making a series of phone calls to Tina, Sam, Brittney and Santana – all of them saying while they knew about the recording, they’d thought it was Blaine’s decision to hand it over. That’s all Blaine needed to know, he wanted to be sure the people he’d become close to hadn’t taken his choice away from him. Plus if they hadn’t known then nobody else would have done either. No this all lay on Kurt. 

When Blaine returned to Sebastian he didn’t say much or on the drive back to Blaine’s house. When Sebastian stopped at the top of Blaine’s drive, Blaine finally looked at him and told him how he’s not angry at Sebastian but Kurt who took the tape away – took his choice away for his own selfish needs. Blaine also admits he would never have handed the tape over to the police but that would have been his choice. Sebastian walks Blaine to his door, certain his chances have all gone. He stops at the bottom step of Blaine’s porch and tells him he’ll see him around. Blaine notices Sebastian’s stance laughs softly and tells him to stop being an idiot before kissing Sebastian softly but purposefully on the lips and makes Sebastian promise to let him know when he gets back to Dalton safely. In that moment, both of them know they’ll be okay and couldn’t ignore the sparks that flew from the kiss, even though it was only chaste.

Blaine tells Sam all about his date and Sam reiterates he never would have handed the tape over knowingly behind his back. They fall asleep on Blaine’s bed watching Avatar, both laying on their sides and Sam having a loose arm round Blaine’s waist. They then spend Sunday doing homework and planning all their activities for the next week; with Blaine also spending a large proportion of the day messaging Sebastian, which doesn’t escape Sam’s attention.

Blaine also calls Wes to talk about everything that had been happening. He’d already filled Wes in on certain details but just really needed to talk to someone who would help him clear his mind and Wes had always been that person for him. Sam was great too, but Wes had seen him at his worst and helped him build himself back up. Wes again reiterated he was glad Blaine had the strength to recount the whole Sadie Hawkins event to Sebastian and a shortened version to some of his other friends. He knew this was a great step forward for Blaine and was glad to be hearing him starting to sound like the boy he knew before transferred to McKinley.


	10. A new week

Everyone loves the way Blaine looks on Monday. Unfortunately Tina seems to be a little too enthusiastic. Santana is the guest at glee and tells them their assignment is to sing a song that gets out feelings you otherwise wouldn’t admit; a message to a friend, a crush or people who tormented you. Santana tells Blaine he’s up first so he sings fighter, a song directed at the bullies who tormented him and partly at Kurt, who he has now realised was in an unhealthy relationship with, too afraid to be himself for the repercussions, left friends for but was always made to feel as though he wasn’t good enough, or guilty for being too good. He was starting to realise that someone else other than Kurt might be able to love him – the real him. Santana filmed the emotionally charged and spectacular performance and sent a copy to Sebastian. Tina then cringingly sang a song directed for Blaine who was obviously uncomfortable when he realised. Kitty told her she needed to back off before she forever descended into hag-dom.

Finn tells Blaine that’s his favourite performance of Blaine’s because of the emotion behind it and says he’s proud to see the performer Blaine is turning into. Mr Schue and everyone else also offer their praise.

Sebastian is confused at getting an email from Santana but opens it ‘your boy is going to be fine’ as the subject line and watches the video of Blaine. Sebastian is so wrapped in Blaine’s performance he doesn’t notice the other boys enter the common room. When they hear Blaine’s voice coming from Sebastian’s laptop they gather round and quickly restart the video. They all knew Blaine was a star performer who owned the stage but they’d never seen him perform like that. The power behind his voice by the end of the song and his command of the stage was breath taking. Sebastian was also a little turned on so quickly gathered up his things and went to call Blaine to organise another date.  
Santana leaves to fly back to NY, reminding Blaine to be happy for himself and telling him to keep looking after Brittany for her, or else she would have his ass.


	11. Glease

It’s time for the school production of Grease and although Blaine hadn’t wanted to have had anything to do with it originally, he’s really enjoyed playing a smaller part as Artie let him help direct scenes, particularly with Ryder in. Ryder had the potential to be a great Danny but his self-consciousness was holding him back, making scenes seem flat and unbelievable. That’s where Blaine came in; he’d been Artie’s original choice for Danny so they worked together to help Ryder turn into the performer they knew he could be. After the show on opening night Blaine was surprised by Sebastian, who he’d told not to bother coming as he was only in one scene. 

Sebastian knew the drive over was worth it when he saw Blaine’s smile and eyes light up, glowing pure gold. He told Blaine Teen Angel had saved the day and gave him a single white carnation as a token of luck for the other shows, the other meaning of the flower, of pure love, didn’t go completely unnoticed by Blaine, but he thought he was reading too much into it. Sebastian then told Blaine that although he made a particularly hot Teen Angel, he better not go back to using that much gel full time as he’d grown particularly fond of Blaine’s curls, causing the shorter boy to blush. They parted ways as Sebastian had to go to get back to Dalton before curfew and Sam and Blaine had the drive back to Blaine’s house and an early start in the morning. The ridiculous thing was Blaine’s house was actually closer to Dalton than McKinley, meaning the two had to be out the house early in order to make it to school on time. 

Over the next few weeks Sebastian and Blaine talk a lot via messages, calls and Skype. They go on several dates to the cinema, colour me mine and this old book store Blaine is in love with, that Sebastian also falls for. The dates go well and the feelings they both have for the other develop deeper and deeper. Blaine is wanting to ask Sebastian to be officially boyfriends but doesn’t want to move too fast and scare the other off so he decides to wait for the taller boy to make the move but hopes it won’t be long. With each date comes another kiss, each getting deeper and more intense and Blaine doesn’t know how much longer he can last by simply kissing Sebastian, he wants and needs more. Sebastian is also feeling exactly the same way but doesn’t want to push Blaine too quickly so is also holding back.


	12. Thanksgiving

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And they shall be known as Blam...

The graduates bar Kurt and Rachel return home for Thanksgiving and come to mentor the New Directions. Kitty is hosting a late Halloween party the next weekend, as nobody had a free house around the actual holiday (Blaine not wanting to open his up to that) and Quinn and Santana are invited as they’ll still be around in Lima. Kitty tells Blaine to invite his new boy toy causing him to blush and Santana and Quinn beam with smiles. The other Warblers Blaine is close to also get an invite as Kitty says they need some new meat as the McKinley offerings are slim pickings.

Sebastian and the invited Warblers all agree to go even if they’re not all particularly keen on going in costume. When they arrive at the party they see Santana, Quinn and Brittney are dressed in not much and aren’t sure what they’re meant to be, but are caught up in a game of twister with what turns out to be Blaine and Sam. Sebastian definitely appreciates Blaine’s outfit, a modified Dean costume with cat ears; admittedly he doesn’t really understand what Blaine is, but he appreciates the skin tight costume, particularly at the angle Blaine is. Sam appears to be an Avatar creature or something; he has clip on hair and is topless having painted his torso blue. 

Kitty comes up and gives them all a drink, just as Santana and Quinn get knocked down. They see Sebastian standing with the rest of the Warblers so decide to go over.

“Satan, just what are three you meant to be?”

“We’re the unholy trinity lurch; I could ask you the same question.”

“I’m a dark knight, what exactly is Blaine meant to be?” Sebastian asks as he tilts his head to the side.

Quinn answers, “That would be kitten boy; don’t worry, we don’t exactly get it either. But by the looks of it he’s using the fit of his costume to his full advantage to win.”  
They turned to see Blaine in a position that was only made possible by the costumes flexibility. He and Sam were tangled around Brittney in such a way that whatever move she had to make next would mean she went down, leaving them victorious.

“What exactly are they doing?” Thad questions.

Santana went onto explain, “It’s team Twister, the team with the last remaining person wins; normal Twister rules but you get to work together to your advantage, which those two clearly are and you get more points if all your team members win that you can trade in for forfeits the other team have to complete.” At that Brittney went down and the boys stood whooping and bumped chests. Sam then chucked a protective arm around Blaine’s shoulder, which had become a regular occurrence since he found out about Sadie Hawkins, and the other around Brittney’s waist, both of who had smudges of blue on their costumes where they’d come into contact with Sam. Before the three had a chance to fully notice the group of Warblers had arrived Sugar came in announcing the arrival of Blaine and Sam. Everyone looked confused and then turned to the door to see Jake dressed as Blaine and Ryder dressed as Sam, complete with arm around Jake.

Music started and they went into a rendition of ‘Guy love’ having modified any mention of Turk and JD to Blaine and Sam, and ‘chocolate bear’ to ‘coffee bear’. The line ‘you’re the only man who’s ever been inside of me…Woah I just took out his appendix’ was also changed to ‘you’re the only man who’s ever spooned in bed with me...Woah we just fell asleep watching Avatar.” By the end of the song almost everyone in the room was laughing apart from Blaine and Sam who had now separated and were stood awkwardly and obviously embarrassed. Santana didn’t look particularly pleased, neither did Sebastian or Kitty. The problem was the guys didn’t know everything that had happened to Blaine, including the whole Kurt thing so just didn’t get why Sam appeared so touchy with him, even though it was in a completely protective platonic way.

As the laughter died down tension came across the room until Sam broke it. “Yeah well you two are just jealous as you don’t have a friendship this awesome. Blaine’s my best bro and I’m not afraid to show it. It’s not my fault you two don’t have the same levels of awesome as us.” Sam throws his arm back round Blaine’s shoulders.

“Man, just because you hug a lot doesn’t mean you’re better friends than we are.” Ryder replies.

Before they knew it Santana, Quinn, Kitty, Marley, Tina and Artie were all creating a set of questions to determine who the better set of friends were. While they were doing that Blaine made his way up to Sebastian. 

“You alright B?”

“I don’t know. That just all seemed a bit weird; we’re just friends who are close, probably more than most because we live together but we’re not that bad.”

“They were just having a joke. Plus if Sam goes into protective mode around school with an arm over your shoulder most of the time they don’t know why, so to them it probably is funny.”

“Huh, I hadn’t thought of it like that. You do know that Sam is just my friend though right, nothing more…and it’s not just because he’s straight, I don’t see him any other way either.”

Blaine’s anxious rambling causes a soft smile to take over Sebastian’s face, “Don’t worry Killer I know.” He says while cupping Blaine’s cheek with one hand and tracing his cheek bone with his thumb. “Have I told you how hot you look like that? The ears add a certain something.” He adds with a wink. The exchange had been caught by Santana, Quinn and the Warblers who were getting everyone in place to start the competition. None of them had ever seen Sebastian look at anybody in the same way they had witnessed him look at Blaine. It became clear why Blaine and Sebastian seemed to fit so well to them in that moment, both let the other see underneath their guard when they thought nobody else was around or paying any attention. Tina seemed to either not notice or chose to ignore the whole transaction, being a little bitter and confused as to why he and the Warblers had been invited, even though it hadn’t exactly been kept a secret that Blaine and Sam had been hanging out with them or that Blaine had been on dates with Sebastian.  
Blaine and Sam went on to win the ‘who are the best friends’ competition and were officially dubbed as Blam from that day on.

XXXXXXX  
A Sadie Hawkins dance gets organised for the school – Sam, Brittney and Kitty are worried for Blaine. Tina’s crush is getting worse and Blaine is worried she will ask him to the dance and he won’t be able to say no. Sam and Brittney get Blaine to ask Sebastian to the dance while Kitty asks Puck to go with her. Blaine tells Sebastian about the dance, and before Blaine even has the chance to ask him to go Sebastian has jumped in asking when and what time he should pick Blaine up.

When Tina goes to ask Blaine to the dance she is upset at first to learn that Blaine is going with someone else, Sebastian of all people. As she starts going into a flying rage, which pulls Kitty into an argument and most of the other ND members who all agree Blaine should be able to date who he wants, Sam pulls her to the side and fills her in on what else has been going on and explains Blaine hadn’t said anything to her directly as he didn’t want to hurt her feelings, though it’s not as if he’d been keeping the fact the he’s been dating Sebastian a secret. Sam also says he thinks Sebastian is a good guy if you give him the chance to get to know him and points out he’s just like Santana and Kitty with his snarky comments. Plus he thinks the other Warblers are cool guys and that she should get to know them as the two teams coming together would mean more to Blaine than he’d ever say. She agrees to be civil with Sebastian, but only for Blaine’s sake.

Blaine and Tina talk about everything and Tina realises Sebastian makes Blaine really happy and feels jealous but knows it’s best for her friend. Tina asks Blaine if any other Warblers will be going to the dance. Blaine says he’s sure Thad wants to come and sets him up as Tina’s date thinking they’d hit it off. Nick and Jeff ask if they can come too and Blaine can’t think of a reason why not. Trent also seems to have invited himself. Sam is glad to see the guys again and Britt is looking forward to seeing the flock.


	13. Sadie Hawkins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And Seblaine!

The Warblers turn up to Blaine’s house to pick everyone up, as they were all getting ready there. They go in two cars. Sebastian keeps making comments about going to a public school dance but Blaine shoots them all down, making everyone laugh. Brittney sorted the theme – a winter wonderland and Sebastian has to admit that the school gym actually looks pretty good considering the budget. The glee club are all taking in turns to sing to provide the entertainment. 

Sebastian can tell Blaine is a bit nervous about being at the Sadie Hawkins dance but starts a commentary on all the dancing going on round them to take Blaine’s mind off it. Blaine introduces Sebastian to other members of New Directions, who they dance with for a while and thinks he can see why Blaine stayed at McKinley after all, though he’d never admit it or understand the dynamic of the New Directions; they seemed to be so dysfunctional they actually functioned. 

It’s Blaine’s turn to perform with some of the guys from glee. Sebastian joins Tina and Brittney with the other Warblers at the front for the performance of ‘No Scrubs’. Sebastian loves the performance, particularly Blaine’s part. Jeff and Nick tease Blaine for the sexy dancing; saying they never would have thought it when he started Dalton those few years ago.

Tina confronts Sebastian about why he hasn’t asked Blaine to be his boyfriend officially or exclusively yet. 

“Why haven’t you asked Blaine to be your boyfriend yet?”

“Well blowing-wang, that’s not really any of your business now is it?”

“He’s my best friend and it’s getting to him so I’m making it my business. So are you scared or just going to miss being able to have other guys around?”

“If this was bothering him, why wouldn’t he just talk to me about it and for the record, there isn’t anyone else, again not that it’s your business, but I would never do that to Blaine. I would never treat him like gayface did.”

“He hasn’t said anything because he’s scared of how you’d react; he doesn’t want to push you before you’re ready.” Realisation hit Tina, “Oh my god! You’re doing the same thing! You don’t want to rush him either, seriously for two clever guys you are both idiots. You do realise you’re going to have to be the one to sort this out though.”

“Really, why don’t you enlighten me?”

“You’ve never wanted to be anyone’s boyfriend before Sebastian and Blaine’s got this idea in his head that if he pushes you too soon he’ll end up losing you. You can see why he’d be scared of getting hurt. Plus he’s ridiculously stubborn…I’d hurry up about it though because while you’re just dating and doing this whole no labels ‘not-boyfriends’ thing, there’s nothing to stop other guys trying to make their move and not even Blaine will wait around forever.”

That was the final straw for Sebastian; he’d never done possessiveness of jealousy before; that would require caring, but at that moment the idea of another guy trying to hit on Blaine and him having no rights over him sent a jolt of white light through him. Quickly scanning the room he saw Blaine stood by the punch bowl talking to a woman who turns out to be Coach Sue and makes his way over.

As he gets close to Blaine his focus is snatched away by the woman in the matching tracksuit. “Is that lube in your hair? God I can smell your desperation from here.” Sebastian is shocked for a moment but before he can retaliate Blaine cuts in.

“Coach, do you mind if I steal this guy a way for a moment?”

“Why would I care about your indiscretions Young Burt Reynolds? Now move; your cologne is making me sick.”

Blaine takes Sebastian’s hand and starts to move them away, before Sebastian remembers why he went over in the first place and takes control, heading for a quiet corner.   
“Sorry, but actually that was pretty tame for Sue.”

“So she’s the famous Cheerios coach…Why didn’t you tell me B, you know I have no idea what I’m doing?”

“Huh? Bas I think you might have to fill me in a bit first.”

“That you…you know, want to make this” Sebastian says gesturing between the two of them with his spare hand, “Official.”

Blaine’s eyes bug out as he shifts uncomfortably. “Well…because…you see…”

“Jesus killer don’t hurt yourself” Blaine rolls his eyes and playfully shoves Sebastian’s chest. Sebastian catches Blaine’s free hand with his own so they were now stood face-to-face with their hands linked. “I don’t know about all this stuff, I’ve never done it before, I’ve never wanted to do it before, but with you it’s different.” Sebastian lets go of Blaine’s hands to gently cup his face. “I didn’t think I’d ever ask anyone this, but you’ve ruined me B, you know there isn’t anyone else, so what do you say? How about we make this official and you become my boyfriend?”

Blaine stands frozen for a moment staring deeply into Sebastian’s eyes before his arms make their way to loop round Sebastian’s neck as they share a deep kiss.

Sebastian pulls away laughing softly, “Can I take that as a yes then?”

“Yes you idiot” Blaine says breathlessly before pulling Sebastian back down for another kiss, which was much softer and sweeter.

Tina sees them from across the gym and gives the boys thumbs up. Blaine looks confused and Sebastian admits she might have given him the kick he needed.

Puck finds them and pulls Blaine to one side, telling him they’re still bros and that Finn had told him everything. “Hey man, look Finn told me everything, but even if you had just gone and got yourself some, we’d still be bros. You know I was never really friends with Kurt, I mean we have seriously nothing in common he was always one of the girls, he never wanted to do anything fun, but you’re one of the guys.” This causes Sebastian to snicker to himself. “Plus I heard about what happened at Breadsticks; do you know who those guys were? I still have our paintball guns from that night at the golf course; we could totally go shoot them up!”

“Actually I have no idea who they were…Wait you still have the guns? I thought you were going to put them back.”

“Yeah I kind of forgot, anyway I’ll see you at New Year’s yes? I’ve already got some booze lined up so let me know the plans. Anyway, I better go find Kitty…Oh if you’re driving you might want to keep away from the punch.” Puck winks.

Sebastian looks round at Blaine, “Care to tell me about that night on the golf course?”

“It was nothing really, me, Mike, Sam and Puck went and had a game of paintball on the golf course between here and Westerville one night. Though to be fair I didn’t know it was a golf course until I fell in the bunker.”  
Sebastian laughs, looping his arms round Blaine’s waist. “I remember my dad moaning about that! I’d never have thought you’d be one of the hooligans, public school is a bad influence on you killer.”

“Maybe…but I’d say you’re the worst one.” Blaine hooks his fingers through Sebastian’s belt loops and pulls so their bodies are flush and moves his hands under Sebastian’s jacket, one running up and down the length of his spine and the other resting with his thumb hooked over his belt. Blaine stands on his toes to whisper into Sebastian’s ear in a seductive tone, “Come dance with me.”

Sebastian loved this glimmer of Blaine’s sexual side, “If that’s what my influence does to you, you won’t get any complaints from me.” 

XXXXXXX  
As the dance drawers to an end they all drive back to Blaine’s. Sam and Brittney head up to his room and the rest take the living room. Blaine and Sebastian head upstairs and spend the night making out and cuddling on Blaine’s bed in their boxers. Things get heated and soon they’re rubbing against each other for friction until they both find their release. They clean themselves up and change into clean briefs. When back in bed, Sebastian pulls Blaine close to his chest and can’t get over the feeling of wanting to hold Blaine as close as possible. At that moment he knew he was gone; he’d never wanted to hold, or god forbid cuddle, with someone before. Blaine couldn’t be happier, he was naturally a very tactile person and loved cuddling. He also felt very protected and loved lying in Sebastian’s arms; it felt like the most natural thing in the world.

In the morning Sebastian awakes feeling very hot with a heavy weight covering his body. He opens his eyes slowly, smiling as he looks down at a head of dark curls that had broken out of the products soft hold so were sticking in every direction. He wraps his arms even tighter around Blaine’s warm body with a content sigh, feeling his boyfriend shift a little.

Blaine mumbles into his chest through a small yawn “Morning”.

“Morning” Sebastian murmurs back, running the tips of his fingers gently up and down Blaine’s bare back, relishing in the way his body responds.

Blaine nuzzles into Sebastian’s chest, before pushing himself up and rolling to Sebastian’s side and tangles their limbs together, forcing his boyfriend to roll onto his side too so they’re chest to chest. A warm, dopey grin spreads across his face though his eyes stay closed.

“What’s that grin for?” Sebastian chuckles breathily and rubs his nose against Blaine’s jaw line.

“You,” Blaine replies, his honey-gold eyes finally opening his eyes.

“Understandable,” Sebastian winks, pulling Blaine’s body even tighter against his own.

“Mmmm you’re so warm,” Blaine chuckles and nuzzles his face into the crook of Sebastian's neck before looking up at his boyfriend. 

Sebastian hums in response, resting his hand flat on the small of Blaine’s back, just above the waistband of his boxer briefs.

“Breakfast?” Blaine asks softly, his hand curling over Sebastian’s hip, his thumb tracing the bone.

“In a minute,” Sebastian replies. He just wants to look at Blaine for a moment having never felt so at peace and not quite believing last night was real.

Blaine whines, “Stop staring at me,” with a bashful smile.

“Nope...you're mine to stare at now killer and besides it's your fault for being so exquisite,” Sebastian whispers catching Blaine off guard and causing him to blush. Sebastian leans down for a kiss and intertwines their hands beneath the blankets, resting them on their hips where they are pressed together. “Although I did expect you to wake up, jumping out of bed singing with birds flying through the window to dress you” he teases.

“Shut up,” Blaine groans, “You’ve seen me wake up before”

“Yes but this time you’re not hung-over” Sebastian teases, causing Blaine to hide his face in his chest. Sebastian’s hands start exploring Blaine’s body again, fingers splaying with firm pressure trying to take everything in and then Blaine twitches uncontrollably as Sebastian’s fingers dig into his side at the bottom of his rib cage. “Are you okay?”

Blaine smiles back, but it’s a little forced, “I’m fine”

Curiosity gets the better out of Sebastian so he digs his fingers in again but doesn’t relent and Blaine starts laughing hard as his body contorts and jerks, tears quickly forming and streaming down his cheeks. Sebastian straddles Blaine as he rolls onto his back and starts a double assault, tickling both of Blaine’s sides at once, marvelling at how melodic his laugh is and how carefree he looks in that moment, “Bastian please!” Blaine gasps out. Sebastian can’t help but laugh at Blaine and keeps up his tickle assault, “Bas!” Blaine gasps again and is obviously struggling for air as he tries to stop his boyfriend’s hands.

Sebastian stops and lies down on top of Blaine before he can roll away, completely blanketing his body with his own, “What’s that pout for?”

“You were mean” Blaine pouts and Sebastian leans down to kiss him, but he quickly turns his head away, stopping the kiss.

“Now who’s being mean?” Sebastian asks as he raises his eyebrows in amusement.

“I’m not sure you…” Blaine’s cut off as Sebastian steals a kiss, “Deserve kisses” Blaine frowns.

“I always deserve kisses killer” Sebastian whispers seductively as he nips at Blaine’s ear, “Besides, I can’t tell you’re enjoying it…you’re poking me” he says sucking at his boyfriend’s neck lightly.

“And you me” Blaine says softly as he tilts his head to give Sebastian better access.

“So the question is…what are we going to do about it?” Sebastian nibbles along Blaine’s jaw.

They are interrupted by a loud bang and a crash from downstairs and Sebastian throws his head back in frustration, annoyance apparent in his eyes, “Come on killer, let’s go see what those morons are up to” he sighs with frustration.

Blaine lowers his head as Sebastian rolls off him, “I’m sorry”

“What are you sorry for?” Sebastian asks as he pulls his pants on, “Blaine what do you have to be sorry for?” he asks again when Blaine doesn’t look up, but his boyfriend’s head stays down. Sebastian takes a deep breath then sits on the bed next to his boyfriend and pulls him into him and realises Blaine’s reciting times tables under his breath so decides to throw him off, “13”.

“What?” Blaine looks up in confusion.

“I could ask you the same thing…what’s with the times tables?”

“I guess it’s like a focusing technique” Blaine shrugs.

“Huh I thought it would be song lyrics”

Blaine chuckles a little and relaxes into Sebastian’s embrace, “No…I can’t forget times tables.”

“And you can lyrics?”

“More than you might think”

Sebastian presses a kiss to the top of Blaine’s head, “You’re an enigma Blaine Anderson…but why did you shut off like that?”

“You were angry”

“Not angry…more frustrated…and not at you”

“Maybe they did us a favour” Blaine sighs

“Go on” Sebastian encourages when his boyfriend doesn’t elaborate.

“Well I’d rather our first time not be when the house is full” When Sebastian stays silent Blaine feels panic starting to build again, “Sorry”.

“And why are you apologising now?”

“Because I just said I’d rather not have sex now? I don’t know…why didn’t you say anything?”

Sebastian shifts and cups Blaine’s head firmly but not tightly, tilting his face up to get eye contact, “Okay first things first, we will not do anything you are not comfortable with or ready for. You aren’t a notch on my bedpost and I will never be annoyed at you for wanting to wait or not do something…and believe it or not I actually agree…last night was amazing and when we do more I want to take my time and enjoy each other. Not have some quickie when we have to keep quiet and could get interrupted at any moment. We’ll have plenty of opportunities for those times, but not for our first.”

“Really?” 

“Really…I’ve wanted you the moments I laid eyes on you killer…so when I get you I want to savour the moment and make it one neither of us will ever forget.”

“You said I’m not a notch”

“You’re not…I wouldn’t care about it being memorable or anything more than a way to get off with a notch.” Sebastian tells Blaine honestly as he needs him to understand the difference.

Another loud bang sounds, “Oh my god what are they actually doing down there?” Blaine groans this time with frustration and jumps up, pulling on some jeans and a t-shirt as Sebastian finishes getting dressed. Before they leave the room Blaine turns back to his boyfriend to give him a kiss on the cheek, stopping himself from saying the three little words that he’s screaming to let out. Another bang sees Blaine running for the stairs and shouting, “If you guys have broken anything you will pay…and I don’t just mean with your money!” he threatens. Sebastian can’t help but smirk from behind Blaine, loving this side of him.


	14. Unmeant confessions

A few weeks later and Tina is round at Blaine’s house. Sebastian lets himself in and Sam tells him Blaine’s upstairs. When Sebastian reaches the top of the stairs he hears Tina – great just what he needs when he’s trying to surprise his boyfriend. He knows he shouldn’t but he can’t help but listen.

“What do you mean you and Sebastian haven’t had sex yet? It’s Sebastian!”

“Yeah thanks for clearing that up Tina, I hadn’t noticed until now. We just haven’t okay? He said I was setting the pace and that he wouldn’t push.”

“So you don’t want to have sex with him?”

“No of course I do…”

“But?”

“I’m scared he doesn’t want to. What if I’m a let-down and it ruins everything? I mean each time we get close he pulls away.”

“Have you actually told him you’re ready?”

“No…”

“Then maybe he’s pulling away because he doesn’t want to get to a point of no return and for you to regret it. Yeah he may have more experience but have you considered he might be nervous too, that this is the first time it will matter to him?”

“No…I…”

“Okay so you know it’s not too soon. You’ve been together longer than you’ve been together, even I know that and everyone knows I took a while to catch on...Look you need to talk to him. And don’t over think it! It’s about time you got yourself some good sex.”

“Tina…” Blaine warns

“Oh come on, we both know sex with Kurt wasn’t exactly inspiring.”

“I never said it was bad.”

“You didn’t have to. Who describes sex as nice? Sex should never be just nice! It should be loving, passionate, hot, going to rip each other apart you can’t get enough, but not nice.” Tina says with a hint of disgust.

“I can’t believe I told you any of that.”

“Yeah well a bottle of wine down and you talk, you would never make a real spy.”

“Super heroes and spies are different, we’ve gone over that…But what if it wasn’t good because of me?”

“Well now you’ve admitted it wasn’t good I guess we’re making progress. Seriously though stop thinking about it. You need to talk to Sebastian and then when it is right let it happen, if you worry too much you won’t be able to enjoy it and then neither will he.”

“I never worried before, but...”

“Seriously Blaine no buts; well except for you delicious perky behind.”

“Oh my god Tina shut up!”

“What? Seriously have you seen your ass? Hmm maybe you will finally be able to be with someone who’s as packing as you? Maybe that was the problem.”

“I’m sorry what?”

“Okay so we know Kurt wasn’t exactly generously packaged, and don’t even try to deny it!”

“How do you know?”

“I used to date Mike, I’ve heard the guys talk about the locker rooms, and now you’ve just confirmed it... I also know you’re not called the tripod for nothing.”

“Erm…I don’t know what you’re talking about...”

“Sure you don’t. I can’t forget the amount of lifts I gave Mike and Puck after they’d been out drinking. Obviously it always worked out for me, if you know what I mean, but you’re not the only one who likes to talk after a drink. You may not be Mike Chang, but let’s face it he’s in proportion, you on the other hand Blaine Devon Anderson, are apparently generously favoured, that added to your height makes you the ‘tripod’, their words not mine.”

“I’ve never been so embarrassed in my life!” Sebastian could practically hear Blaine blushing and knew he would be leaning his face into his hands.

“Trust me it’s nothing to be embarrassed about”, Tina says in a teasing tone. “Look I’ve got to go but promise me next time you see him you will talk to him!”

“Fine” Blaine huffs

“Love you Blink”

“Love you Tay” Blaine replies grumpily.

Sebastian goes to move away to make it look like he was only just coming up the stairs but from the look Tina gives him he was sure she knew he’d been listening.

“Oh hi Sebastian” Tina says too loudly to be natural. Yep she knew.

Sebastian walks into Blaine’s room, to meet a wide eyed and blushing Blaine.

“I didn’t think I was going to get to see you this weekend.”

“Yeah, well I wanted to surprise you.”

“Well you succeeded.”

“Tina’s right you know…you should talk to me.”

“How much did you hear….God you heard everything didn’t you?” Blaine flushes bright red and hides his face in his hands.

“And you definitely don’t have to be embarrassed. I’m not sure if I would have come up with ‘tripod’ myself but I know it is a pretty accurate description”, he adds with a wink. 

“Maybe I should be the one to worry, Mike Chang?”

“Haha yeah…well just for the record, you’re every bit a Mike Chang as the original.” Blaine says blushingly.

Sebastian tries not to look too pleased, but after all his suspicions about Hummel had been confirmed and he had to agree with Blaine – after the guys he’d been with he knew he was well favoured and now he knew Blaine had also noticed. He may not have had sex with Blaine yet but he’d seen and felt enough to know that what Tina said had been true, though he wouldn’t have gone with ‘tripod’ himself, he knew it was a pretty good d


	15. The next step

Sebastian takes Blaine to a park outside of Westerville he’s never been to, or really knew existed and passes Blaine a back pack to carry, taking another one himself. They walk up the hill for a while before Sebastian stops and tells Blaine to wait, taking the rucksacks. When Sebastian says he’s ready Blaine follows where he saw his boyfriend disappear into and is amazed to see cushions and blankets on a secluded shelf in the hill with flasks of coffee and what he later finds out is chicken noodle soup. 

They talk some more and enjoy cuddling closely together with the blankets pulled tight to protect them from the winter chill. With Blaine sat on Sebastian’s lap they have a heart to heart about what they’ve both experienced sexually to know where the other stands. Although both find the conversation a little embarrassing they are happy at how easy it is to talk to each other like that. Blaine finds out that although Sebastian has more experience, it isn’t as much as Blaine had thought, plus Sebastian hadn’t bottomed before as he’d never been with someone he trusted to consider doing it with until Blaine. This makes his heart swell with the amount of trust Sebastian must place in him to feel that way. Blaine admits he has bottomed before but the experiences have been very few and they always left him feeling unfulfilled as he didn’t really get any pleasure from it. At that moment Sebastian promises to himself that he would give Blaine the experience he deserves. It is clear nobody has appreciated Blaine’s body the way they should and he was going to do everything he could to rectify that.

They get back to Blaine’s after being out all day and Sebastian produces tests to show he’s clean and explains that although he’s always been safe, he wanted to make sure as the last thing he wanted was to hurt Blaine. Sebastian also admits he hadn’t hooked up with anyone even before they had started properly dating, when he’d realised his feelings for Blaine, even though he never thought they’d be returned, as it made random hook-ups unfulfilling as they weren’t who he wanted. 

Blaine pulls Sebastian onto the bed so Sebastian is on top of him for a deep and passionate kiss, wrapping his legs around his boyfriend’s waist tightly.  
“Bastian” Blaine moans and pulls Sebastian down so they’re flushed perfectly against each other. Sebastian’s breathing hitches slightly as he feels Blaine straining against his pants, their erections brushing together blissfully even through the layers. “I want you”, Blaine whimpers rocking up against Sebastian.

“Blaine we don’t have to…I didn’t give you the results to make this happen.”

“Bas...”

“I just don’t want you to do anything you’re going to regret.”

“I won’t…I want this Bastian…I want you…I know you’ll take care of me” Blaine whispers seductively; his eyes dark and fully blown with lust and want. The last of Sebastian’s resolve melts as Blaine’s hands sneak under his shirt and start mapping his body. He nods, mumbling in agreement, skimming his fingers over Blaine’s smooth skin where his polo had ridden up.

“You’re so fucking beautiful,” Sebastian murmurs with a soft genuine smile, both of their shirts, pants and boxer briefs finding their way onto the floor. They both pause to look at each other, fingers tracing over bare bodies slowly, taking in every inch and committing it to memory. Sebastian pushes Blaine back onto his back, his eyes locked on his boyfriend’s as they slot together and kiss passionately. In answer to the silent question Blaine reaches over and pulls out lube and a condom out from his bedside cabinet. Sebastian gives him a deep kiss before making his way down Blaine’s body, sucking and kissing as he goes.

Sebastian hovers above Blaine’s fully hard cock and gives the head a kiss before taking it in his mouth fully, causing Blaine’s head to push back into the pillows with a moan, his first real experience at being deep throated. Gradually Sebastian picks up the pace and brings Blaine close to the edge, before stopping and releasing his cock with a loud pop, causing the shorter to whine, part in frustration but also a little in embarrassment at the noises that had been escaping him. Sebastian reaches for the bottle of lube and locks eyes with Blaine, who nods in confirmation and encouragement. After coating his fingers in lube and warming them slightly Sebastian teases Blaine’s hole before pushing one in. From how tight Blaine is and how long it takes him to relax Sebastian knew he really hadn’t done this much before and is determined to make this an experience he would want to have again and again. 

To help Blaine relax, Sebastian begins sucking his cock once more, moving his finger slowly and adding another, taking his time stretching Blaine out and enjoying the sounds that are escaping his mouth. Sebastian feels a sharp tug at his hair and looks up to see Blaine completely undone.

“Bas...I’m going to…” Sebastian simply hums round Blaine’s cock. “Fuck Sebastian!” Blaine moans loudly as he came hard into Sebastian’s mouth, who swallows every last drop. This was one of the things Sebastian loved about being with Blaine; he could swallow and be swallowed in turn. For all the times he’d had his dick sucked or sucked someone he would never swallow for not knowing what the other person could have, and would always use protection if he was the giver. In fact he could count on one hand the amount of times he’d gone without and that was only because he knew the person. Sebastian climbs back up Blaine’s body to give him a deep kiss. “That was amazing,” Blaine breathes against Sebastian’s mouth.

“Nobody’s ever done that for you have they B? Swallowed I mean, though you should only do it with someone you know it’s safe with.” The comment makes Blaine blush and try to hide his face. “Hey, shhh,” Sebastian says softly as he traces a thumb over Blaine’s cheek bone, the rest of his long piano fingers wrapping round the back of Blaine’s head and playing with the curls at the nape of his neck. “It doesn’t matter.”

Blaine closes his eyes and hums as he turns his face into Sebastian’s touch. When he opens his eyes he’s met by striking green staring back at him.

“What is it B?”

Blaine pulls Sebastian back down so he is flush against him once more; turning his face to hide in the taller boy’s neck. “That was amazing Bas…I don’t think I’ve ever come so hard….but I kind of want to know what it would feel like to have you inside me….what it would feel like to come with you inside me.”

Through Blaine’s confession Sebastian ran his fingers comfortingly through Blaine’s curls, scraping slightly at his scalp. Then it dawned on him…Blaine had never come with someone inside him; that’s why all of his bottom experiences had been unfulfilling. Feeling slightly overwhelmed with the trust Blaine is putting in him Sebastian kisses the top of his head then moves them so he can stare into his eyes. “Don’t worry B, you will, we’re only just getting started…I told you I wanted to take my time with you…with us.” With that Sebastian crashes their lips together, which Blaine eagerly reciprocates, wrapping his legs round Sebastian’s waist again with his hands exploring his body. 

Sebastian sucks on the sensitive area below Blaine’s ear, leaving a mark he was sure would bruise, before kissing up his jaw and claiming his mouth again. Sebastian sits back and rolls the condom on with before covering his length with lube, wanting to make this the best possible experience for Blaine. He positions himself above his boyfriend, who gives him a smile in reassurance, and pushes slowly in, letting Blaine adjust around him. When he’s fully in he gently lowers himself gently and kisses Blaine softly but passionately. He feels and hears Blaine whisper into his ear “Bas…move”.

Sebastian starts slowly at first, gradually building up speed and force as he watches Blaine’s facial expressions for signs. He was feeling himself get close as Blaine began to tighten around him so wrapped a hand around Blaine’s cock and stroked in time with his thrusts. “Let go B…come for me” Sebastian commands with a warm but firm tone Blaine decides he would never be able to say no to. Blaine’s orgasm goes crashing through his body, making his muscles clamp even tighter around Sebastian, causing the taller to get his own release, deep inside his boyfriend.

Sebastian collapses on top of Blaine before gently pulling out after a few moments, chucking the condom in the trash can and wiping the come of his and Blaine’s bodies with tissues. He lies down on his back and pulls the shorter so he’s lying on top of him with his head resting on his chest. Both lay there for a while; tangled together as Sebastian runs his fingers through Blaine’s curls again, who nuzzles against his chest and into his neck.

“I didn’t know it could feel like that B” Sebastian says with a calm, content tone.

Blaine moves his head on Sebastian’s chest so he can look into the others eyes, “What you mean face-to-face?” Blaine deadpans cheekily.

“Haha very funny” Sebastian says with soft sarcasm and playfully flicks Blaine’s forehead.

Blaine rests his cheek back on Sebastian’s chest before continuing in a contented ramble, “I know what you mean though. That was incredible; you were incredible. It’s never been like that before. It’s true; it’s so much more intense when you really l...” Blaine catches himself before he can finish that word, “care about someone.”

“What were you going to say?”

“Nothing…I said it” Blaine adds shiftily, fidgeting on his boyfriend.

Sebastian starts to sing song, “You loooove me, you want to – “but is cut off by Blaine kissing him.

When the kiss breaks both are a little breathless, “So what if I do?” Blaine challenges and then gets extremely nervous as he feels Sebastian tense underneath him. “Bas…please say something. It doesn’t matter, just forget it…I know it’s too soon.” Blaine goes to roll away but Sebastian pulls him back and holds him close while trying to control his own fears and emotions.

“Well…what if you weren’t the only one who felt the same way?”

“Seriously…because if you’re messing around this isn’t funny and don’t just say it because you think you should.”

“I’m not. Truthfully I’ve never felt this way before, and it scares the crap out of me and it’s hard to believe you could feel the same way. But I think it’s pretty safe to say I ‘l’ you too Blaine Anderson. And I have no idea if it’s too soon or not, but let’s face it; this has been going on a lot longer than we’ve been together.”

Blaine’s smile grows impossibly wide and soon they are kissing again deeply, with love and passion and lust. Sebastian reaches for another condom in Blaine’s bedside table and is confused when Blaine tells him not to. 

“How would you feel about trying it without that?” Blaine asks shyly.

“Are you serious?” Sebastian says with a hint of disbelief.

“Yeah I’ve never done it without before but we’re both clean and I’ve thought about how it would feel to have you and only you inside me and how it would feel when you…” Blaine trails off blush kissing his cheeks.

Sebastian growls “You want to feel me come inside you?”

Blaine nods and that’s all it takes for Sebastian to pounce on top of him for the start of round two, which is a new experience for them both. Sebastian slicks up his cock and kisses Blaine as he slowly starts to push in again. Blaine squeezes his eyes shut, a quiet groan stuck in his throat as Sebastian rocks his hips gently when he’s bottomed out, giving Blaine a short moment to adjust again before starting to slowly thrust. “You’re just so fucking gorgeous” Sebastian whispers, sounding slightly awed as he leans forward to kiss Blaine’s forehead. Blaine lowers his eyes in embarrassment as he circles Sebastian’s neck with his arms and waist with his legs.

Blaine realises even more that the true bliss he feels is because he’s never felt closer or more intimately connected to someone than he does Sebastian right now, maybe because he can feel each rippled vein clearer. He loves the feeling of Sebastian’s teeth nipping over his skin and the safety he feels when Sebastian’s hands cover his skin is a feeling he’s never experienced before.

Sebastian hums and lowers his head slightly, making eye contact with Blaine before burying his face into his neck, “You have no idea how good this feels.”

“I have an idea…but it’d feel even better if you moved more”

“Bossy” Sebastian teases, nipping at Blaine’s neck before kissing him messily. Sebastian picks up the pace, going faster and faster and harder and harder until each thrust is forcing air from his boyfriend. Blaine cries out loudly as he shatters apart with the force of his orgasm and squeezes Sebastian's hips with such force bruises will surely form. Sebastian is only a few thrusts behind, his face pressed into Blaine’s sweaty neck as his hips shudder, his shoulders shake and his mouth closes absently against Blaine’s skin, tasting and marking some more. Blaine grabs at Sebastian weakly as he pulls out, though he does appreciate being cleaned up. Blaine's heart flutters in his chest when Sebastian covers his body with kisses and touches, soaking him in warmth and happiness before pulling the comforter back over them and tangles their limbs again.

“Well you’ve done it now killer, after experiencing that, I never want to go back.”

“Who says you have to? You aren’t the only one that felt amazing for…and it’s just the two of us and we’re both clean.”

“You’re being serious aren’t you?” It’s not really a question, more a statement of slight shock.

Blaine kisses the corner of Sebastian’s mouth, “Absolutely.” Sebastian grins in response and gives Blaine lazy, sleep filled kisses until they both drift off.

In the morning Sebastian awakes to find Blaine’s still naked body pressed tightly against his chest, holding Sebastian’s hand that’s wrapped round his middle. Sebastian kisses the top of Blaine’s head and nuzzles gently, causing the shorter to stir. Blaine turns round so he and Sebastian are chest to chest before opening his eyes.

Sebastian smiles; Blaine is unbelievably adorable like this. “Hey sleepy head”

“Morning” Blaine murmurs back, his voice still heavy with sleep.

“How are you feeling?” Sebastian says softly as he traces his hand down to the base of Blaine’s spine, letting his fingers glide across the top of the globes of Blaine’s ass.  
A dopey grin creeps across Blaine’s face as he stares into Sebastian’s eyes, “Amazing”

Sebastian chuckles softly, “That’s not quite what I meant B, how are you feeling?” This time Sebastian runs his hand gently over Blaine’s ass, letting his fingers brush over his crack for emphasis.

Blaine rolls his eyes fondly at Sebastian. “I know what you meant, and I stand by my answer, a little bit sore, but absolutely amazing”. 

They lay in bed together for a while perfectly content. Eventually they got up to shower and grab some food before Sebastian had to leave for Dalton mid-afternoon. Both boys had homework to complete for the next day so reluctantly said goodbye.


	16. Friends like these

When Sam gets home with Brittney in tow they head upstairs to say hi to Blaine, who they find sat at his desk staring out the window with a big dopey grin on his face. Sam creeps up behind Blaine, bends down and shouts surprise. Blaine spins round, just managing to stop himself from punching Sam square in the jaw, but instead jumps up and tackles him. Both boys tumble onto Blaine’s bed and start wrestling while Brittney looks on and starts laughing hard. Brittney’s laugh causes the boys to stop fighting each other and each grab hold of one of Brittney’s arms dragging her onto the bed; they pin her down and proceed to take it in turn to kiss her cheeks, causing her to squeal below. 

When they finally stop laughing both boys crash down next to Brittney and rest their heads on her shoulders. Brittney pulls out her phone to take a picture of them, all beaming and ragged looking. She posts the picture and tags it ‘love my boys’. 

The three go downstairs to start making dinner. Blaine going into his own little world again as he starts humming whatever song he has in his head. This was not unusual but the look on his face did not go unnoticed by his friends.

After a while of watching Blaine, Sam speaks up, “So dude, I take it you got some last night?” Sam’s question pulls Blaine back into the present and makes him blush a deep red. His reaction was the only answer Sam and Brittney needed. “Alright man! Come on high five!”

“Sam I am not giving you a ‘sex’ high five”

“Ahh come on dude why not?” Sam says playfully while wiggling his fingers on his raised hand.

Blaine rolls his eyes and caves, smacking Sam’s hand with his own. Brittney gives him an excited hug and a kiss on the cheek. Later that night as they were all getting ready to go to bed, Brittney wondered into Blaine’s room in her pyjamas, who had already changed and was sat in bed reading his book. She made her way over to the bed and climbed in next to Blaine, resting her head on his shoulder.

“You okay Britt?” Blaine asks as he put his book back on his bedside table, folding a corner to keep his place.

“I’m glad you’re happy Blaine Warbler. Pretty bird is good for you.”

Blaine leans his head on top of Brittney’s, “Thanks Britt, I think he is too.”

“You never looked this happy before” Britt feels Blaine tense under her, “Sorry I didn’t mean to make you think of that” Blaine thought it was funny how his relationship with Kurt was now referred to as ‘that’, as though people were too scared to mention it. “You have a special pretty bird smile and he has a special Blaine smile.”

“That’s okay Britt; I know you didn’t mean anything by it. You’re right, I was never this happy with Kurt, even when I thought I was; but everything’s worked out for the best... What did you mean when you said Bas has a special Blaine smile?”

“The way he looks at you silly! He doesn’t look at anyone else like that ever.”

“Can I tell you a secret?” Brittney nods, “He told me he loved me”

Brittney giggles, so Blaine pinches her side gently causing her to squirm a little. “Of course he did! It’s obvious by the way he looks at you and talks to you and touches you. It’s just as obvious as the fact you love him. I hope you told him you do Blaine Warbler…I bet nobody had ever told him that before.”

“Well we can’t all be as clever as you Miss Pierce. I did tell him…I don’t think anybody has ever made me feel as loved or special before, and I hope I made him feel the same way”, Brittney hums happily and nuzzles her head a little against Blaine’s shoulder. There were few people in the world who truly made her feel understood and even a little bit clever and Blaine was one of them; he just seemed to get that she saw the world in a slightly different way and didn’t judge her for it. “Don’t worry narwhal, I’m sure you did.” 

“Awesome! Sleep over night!” Sam exclaims as he crashes onto the bed next to Brittney and leans over to give her and Blaine a kiss on top of their heads. Blaine couldn’t help but smile as he leant across to turn out the light; he had never felt so loved by so many and content at that moment.

Brittney woke up first when light started streaming through the curtains and giggled silently to herself when she realised the position they were in. Sam was spooning Brittney, who was in turn spooning Blaine. She gently reached across Blaine and picked up her cell from where she left it next to his light and took a picture of the three of them that showed how they’d all slept, tagging it ‘never slept better’. She then reached out in front and took a picture of Blaine sleeping; lips slightly parted and messy curls falling forward to rest on his forehead. She decided it was one of the cutest things she’d ever seen and sent it to Sebastian, with the message ‘you’re welcome’.

The alarm went off and Blaine slowly peeled himself out of bed and shuffled across the room into his bathroom, while Sam jumped up and stretched his back. They heard the water start and Blaine letting out a discontent moan and grumbling to himself through the bathroom door. They looked each other and giggled at how Blaine was first thing and how he always needed a few minutes to actually come round. When Sam first moved in and witnessed Blaine being woken by an alarm he swore for a moment that his friend had been turned into a zombie and learnt his lesson to not wake Blaine up one fateful Wednesday morning, something he has since learnt Jeff also found out when he shared a dorm room with Blaine.

Meanwhile at Dalton, Sebastian made his way his down to breakfast after his morning run, grabbed some yoghurt and cereal before making his way to the Warbler’s table. He checked his phone, knowing Blaine would already be on his way to school for Cheerios practice and smiled to see a message from him ‘Good morning. I don’t care if you think it’s sappy I’m going to say it anyway…I love you’ Sebastian fired a message back ‘You wouldn’t be you if you weren’t a sap. I’ll call you later and by the way…I love you too’. He then looked at the message Brittney sent him of a sleeping Blaine and grinned dopily at the photo, making it his wallpaper. The rest of the Warblers certainly noticed Sebastian’s demeanour that morning but knew better than to say anything so all carried on eating their breakfast, looking around at each other.


	17. The holidays

Blaine and Sam get invited to the Warblers Christmas/end of term party. They all get tipsy and Sam says Blaine would never have been a good stripper as although he can dance he wouldn’t have been able to sex it up. They argue and Sam challenges Blaine to a strip off. They stand on a table and start dancing, removing their shirts, surrounded by wolf whistling Warblers. Blaine goes to remove his pants but Sebastian grabs him, slinging him over his shoulder and taking Blaine to his dorm room, ignoring the cat calls and Sam’s triumphant whooping. When they get back to his dorm Sebastian reminds Blaine whose boyfriend he is with endless teasing and kisses and marking down his torso. Sebastian took any control away from his boyfriend by holding Blaine’s hands tightly above his head and pinning his hips down, making him all the more frustrated.  
Sebastian pulls back abruptly, confusing Blaine? “Bastian…are you okay? Why did you stop?” 

Sebastian looks down and can’t help but see the concern in Blaine’s eyes so shakes his head, “Nothing” he reassures and starts sucking just underneath Blaine’s ear, the spot that never fails to get him going as he starts to slowly grind against him.

Blaine lets out a low moan, one that Sebastian has never heard before and this time he knew it wasn’t his mind playing tricks on him. Sebastian pulls back and looks down at Blaine smirking, “You’ve never made that noise before,” he comments, eyes dancing with want and amusement. Blaine blushes and lowers his eyes to avoid Sebastian’s gaze. Sebastian lets go of Blaine’s wrists to pull back a little more, eyes fixed with curiosity, causing Blaine to let out a small, breathy whine.

Sebastian grins victoriously and grabs hold of Blaine’s wrists again to pin him down with the full weight of his body, “That’s it! You like me holding you down.”

Blaine can feel a fierce blush spreading across his face and down his chest but he can’t stop himself from blurting out, “I want you to tie me up,” his eyes showing his pure shock at admitting it out loud.

“You want me…to tie you up?” Sebastian repeats slowly, his mouth going dry as thousands of images start racing through his brain, sending it into overload. 

“We don’t have to but I’ve dreamt about it.” Blaine admits sheepishly and squeezes his eyes shut as his embarrassment grows and overwhelms him.

Sebastian hums thoughtfully and rubs his thumbs over Blaine’s knuckles comfortingly before jumping up off the bed and grabs his tie where it’s strewn over his desk chair. When he turns back he can’t help but chuckle softly as he meets Blaine’s perplexed and anxious gaze. Sebastian strips them both of their remaining clothes then blankets his boyfriend’s body with his own, kissing him deeply before tying he hands to the headboard, causing Blaine to let out another deep, guttural, almost primal moan.

A year ago and Sebastian wouldn’t have dared to dream that he’d have Blaine Anderson spread out naked on his bed, hands tied to the headboard while he made delicious moans and pants. Sebastian was sure that this had to be the best moment of his life so far.

Not wanting to overstep the mark Sebastian asks, “Can I rim you?” Knowing Blaine had never done it or had it done to him before. Blaine lifts his head off the pillow to look at his boyfriend and answers with series of rapid nods.

Sebastian caresses the top inside of Blaine’s thighs as he fucks his tongue into his boyfriend’s hole, slowly, the sight of Blaine pulling hard at his tied arms making him impossibly hard and growl with want. “Fuck, please Bas,” Blaine whines desperately.

Sebastian chuckles, pulling back and replacing his tongue with a finger, quickly adding a second as he leans forward to nibble at Blaine’s ear and whisper, “There’s no way I’m letting you come yet” making Blaine audibly gulp.

Much later that night, they lay together in the bed, limbs tangled with the sheets strewn across them. “That was amazing,” Blaine mumbles against Sebastian’s chest, his eyes already drifting closed.

“You’re incredible killer,” Sebastian replies softly, reaching down to take one of Blaine’s hands, kissing over the red marks on his wrist gently. “Are you alright?” he asks quietly, frowning a little in concern as he realises how deeply the ties had cut into Blaine’s skin.

“Never better,” Blaine grins dopily, tilting his head up to press a gentle kiss to Sebastian’s lips.

“Still, we might want to look into getting something more appropriate,” Sebastian says kissing Blaine’s wrists again. “I do have a problem now though… ach time I wear a Dalton tie all I’m going to be able to think about is you spread out, tied up to my bed looking completely sinful.” 

Blaine giggles softly, already half asleep, “That’s quite a problem Bastian as you wear one almost every day.”

Sebastian hums in response and kisses the top of Blaine’s head before rolling them over so they are on their sides with Blaine pulled back tight against his chest.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX  
Everyone leaves Dalton for home the next day for the Christmas holidays. Sebastian stops by Blaine’s with him as Sam had already left for Kentucky. Sebastian had been planning on going to Paris to visit his mother for part of the holiday but she had called to cancel.

“Are you okay? I know you’d been looking forward to going to Paris.” Blaine says as he wraps his arms around Sebastian.

“I miss Paris yes, but not her. She never meant to get pregnant and it was always clear she never wanted to make room in her life for me. That’s why I was always at my Grandmother’s; I was going to stay living there, until she died. Then I got shipped here.”

“I’m sorry Bas but I’d like to think some good came out of you being ‘shipped’ here.” Blaine says soothingly as he rubs his hands up and down Sebastian’s arms.

“Hmmm, you could say that.” Sebastian replies in a deep throaty groan as he kisses Blaine.

He, like Blaine, was dreading Christmas with his Dad and Stepmom. His stepmom was okay but tried too hard at making them play happy families. It would be much less awkward if he was just allowed to retreat back into his room like before. Blaine admitted he was glad his parents were only arriving Christmas Eve and disappearing Boxing Day again, though Cooper was only leaving on 28th. 

On Christmas day they messaged each other as much as possible. Sebastian was fed up with constantly battling his dad about anything and everything. First his 4.5 GPA wasn’t good enough, and then it was the fact he didn’t want to go into commercial law but refused to say what he did want to go into, telling his dad at least it’s still law so he should be happy. In truth, Sebastian hadn’t told anyone what he was planning on specialising in. Sebastian knew he’d be good at law, he was smart, a quick thinker and revelled under confrontation. In truth he was sure he would enjoy the practise and wasn’t going into it just to please his dad. He had always planned on choosing his specialism when at college but after hearing Blaine’s account of the Sadie Hawkins dance and how the guys had gotten away with it, he had become determined to help as many people as he could so wanted to go into prosecution for such cases. It wouldn’t necessarily pay as well as commercial, but the money was still good and he’d actually be doing something worthwhile.

Blaine was more grateful than ever that Cooper was home as it was deflecting most of the attention away from him. That was until he opened Brittney’s present, which was a picture of him, her and Kitty at Cheerios practice in a frame Brittney had decorated. Blaine was stood in the middle with legs slightly bent with each girl stood on one of his thighs. His arms were wrapped around their waists as they had one arm slug across his shoulders for grip and the other sticking out in an upwards diagonal; they all had massive smiles across their faces.

Blaine looked at the picture smiling warmly at the memory. Then his mother walked passed. “Oh Blaine, why can’t you at least try to be normal?”

Blaine looks up, “I’m sorry?”

“This,” she says gesturing to the picture, “If you want to join a team, what about one of the sports teams? There must be something you could do at McKinley, what about fencing again? You were good at that.”

“Actually McKinley doesn’t have a fencing team. And if you looked into it, you’d see competition cheer leading is actually really tough; it takes a lot of strength and stamina.”

That catches Blaine’s dad’s attention, who walks over and grabs the picture from Blaine. “Don’t you think you’ve embarrassed us enough? When are you going to grow up Blaine?”

Blaine could feel himself quickly getting angry and upset; they’d gone over this argument so many times. “Well I’m sorry to disappoint you but me being gay still isn’t a phase! No amount of ‘growing up’ is going to change that!” Blaine retaliates with a raised voice. 

“Don’t you dare talk to me like that!” Blaine’s dad shouts back.

“Yet it’s okay for you to act like me being gay is so wrong!” Blaine yells. Cooper who had been in the hallway quickly ends his call upon hearing raised voices.

“Damn it Blaine!” Blaine’s dad bellows as he throws the picture onto the ground hard, causing the glass to smash just as Cooper appears in the door way.

“What’s going on guys?” Cooper asks as he takes in the scene around him. Blaine picks the picture off the floor, cutting his hand on some of the glass in the process and runs up to his room, pushing passed Cooper.

“You guys seriously need to sort this out or you’re going to lose him forever.” Cooper tells his parents firmly.

“Cooper honey; we’re just trying to do what’s best for him.” His mum replies sweetly as she begins picking up the glass shards.

“What would be best for him would be for you two to get your heads out of your asses and realise what you’re doing. Blaine’s gay; deal with it. It doesn’t make him a different person. In fact do you know what? If you can’t deal with it, just leave him well alone, because this isn’t fair. You either don’t see what you’re doing to him or you just don’t care.” Cooper says with a hint of disgust.

“If he wasn’t a fag he would be able to keep his emotions in order.” His dad spits back.

“That’s bullshit and you know it” Cooper replies quietly but full of rage and leaves the room to go and comfort his brother.

Blaine’s door was locked when Cooper tried to go in, but he eventually coaxed his brother into opening up. Cooper locked the door behind him and sat down next to Blaine on his bed, who was holding out his cut hand. Gently holding onto Blaine’s shoulders Cooper guides him up and to the bathroom to wash the cut. After being sure there weren’t any glass shards in the wound he disinfects it and puts a dressing on. Blaine stands up from where he’s sat on the edge of the bath and moves silently into his room and changes into some sweat pants and one of Sebastian’s hoodies he’d left behind, before sitting back against his headboard with his knees bent. He pulls the hood up and leans his head against his knees.

Cooper watches in silence as his brother moves around the room, looking like a shell of a person. He’d heard the same emptiness in his voice during their phone calls when he and Kurt had split up and then the sobs when he admitted he’d cheated. In fact over the last few months he’d heard so many emotions from Blaine; anger and bitterness when he found out what Kurt had done, relief and giddiness when he explained Sue hadn’t been able to shut the glee club down as they still had some money from April’s fund to use, so Figgins had let them continue even though they couldn’t compete, even if they had to practise outside. But more recently it was happiness as he gushed with stories about his friends and admitted to having a new boyfriend, whose hoodie he was clearly now wearing.

Cooper puts in a Harry Potter DVD and sits next to Blaine on the bed, who looks up when the music starts. Cooper smiles at his brother then pulls him into his side. At that action Blaine let himself cry full and heavy sobs. When Blaine’s breathing steadied and the tears had stopped Cooper spoke gently. “Why didn’t you tell me it was this bad squirt?

“Don’t call me that” Blaine says automatically causing Cooper to laugh softly. “The last time I saw them was in the summer, and that was only in passing. It hasn’t been bad because they haven’t been around; it was worse before, but now when they’re not here and I get to live with Sam.”

“I’m so sorry Blaine. I should have done more when you came out. I should have been around more. I knew things were bad but I got too caught up in myself. I suppose I figured everything would sort itself out. How did you get dad to agree to Sam living here?”

“It’s not your fault Coop and you’re here now; that’s what counts. Sam’s parents live in Kentucky and he wasn’t really comfortable staying at the Hummel’s anymore and he was round here all the time so I asked dad to make it official. Once he heard Sam’s the starting quarterback and has a cheerleader girlfriend he leapt at the chance at having a ‘good influence’ here. I might have neglected to tell him that Sam is the nicest person you could meet and has absolutely no problem with homosexuality and that his girlfriend is actually bi, but you know.”

“Sneaky Blainey I’m proud. If you ever need anything, you know you can call me right?”

“I know”

“So have you shrunk or is this one of the boyfriends”

“That’s not funny and it’s Sebastian’s.”

“Oh come on it was a little bit! So when am I going to meet him?”

“He’s tied up with family stuff until you go. I won’t get to see him before either. Plus you need to promise not to do your big brother speech I know you’ve rehearsed.”

“Oh come on I’ve been working on that speech for ages! I’ve even worked the whole slushie thing into it.”

“Definitely not! He still feels bad for it. You know it was a stupid prank gone wrong, so please just don’t bring it up, use some other part of your speech if you have to, but not that.”

“Hmph fine. Though if he hurts you again he’s gonna get it.”

“Cooper” Blaine says warningly, “The poor guy has already had Sam, Tina and Santana make the same threat and I have no doubt Wes and Quinn would be there too.”

“Yeah but I’m your big brother; it’s my right”. Cooper chuckles, “Though I can’t say I blame him for the slushie thing; some of Kurt’s clothes really should have rock salt thrown all over them. You just had to play the hero didn’t you?” Cooper teases pinching Blaine’s side, getting a swat at his arm in return.

“Mum and dad don’t know anything about Sebastian so you can’t say anything. If they find out we’re dating fine, but they can’t know about the slushie.”

“Your secret is safe with me squirt.” Cooper makes a zip motion across his lips. “Can I say something without you getting mad?”

“You just did.”

“Well aren't you just the little smart ass?. It’s nice to see a guy make you happy. Your face has been lit up ever since we’ve been talking about him, you never looked like that when you talked about Kurt, or when you were with him, yeah you smiled but this is different. Plus it’s nice to see you wearing your own clothes again and your hair free from the gel prison.”

“You’re not actually the first person to say that. Brittney says it’s my Sebastian smile; apparently he has a Blaine smile. As for the clothes and hair; I guess I’m feeling more like me again and not who I’m expected to be.”

“Of course he has a Blaine smile! You’re adorable” That comment gets a playful but firm smack from Blaine. “But so you know when I do meet him, I’m going to put him through the Cooper Anderson test.”

“And what exactly is the Cooper Anderson test?”

“Turn on my charm and see if he sticks with you or pours himself all over me of course. Your ex failed miserably. Someone is only good enough for my baby brother if they only have eyes for him.”

“You’re ridiculous. But thank you. How come you never told me you didn’t like Kurt?”

“I’d hardly been around and it wasn’t really up to me to tell you who you should or shouldn’t be with; that can only be up to you.”

When they got hungry Cooper went downstairs to get them some drinks and snacks refusing to look at or talk to his parents. They continued watching Harry Potter films until Blaine kicked him out of his room for snoring. After Cooper went Blaine called Sebastian and they each confessed their days to the other, giving and taking comfort. Blaine fell asleep that night with a grin on his face as Sebastian sang down the phone gently to him.


	18. Hobits unite

When Cooper left for LA Sebastian went round to Blaine’s to spend the rest of his holiday there. He just couldn’t get on with his dad. No matter what he did it never seemed good enough and they had different views on many things causing them to clash, and not in a healthy way. Blaine and Sebastian exchanged Christmas presents. Sebastian giving Blaine a first edition of his favourite book, ‘The Hitchhikers Guide’ and some massage oil. Blaine gave Sebastian a personalised collection of French poems bound in a leather cover he knows are by Sebastian’s favourite poet, though he’d never admit to such a thing and a pair of handcuffs. They both look at each other and laugh; they loved their books and the sentimental value but they laugh at the massage oil and handcuffs as these are things they’d spoken about but had yet to take action on. The next couple of days they enjoy having the house to themselves, as Sam wasn’t due to return from Kentucky until the morning of New Year’s Eve, and make the most out of their gifts.

Sugar hosts a New Year party for the New Directions and invites the Warblers plus their alumni too. Finn, Santana, Quinn, Mike and Puck join the celebrations. Finn, Mike and Puck warm to the Warblers and Sebastian in this setting. With alcohol around everyone is relaxed and enjoying the party. The alumni see how well the two groups get on and are happy last year’s issues are over. Puck decides Sebastian is much like Santana, while Wes is happy to see Blaine almost back to how he was during his sophomore year, but perhaps a little more carefree.

Rachel turns up to the party looking a little uncomfortable to be there but heads over to where Blaine is sitting.

“Hey, Blaine can I talk to you for a moment?”

The familiar voice causes Blaine’s head to snap round to look at Rachel. After feeling Sebastian’s hold on his hip tighten Blaine looks back at Sebastian and gives him a kiss on the cheek in reassurance, before turning back to Rachel. “Yeah sure”

Blaine and Rachel head over to a corner. Santana, Sebastian and Wes, who Blaine had now told everything to, sat and watched the interaction.

“I’m so sorry Blaine; I should have never let you go through all of that. I told him to let you go before you both got hurt, but then you did get hurt in more ways than one. Kurt’s my best friend and I didn’t want to betray him, but then when Brittney called Santana and I heard what was going on, I had to stop it. I’m really sorry. You were my friend too and I should have never lost sight of that. I don’t expect you to forgive me, but I wanted to see you to let you know that I am sorry.”

“You’ll always be my Maria, and I get how it all happened. Thank you for coming to see me, it really means a lot. And you don’t have anything to be forgiven for, none of what happened was your fault, so how about you stay and enjoy the party?” Blaine gives Rachel a big hug, which iss readily returned.

“I wouldn’t want to impose. Can I ask you something? If it’s over stepping the mark you can tell me to mind my own business…Why Sebastian?”

Blaine could feel his defensive side coming up, but managed to keep his voice neutral. “Because he makes me happier than anyone ever has before and he really cares about me, not some version of me he thinks I should be.” Blaine says sincerely with a small shrug.

Rachel’s face beams with a smile, “I’m glad, you deserve to be happy Tony Warbler” Rachel gives him a kiss on the cheek and Blaine takes her hand, directing her towards the group he’d been sat with.

“So why don’t you make me even happier and come and say hello?” 

The group shuffled so there was room for Rachel to sit down.

“So the hobbits have reunited” Santana comments before everyone goes back to their conversations. Sebastian places a kiss on Blaine’s forehead and wraps his arm back round his waist, with his hand resting back on Blaine’s hip. Blaine loved how Sebastian seemed to be as tactile as him; without thinking they were always touching each other in some way. They both found it comforting, reassuring and loving; when Sebastian thought about it he could hardly believe it, but he was also proud of his boyfriend and wanted everyone to know that he belonged to him, and as Sam was, Sebastian was also very protective of Blaine, and although he would never admit it, he loved that that went both ways.  
After an argument about music broke out Mike, Brittney and Blaine proved that disco still has its place by performing you should be dancing, which does nothing for Tina’s crush on Blaine, nor do the body shots Santana announces with Sam, Britt and Blaine being the bodies. Sebastian makes a comment about needing to utilize Blaine’s flexibility more making Blaine blush bright red and Santana, who overheard, laugh, saying she knows he’s not so innocent, and gestures to the faint marks around his wrists making him blush even more. At midnight they all head outside to watch some fireworks Sugar had her dad organise. Blaine and Sebastian were too caught up in each other to notice most of the display or their friends around them. 

“Thank you bas…”

“10…9…8…”

“For what?”

“7… 6…”

“Waiting for me to realise what was in front of me the whole time…”

“5…4…”

“Always…I love you…”

“3…”

“I love you too…”

“2…”

“1…”

“Happy new year!”


	19. Personal Paris

On New Year’s Day Blaine wakes Sebastian up gently, “Come on Bas…I’ve got something to show you.” 

“You’ve got something I’d like you to show me” Sebastian purrs seductively back, albeit a little sleepily.

“Only if you come with me now”

Sebastian groans then gets up, pulling on some sweats and a t shirt before Blaine takes his hand and leads him down the stairs and to the basement.

“And what are you planning on doing with me in here?” Sebastian asks slightly amused

“You’ll see” Blaine smirks before flicking on a switch, causing hundreds of fairy lights strung up like stars to come on, creating a soft glow in the dark room. It’s then that Sebastian notices the pile of floor cushions in the centre of the room. Blaine turns on the projector that forms part of the entertainment system and an image of Paris appears on the screen wall. Sebastian smiles an unreadable smile then walks further into the room, taking in the picture. It’s one he recognises; it’s his Paris, specifically the view from the roof of his cousin’s apartment block. It’s then Sebastian realises that Blaine’s linked his camera up to the projector. Blaine’s arms wrap around his waist as he continues to stare at the snowy picture. “Surprise Bastian…I know you miss Paris more than you let on, so I thought I’d try to bring a little to you.” Blaine lets go of his boyfriend and picks up a tray from underneath the pool table, “I know these won’t be as good as what you used to get, but still...I'm told they're the best Westerville has to offer.” He smiles shyly.

Blaine carefully carries the tray, which is piled high with macarons, croissants, butter and jam, orange juice and a flask of coffee doused with Courvoisier, over to the floor cushions out some. Sebastian settles down next to his boyfriend on the cushions and pulls him on top of him. “This is incredible B, thank you.” Sebastian pulls Blaine down for a deep kiss. When they break apart Blaine goes to move but Sebastian won’t let him, so he rests his head against his shoulder, nuzzling into his neck. Sebastian plants a kiss on the top of Blaine’s head “I love you Blaine.” This startled Blaine a little as although Sebastian did tell him he loved him, he didn’t often say it, not because he didn’t mean it but because admitting feelings like that was completely new to him, but Blaine knew by the way his boyfriend treated him he really did love him so never pushed the other to say it. Plus it made it all the more special when he did.

“I love you too Sebastian,” Blaine lets out an indignant squeak, something he’ll completely deny later, when Sebastian rolls them over, pinning the shorter boy beneath him.

“Now how about we work up and appetite for all of this” Sebastian says into Blaine’s ear, hips grinding down, pushing his half-hard cock into Blaine’s. That time they share is slow and passionate, each taking time with the other’s body.

XXXXXXX  
When Rachel got back to New York she was met with a very disgruntled Kurt who’d seen pictures of his best friend and Blaine dancing closely and obviously laughing. Rachel loved Kurt but she couldn’t believe how controlling he was trying to be of her. Seriously did he think telling Rachel Berry that what she does is his business was a smart thing to do? Anyone who knows Rachel knew that she was headstrong and would live her own life and that if she wanted to be friends with Blaine then no one was going to stop her. During their time in West Side Story she’d gotten to know the former Warbler quite well, but he’d always been Kurt’s boyfriend to her. However, Blaine had become good friends with Santana so Rachel had gotten to know and hear more and more about Blaine, the real Blaine, not just Kurt’s boyfriend, and she had to admit, she’d wished she’s gotten to know the real him sooner.

After having enough of Kurt trying to get all sorts of gossip and details about Blaine she closed her privacy curtains and couldn’t help but smile when she checked her phone.  
'Rach, seeing you at the party meant a lot, thank you. I hope you arrive home safely :) See you soon xxx Tony Warbler'

The nickname makes her smile, it was how she’d saved him in her phone; after all he would always be her Tony. She quickly replied, letting him know she’d arrived safely and that she would speak to him soon.

A message from an unknown number catches her eye.

'Hey, it’s Sebastian, I wanted to thank you for coming to the party for Blaine, it meant more to him than you could realise.'

Rachel smiled at the text and quickly saved his number into her phone. While at first she had been reluctant to get to know Sebastian after what he’d done last year, she was glad that she’d given him the chance. He was obviously very good for Blaine, and while she loved Kurt, that relationship had turned Blaine into someone he wasn’t and it was nice getting to see the real Blaine Warbler again. Anyone in a room with Blaine and Sebastian could see how much they adored and loved each other, and she couldn’t believe at first how attentive Sebastian was over Blaine, it was everything her Tony deserved. She replied to Sebastian, thanking him and saying it would be nice to meet up when they come to NY to look round colleges.


	20. Vapo-rape

Neither Blaine nor Sebastian are happy for school to start again, having gotten used to spending most of their time with each other. The first week back at school is diva week and Blaine can tell he’s coming down with a cold but refuses to give in. On Thursday he performs ‘Don’t stop me now’ and it soon becomes apparent that someone, Kitty he’d later find out, had filmed his performance and sent it to Sebastian when he gets a message from the tall Warbler about having a leather kink. 

Blaine leans back against his locker, his shoulders slumping. His head is pounding and he had no real clue as to how he had managed to make it through his performance, the whole thing now one giant blur. Blaine’s nose is streaming, his throat is scratchy and he could barely keep his eyes open, sleep and dizziness taking over. He rarely got sick, but when he did, whatever bug he had hit him hard. Even Sue had made him sit out of Cheerios practise, so he knew he must be looking bad.

Tina walks up to Blaine and leads him outside to where his car is parked, not listening to any of his protests about her taking him home. The hour and a half drive to Blaine’s home passes quickly as he sits half asleep, enjoying the cold of the glass where his forehead is pressed against the window. When Blaine’s sat on his bed Tina passes him some medicine from a ‘cold buster kit’ she’d made him, which he takes with plenty of water and quickly drifts off. Sam, Puck and Jake walk in on her mid vapo-rape with Blaine unconscious. 

“Tina! What do you think you’re doing?!” Puck shouts from Blaine’s doorway where he’s stood with Sam and Jake.

Tina quickly scrambles off Blaine and stands at the side of his bed, “Nothing, I’m just helping him breathe.”

Blaine fought to open his eyes. Once fully open he saw Tina standing on one side of the bed with a jar of vapo rub and Puck, Sam and Jake on the other; he then noticed that his shirt was now undone and his chest felt cold.

“Yeah and does he know that you undid his shirt and straddled him to cover him in that vapo-rub stuff? That’s like assault or something.” Puck argues back. 

“Err guys…” Jake interrupts and points to a now awake but still out of it Blaine. The only problem was that Blaine was with it enough to have registered what was said and starts freaking out. Sam goes over to Blaine straight away to calm him down; unfortunately Blaine’s fever wasn’t helping the situation, but if he kept thrashing and panicking it would only make it worse.

Puck turns to Jake, “Jake can you take Tina home?”

“Yeah sure; will you need a lift later?”

“Nah I’ll be cool.”

When Puck was sure Jake had left with Tina he left Blaine’s room to call Sebastian. The phone rang out five times before finally being answered on the sixth attempt. “What do you want Puckerman?”

Puck frowns, “Sebastian?”

“No sorry man it’s Thad; we’re at Lacrosse practise and Sebastian can’t come to his phone right now…So what’s got you all hot and bothered for you to be chain dialling him?”

“Can I talk to Sebastian? Blaine’s sick and we walked in on…to be honest I have no idea what the hell we walked in on. Blaine was asleep and Tina was straddling him and now he’s freaking out. Can Sebastian come over?”

“Shit that’s not right. How sick is he?” Puck couldn’t help but notice the concern in Thad’s voice.

“Really sick, he’s got a high fever and is completely out of it. So can you come or not?” Puck demands.

“Chill man, I’m just waving Sebastian over now, he was running laps. Right we’ll be there in 40.”

After finishing the call Puck steps back into Blaine’s room to find him passed out on the bed and Sam sat on the floor playing video games. Puck joins Sam and they wait with Blaine until Sebastian arrives, almost an hour later thanks to traffic. As soon as Thad pulls up at Blaine’s, Sebastian is out the car and racing up to his room. He walks in to see his boyfriend dead to the world and Sam and Puck caught up in a fierce battle of Mario Karts. After kicking off his shoes Sebastian gently crawls up Blaine’s bed and pulls the shorter boy into his arms and can’t help but smile when Blaine nuzzles into him, stirring slightly, “Bas?”

“I’m here B; go back to sleep.”

Thad sits down in Blaine’s desk chair and looks over to Sam and Puck, “So what exactly did you guys walk in on?”

“Oh man that was freaking weird,” Sam replies with his concentration still focussed on the game.

“Ken either pause your game or admit defeat and tell us exactly what happened.” Sebastian demands from his place on the bed. But all Sam does is smile at the nickname; he definitely took ‘Ken’ as a compliment, as after all, the doll had awesome abs. 

Puck speaks up, “I was dropping round to see Blaine before I have to get back and Sam, me and Jake came up the stairs to find him asleep on his bed with his shirt undone and Tina straddling him while she rubbed that vapo stuff all over his chest.”

“Britt mentioned something about Tina having a crush on Blaine” Sebastian comments.

“Told you dude it was freaking weird! And yeah everyone knows about Tina’s crush, apart from Blaine, Artie says he’s ob…obliv…oblivious, or something like that anyway” Sam adds, “But then Blaine woke up and must have got what was going on from the argument and the fact he’s now covered in the stuff and started freaking out. He’s got a fever and wouldn’t calm down for a while, which didn’t help.” Sam stops the game, “I’m hungry…anyone want pizza? I’ll bring it up here.”

A chorus of ‘sure’ sounds in the room; when Sam comes back with pizza and drinks the smell of food in his room seem to wake Blaine up from his slumber.

“Are you with us this time B? How are you feeling?” Sebastian asks softly when he sees his boyfriend wake up.

“Fucking shit,” Blaine answers in a very croaky voice making the guys all laugh.

“Come on you need to have something to eat and drink. Then we can shower and you can go back to sleep okay? Also Sam has my permission to tie you to this bed if he thinks you shouldn’t go to school in the morning, so you better be sure you’re well enough before you try.” 

Blaine sits up and manages to eat two small pieces of pizza and drink a pint of water. When everyone had finished eating, Sam, Puck and Thad clear up and take all the rubbish downstairs to leave Sebastian to help Blaine shower. Blaine stood slumped against Sebastian in the cubicle while the taller boy gently massaged shampoo in his hair before rinsing it out. With caring touches Sebastian washed Blaine’s body down and dried him off before helping him step into clean pyjama bottoms and one of his own t-shirts he’d left there, so it would be looser on the former Warbler. After tucking Blaine back in bed and making sure he’d taken some aspirin to help his fever the other three came back up.  
Thad and Sebastian had to leave to get back to Dalton and offered to drop Puck off at the train station on their way so he could get back as they didn’t have time to get across to Lima and back before curfew. Sam stayed with Blaine that night to make sure he was okay; it reminded him of a time Stevie got a really high fever and it made his big brother drive kick in once again for his best friend. Sebastian didn’t admit it out loud but he was glad when Sam said he’d stay in Blaine’s room that night, though the nod in recognition from the former Warbler captain let Sam know it was the right call to make. 

Some may think Sam and Blaine’s dynamic was a little odd, particularly as they both were in relationships and Blaine was gay, but to those who knew the ins and outs it was the most natural thing. They had both had a great input in saving the other from lows and dangerous spirals and were both tactile people. It was true that it was nothing but platonic on both sides; for all intense and purposes they were almost like twins with the way they interacted, probably aided by the fact they lived together and that Sam was only a few weeks older. They were also both innately kind, selfless and would do anything for those they loved.

Blaine woke up the next morning feeling a lot better and Sam being happy with his friend’s state let him go to school, after they’d both spoken to Sebastian. When they arrived at McKinley Sam stuck to Blaine’s side as much as possible, feeling very protective. In class Blaine sits with Artie as he and Tina are unable to meet the other’s eyes. Unfortunately in glee it becomes apparent everyone in the club has heard about the whole thing, but weirdly it almost helps the situation as after the jokes and comments the ice between Blaine and Tina seems to thaw slightly, though he is careful not to make any physical contact.


	21. Application freak out

Last period the seniors are given a talk about college applications and Blaine starts freaking out. He goes to see Miss Pillsbury but she unfortunately can’t offer him any advice on his particular dilemma. When school finishes Blaine gives Sam a lift home before heading straight to Dalton, where he had been planning on spending his weekend. 

Sebastian can tell there’s something bothering Blaine as soon as he sees him. “What’s up killer? Someone else come at you with vapo-rub?” When Blaine glares darkly, Sebastian winces, “Sorry, too soon to joke about it I guess.”

Blaine just wraps his arms around his boyfriend and presses his face into chest, inhaling deeply. After a moment of standing in the corridor Sebastian pulls back and picks up Blaine’s bags, taking his hand in the other and moving them to his dorm room. When they get to his dorm Sebastian sets Blaine’s bags down and sits the shorter boy on his bed, climbing round him to start massaging his shoulders. “You’re so tense B, tell me what’s bothering you, I can hear your brain working from here.”

After a long pause Blaine sighs deeply. “We had an assembly on college applications today and I’ve realised how screwed I am. I have no idea how to make my essay appropriate for a double major and there’s hardly any time before they’re due. I went to see Miss Pillsbury but all she could offer me was some stupid leaflet that had no information in it and some hand sanitizer.” 

“Seriously they’ve only just given you a talk on the applications now?” Sebastian sighs out of annoyance at Blaine’s school, “I know we said we wouldn’t talk colleges, but let me help you killer. We’ve both agreed we wouldn’t let each other make decisions based around what the other is doing. I already know where I want to go so as long as I get accepted I’m set, so really we have nothing to lose.” Blaine leans back into Sebastian’s touch more. “So why don’t you tell me about your double major; I didn’t even realise you were going for one.”

“That’s because I didn’t mention it. Everyone expects me to go to NYADA or some other specialist performing arts school. I want to study musicology, not performing arts. I want to learn how to properly compose and write better songs. Yes I still want to perform, and I’ll take classes in acting and dance, but Broadway isn’t my dream, it’s a part of it but it’s not the thing I want to do like it is for Rachel, which is what the performing arts schools gear you up for.”

Sebastian already knew about Blaine’s passion for writing music, though he’d yet to hear anything, but as nobody else knew Blaine composed scores and songs Sebastian felt honoured he’d been trusted with that information. “Okay, to be honest that doesn’t surprise me B. So what’s the other major?”

“Languages; I really love them and there’s something about them that fits with music so seamlessly. Each has their own patterns and phrasings and sounds, in the same way rock varies from classical, yet there are similarities too and I just love it.”

“So you want to study French?”

“I don’t know I haven’t decided which language yet. I thought I could decide when I enrol”

“Hang on B, how many languages do you know? List them, even if it is just a little bit, if we’re doing your applications now is not the time to be Mr Modest.”

Blaine blushes slightly at that name, “Well, French obviously, Italian and Tagalog, my Grandparents made sure I knew Tagalog, they tried to make sure Cooper did too, but well he’s pretty hopeless and we used to spend summers at her house in Italy, so that one was kind of natural. Then I guess some German, Spanish and Japanese too.”

“How did I not know this?”

“I guess it just never came up.”

“Right,” Sebastian chuckles softly because of course Blaine would never drop into conversation his obvious ability at picking up languages, that would be far too much like showing off and although Blaine could do so on stage, he would never do it under normal circumstances, partly for fear of making someone else feel bad but mainly because he never saw something he did as being extraordinary, “so which languages are you taking at the moment?”

“Just Spanish actually; at McKinley there’s only Spanish and French to take.”

“Well I think you need to pick French back up. You’ll pass with no problem, you’re practically fluent B and you’re pronunciation is pretty flawless now you’ve been speaking it with me regularly, well for an American” he teases.

It was true Blaine and Sebastian would sometimes lay awake on their beds at night with phones pressed to their ears having gentle conversations in French until they drifted to sleep; it was something that was theirs and made them feel more connected to the other. “Okay, I’ll talk to Figgins on Monday, though it shouldn’t be a problem. I’ll just have to complete the assignments I’ve missed out on. There’s only an exam at the end of the year so I don’t have to worry about missed midterms at least.”

“Great, so now you know you don’t have to tell me, but it would really help to know which schools you want to apply to so we can tailor your essay.”

At this Blaine shifts so he’s sat on the bed cross legged completely facing Sebastian, who twisted round to mirror Blaine. “I was thinking of Columbia, NYU, Berkley, Princeton and maybe UCLA, but that’s more of a fall back.”

Sebastian worked hard to supress his grin. He had decided he wanted to go to Columbia and he was a shoe in to get in. If Blaine went to NYU or Columbia they would be in New York together and if he went to Berkley or Princeton they’d just be an hour or so train ride away from each other. Blaine didn’t seem keen on UCLA so Sebastian wasn’t even going to consider it, for what Blaine wanted to do it wasn’t as strong as the other schools anyway.

“Right then let’s go get some food then get to work. Do you mind if we bring in reinforcements, it would help as each of the guys will know something about one of those schools and I’m sure Wes would want to help if he’s free to join by Skype.”

Blaine places his hands on Sebastian’s knees and leans forward to give him a tender kiss. “Thank you Bas.”

“Any time B,” Sebastian places a kiss on the top of Blaine’s head before teasing, “You know if you hadn’t stayed at that public school though you wouldn’t be having this problem.” It was something they always bantered about but at that moment Sebastian noticed Blaine wince and lower his head at his words, something he’d never normally do.

“I’ve never pushed you for this, but why did you choose to stay at McKinley B?”

Blaine slowly looks back up at Sebastian. “Sam needed me.”

“Mmhmm, I’ll agree you and Sam kind of needed each other, and you’re kind of a package deal” Sebastian adds teasingly, “but that’s not the full reason is it? Come on, don’t shut me out.” Sebastian strokes his hands up and down Blaine’s thighs in reassurance.

“Well Hunter didn’t help the cause, he’s a real dick.”

Sebastian chuckles, “Trust me killer I know, but what else? There’s no way you’d stop someone like Hunter from getting in your way if you wanted to come back.”

Blaine shrugs, “I couldn’t. Coming back was never a choice. When I transferred my Dad told me I’d never be able to come back to Dalton, no matter what, which he reinforced after…well you know…that they thought the jocks did. So now I’m living with the consequences. Don’t get me wrong I’m happy at McKinley now, but I still miss Dalton, and I worry how it will look on my applications. I mean I left one school with a renowned academic programme for McKinley; it’s a big part of the reason why I’ve taken up so many clubs this year.” 

Sebastian’s heart fluttered at the realisation that Blaine, given the choice, would probably have ended up at Dalton. However even if McKinley left a lot to be desired, he knew the friends Blaine had now were invaluable to him and Sebastian had to admit he actually liked most of them, though some more than others.

After grabbing some food they went and found Nick, Jeff and Thad who all jumped at the chance to help Blaine; Trent had gone home for the weekend, as had Beat. Wes was free so joined the boys by Skype. At 11 they were all satisfied with the progress they’d made and all agreed to review the essay in the morning with fresh eyes. Blaine emailed a copy to Wes, who said he’d have it back to him by midday. When Blaine turned around from shutting down his laptop he found the boys gathered round him, Jeff with guitar in hand.  
Nick spoke up, “Now as we’ve all given you our Friday nights, we think it only fair you show off some of your linguist skills, in the only way befitting of a Warbler.” At that Jeff hands Blaine the guitar.

Blaine moans, “Fine, but at least shift so I can sit on the bed and be comfy.” Blaine moves up to the head of Sebastian’s bed and sits on the edge with one leg draped over the side, setting the guitar on his lap. He tunes it slightly, causing Jeff to tut, before singing Americano for the group. They were all a little shocked to say the least, causing Blaine to blush a little at their gaze at the end. Sebastian takes Jeff’s guitar from Blaine handing it back to the blonde before ushering everyone out. He locks his door then makes his way back to his boyfriend, pulling him so he was lying down on the bed and straddling him.

“I take it you liked that performance then” Blaine grins as he holds onto Sebastian’s hips.

“Damn killer; you’re going to be the death of me.” Blaine hums in response as Sebastian leans down for a kiss. “I want you to do me tonight.” He almost whispers against Blaine’s lips. This causes Blaine to pull back so he could look into Sebastian’s eyes.

“Are you sure? You don’t have to” Blaine stutters almost not believing what he heard. They’d spoken about it before but Blaine hadn’t expected Sebastian to bottom so soon; he knew it was a big thing for him.

“I’m sure I’ve been thinking about it for a while, and if at any point I don’t feel comfortable, I promise to tell you, okay?”

Blaine nods back at Sebastian; smiling when he gets a kiss to his forehead. Gently Blaine rolled them over so Sebastian was on the bottom, then slowly got to work, taking as much time with Sebastian as possible, kissing every freckle. Blaine prepared Sebastian the same way he’d done on their very first time together. When he went to get a condom from Sebastian’s nightstand he was stopped by a grip to his arm and Sebastian shaking his head. “Want to feel you B.” Blaine leans down to kiss Sebastian as he slowly and carefully pushed in until he bottoms out, not daring to move until he gets the go ahead from his boyfriend. 

It started slow and passionate then got more heated with harder and faster thrusts. At the end Blaine slowly pulled out then cleaned them up with tissues, before climbing back into bed to cuddle with Sebastian as he pulled the covers tightly around them. Blaine starts happily talking into Sebastian’s chest, “That was…” but is interrupted by Sebastian finishing his sentence for him.

“- incredible B; you felt incredible.”

“Hmm so did you.” The two fall asleep tangled together on Sebastian’s dorm bed.

The next morning, as promised all the boys reviewed Blaine’s applications and sat with him while he sent them off. After the last one was sent he turned around with a massive smile on his face and received a big kiss from Sebastian. They all had homework to do but promised to reconvene that evening for a meal together to celebrate. 

On Sunday after Sebastian went to check his mail, which he’d forgotten to do over the last few days, he returned to his room with a giant smirk across his face. This immediately made Blaine suspicious and he was then greeted with a copy of the McKinley calendar Sebastian pulled from the envelope. 

“So when were you going to give me a copy of this?” Sebastian asks smugly.

“Never; that day was so embarrassing and the pictures are awful.”

“The ones of you aren’t killer. In fact they’re going up on the pin board.” Sebastian then went about removing the pictures of Blaine and pinning them in place with the other pictures he kept on the board. The pictures were a mixture of the Warblers, lacrosse, Paris and him and Blaine. Sebastian turns back to see a sour looking boyfriend. “Oh don’t be like that B; I can’t help it if you got your kit off for a calendar. As your boyfriend it’s my right to enjoy such pictures.”

“Fine” Blaine huffs, before Sebastian tackles him, sending him flying backwards on the bed.

“Yeah you are”

“Oh my god that was so cheesy,” Blaine giggles.

“You must be rubbing off on me killer.” Sebastian teases as he grins his hips down onto Blaine.


	22. The not surprise surprise party

The end of January marked Sebastian’s birthday, on Saturday 31st to be exact. Blaine had been planning with the some of the Warblers and Sugar to give Sebastian an 18th birthday party he would never forget. The only problem with the surprise party was that Sebastian wasn’t exactly known for liking surprises, in fact quite the opposite.  
Blaine and Sebastian were in Westerville Starbucks on Wednesday after school. It was something they’d taken to doing; they would help each other with homework and enjoy just spending time in each other’s company, but Blaine was twitchy that night and it was starting to annoy Sebastian.

“Right that’s it; out with it killer.”

“Erm…I don’t know what you’re talking about” 

“Don’t even try it; I can always tell when you’re lying and something is clearly bothering you; I mean seriously, what did that napkin ever do to you?” Sebastian gestures at the napkin Blaine had been shredding completely unaware.

Before he could stop himself Blaine blurted it out in a rush, all words almost joined together, “I’m throwing you a surprise birthday party Saturday.”

Blaine’s admission and accompanying bug eyes and blush make Sebastian smirk, “You do realise by telling me it’s not a surprise right.”

Blaine was now completely flustered and he went into full on ramble mode, “I know but I know you don’t really like surprises and I just wanted to make sure you have a really good birthday, you only turn 18 once right? Are you mad? God you’re mad.”

Sebastian chuckles softly at how adorable his boyfriend gets when flustered and reaches across the table to stop Blaine’s hands shredding another napkin he’d seemed to have picked up. “I’m not mad,” Sebastian reassures softly, “Last year’s attempt by Trent was a disaster but now I have you, my slightly OCD, ridiculously organised boyfriend doing it I’m sure it will be fine. No doubt you’ve got everything colour coordinated and check lists galore.”

“Maybe…but now I’ve ruined the surprise; I’m sorry.”

“Well I still don’t know what you have planned so it’s still a surprise.”

“That’s true…Blaine snaps out of his flustered state but embarrassment creeps over him, “I’m sorry.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for…and as long as I get you all to myself at some point Saturday you won’t get any complaints from me” Sebastian winks.

Blaine rolls his eyes fondly then leans forward so only Sebastian could hear. “Well maybe the party isn’t the only surprise you’re going to get” Blaine smirks.  
“Damn B, I’m a terrible influence on you.”

Blaine sits back with a small smug smile across his face “You love it,” he says before taking a sip of his coffee and smiles at Sebastian over the rim of the cup.  
“You’re right I do.”

“Oh, you’ll need to dress nice by the way.” At that comment Sebastian raises his eyebrow in question but never gets an answer.

XXXXXXX  
Friday night after Cheerios practise Blaine left McKinley to head across to Dalton to spend the night with Sebastian. He’d got it all planned perfectly; they’d spend Saturday morning together and have lunch before Blaine had to leave to pick up Santana, who’d stayed in touch frequently and become a friend to him and Sebastian, from the airport and drop her back at his. The guest room was already made up for her as he’d taken care of that on Friday before he left for school. In the meantime the Warblers were going to take Sebastian to see a movie.

Blaine then had to go over to Sugar’s house to see Mr Motta to sort the final details out and pick up the cards that would let them get drinks from the bar. What Sebastian didn’t know was that Mr Motta owned the most exclusive club in the area, one he’d tried and failed many times to get in to. But Blaine, with Sugar’s help, had managed to arrange with Mr Motta for them and those on their guest list, which was a mix of the New Directions, Warblers and Sebastian’s friends on the lacrosse team, as identified by the Warblers, access to the club. In fact not only would they have access to the club but they would be on the VIP list and have access to the VIP area. The club would be open like normal, but they would all be given a card so they could get drinks from the bar. The rule was that no money could be exchanged between them and the club and they couldn’t let on to anyone they were in fact high schoolers (well apart from Santana of course) and had to respect the drink limit so nobody got full on drunk.

Any attempt at breaking a rule and the offending person would be thrown out. Blaine had made this absolutely clear to everyone and if they were honest none of them planned on breaking a rule. For one they couldn’t believe they were actually getting to go to the club and secondly, none wanted to face risking the wrath of Blaine Anderson. Though most had never seen him really angry before, those who had knew it wasn’t a pretty sight and made that clear to the others. Blaine had in fact been in fight club with some of Sebastian’s lacrosse team so there was no need to worry there, it was actually some of the New Directions Blaine was more worried about, but Sam and Santana promised to keep them in line.

Taxis had also been organised to pick everyone up and drop them home after. Blaine only had to pay Mr Motta for use of the VIP room and to continue tutoring Sugar Wednesday lunchtimes, whose grades had greatly improved. He said it was his form of thanking Blaine, who quickly learnt to accept offers of generosity from Mr Motta or risk offending him. Sam was planning on staying at Brittney’s as he didn’t want to hear his ‘best bro give his boyfriend birthday sex’ there was also a part of him slightly nervous of having Brittney and Santana together with alcohol, but had insisted to Blaine it was okay for the Latina to stay at the house; knowing she wouldn’t be able to come otherwise. Blaine was also slightly relieved, his and Sam’s rooms were pretty close, whereas the guest room he’d made up for Santana was down the corridor and round to the left.

Blaine had also managed to pack a bag for Sebastian without him noticing and had it in his room waiting. Blaine had already given Sebastian his main gifts earlier, some fine black leather gloves he’d seen the taller admiring one day at the mall and a picture of them Nick had snapped during the night they had sorted Blaine’s college application out in a heavy wooden frame. In the picture they were both sat on Sebastian’s bed leaning against the wall, gazing into the other’s eyes with giant smiles on their faces, completely oblivious to anyone else around them. Sebastian had teased him for being sappy, but Blaine knew he loved it by the way he looked at the picture then placed it on his desk to the side of his laptop proudly.

When Blaine had finished sorting his room out so it was ready for Sebastian that night it was time to shower and get ready. He’d chosen to wear some tight, small black boxer briefs that left almost nothing to the imagination with the way they were cut and would drive his boyfriend mad, tight grey pants and matching waist coat with a light blue button down, with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows with a dark blue bowtie. Santana gave his outfit her seal of approval and promised to have everyone ready and waiting in the VIP area for when they arrived. As Blaine left for Dalton he received a message from Jeff telling him they’d all left and were on the way to the club.

When Sebastian opened his dorm room door to Blaine he was speechless for a moment, “Jesus killer with you looking like that I don’t want to go anywhere”. Blaine blushed fiercely causing Sebastian to chuckle and bring him to his chest in a tight hug, “And there’s my bashful school boy. Only you could pull off drop dead sexy and bashful school boy at the same time.”

Blaine looks up at Sebastian who was wearing a dark purple button down with sleeves rolled the elbow, a black tie and fitted black pants. Blaine gulped, “You look great Bastian.”  
Sebastian smirks, “I know,” and kisses Blaine’s curls.

When they got in Mr Motta’s car he’d sent for them Blaine pulled a blindfold out of his pocket and put it on Sebastian before the driver started for their destination. “Careful B, you doing things like that is putting all sorts of thoughts in my head.” Blaine laughed and refused to give any clues for the rest of the journey. When they arrived Blaine walked round the car to help Sebastian out before removing the blindfold. Sebastian’s mouth dropped open when he saw where they were. “Nice job killer, but how do you propose on getting us in?”

Sebastian saw Blaine’s confidence grow instantly in that moment, “Leave that to me.” Blaine took Sebastian’s hand and directed him to the door, missing out on the queue. The bouncer greeted them by name and wished Sebastian a happy birthday as he let them in. When inside they made their way to the VIP longue and Sebastian was greeted by all his friends. Blaine stepped back and let Sebastian socialise with his friends for a bit. After saying hello to everyone, including Santana, who he got a kiss from, Sebastian made his way back over to Blaine and wrapped his arms round his waist. “I have no idea how you pulled this off, but thank you so much. I don’t deserve it B.”

“Of course you do,” Blaine said sincerely and handed Sebastian his drinks card, “You’ll need this to get drinks from the bar; no money can exchange hands between us and the club. The others already have theirs. Apart from that, we can use the club like anyone else; we also have access to this area too for the night and Giles, the bouncer, will make sure nobody else can come in, so you can leave any presents here and they’ll be completely safe. Oh and you better thank Sugar, it’s thanks to her and her dad we’re here.”  
Sebastian looked at Blaine in awe and gave him a deep and meaningful kiss before realisation dawned on him. “Hang on; Sugar is Mr Motta’s daughter? The Sugar you’ve been tutoring?”

“Yep” Blaine smiled back.

“Way to use your connections B, let’s go and get a drink.”

Everyone had a great night. Sebastian had a blast managing to stay buzzed but now overly drunk so he could fully enjoy himself. The group all mingled seamlessly and you’ve never have guessed they went to different schools or had so many problems last year. One of the highlights of the night for Sebastian was when Blaine performed on the stage. The first performance was of ‘Sex on fire’ which was one of Sebastian’s favourite songs; making everyone laugh a little as it was typically him. Then for the second performance Jake and Kitty backed Blaine up while he sand ‘Rock your body’. That performance instantly turned Sebastian on, firstly because Blaine was singing and that always drew him in, secondly because of the sinful way Blaine was treating the microphone and stand and most importantly because of the way he moved throughout the performance. No choreography, just Blaine’s body, hips and ass moving effortlessly with the music.

The taxis picked them all up at 12:30am. When they got back to Blaine’s Santana gave them both a kiss before heading off to her room, heels in hand. Once inside Blaine’s room Sebastian bent down to pick Blaine up, making him wrap his legs around his waist while possessively taking his mouth in a heated kiss pressed up against the wall. After a while Sebastian put Blaine back down and went about taking of their clothes. When he got to Blaine’s small and ridiculously tight boxer briefs he growled and turned Blaine around so he could see the way the material clung to and emphasised the curves of his ass.

Sebastian pressed his body against Blaine’s back and wrapped one arm around his waist and the other around his hips so his forearm leant across Blaine’s cock. Hickies and marks were nothing new to them; they’d left them on each other before, but Sebastian had something a little different in mind; he’d seen the way some guys and girls had looked at Blaine during his performance of Rock Your Body and wanted to mark what was his. Growling into Blaine’s ear Sebastian asked while nipping at his ear lobe, “You can say no killer, but right now I can’t think of anything put pushing you down onto the bed and biting and licking your ass until you scream.”

Sebastian felt Blaine’s cock twitch at his admission. “God yes” Blaine moaned.

Sebastian moved them over to the bed and pushed Blaine down onto the front and put a pillow under his hips after pulling his briefs down. He looked down at Blaine, “Perfect,” then began to kiss all over Blaine’s ass and sucked, leaving light pink marks, causing Blaine to moan. “Shhh B; I’ll take care of you.”

Blaine nods eagerly and lets himself relax before Sebastian bites down, making sure to sink his teeth in slowly; licking it soothingly as Blaine cries out. “You okay?”

“Fine,” Blaine manages, gripping the sheets tightly. “More?” he asks after a moment, sounding slightly hesitant.

“I could never say no to you killer” Sebastian tells him stroking the reddened skin. He waits for Blaine to relax again before ghosting his lips over the bite and down his ass, nipping at the juncture between his cheeks and thighs. Making his way back up, Sebastian sucks randomly to keep Blaine’s senses keen, finally biting down in the centre of his right ass cheek, causing a deep purple bruise to form. Blaine moans loudly above him, his hips stuttering forward into the pillow. “Fuck, Bas,” he groans, “again!”

Sebastian bites down again, licking at the mark soothingly when he pulls off. “You’re going to be sore for days”, he growls, his voice husky and low, “won’t be able to sit down without forgetting who your ass belongs to. Who you belong to.”

Blaine whimpers, his cock twitching at Sebastian’s tone, “Yours Bas, I’m all yours”.

“Fucking better be” Sebastian nuzzles at Blaine’s crack gently, finally done with marking him, for now at least. He does want Blaine to be able to sit and is aware how they might have both been getting carried away with the buzz of the alcohol still flowing through them. Sebastian rims Blaine’s hole and can feel his whole body shaking underneath him, he knows the effect this has on his boyfriend and can’t help but love that he’s the only one to ever have done this to him. 

“Please” Blaine pants, pulling Sebastian back to reality.

“What is it B? Tell me what you need?” Sebastian asks peppering Blaine’s back with kisses and sucking on the birth mark on the knob at the bottom of his neck.

“You…Please Bas…I need you” Blaine stutters. Sebastian prepares Blaine thoroughly with his fingers, watching how his body reacts with every stroke and stretch.

“On your back for me gorgeous,” Sebastian tells him softly, pulling his fingers out slowly and wiping them on the sheets. He watches Blaine turn around, wincing a little when his ass hits the bed, the pillow now on the floor. “You alright?” he asks with a hint of concern as he spreads lube over his cock, pumping himself.

“Amazing,” Blaine breathes, already looking so wrecked. His curls no longer perfectly styled but wild and falling onto his forehead, eyes glinting darkly. “You ready?”

Sebastian laughs fondly, letting go of his cock before stroking Blaine’s stomach with his clean hand. “Yeah, I’m ready,” he leans down to kiss Blaine softly. “I love you killer”

“I love you too Bas” Blaine murmurs back, hooking his arms around Sebastian’s neck. “Now fuck me.”

“So bossy,” Sebastian laughs, pulling away enough to line his cock up with Blaine’s hole, lifting his legs and moving them round his waist. Blaine presses his heals into the small of Sebastian’s back as he slowly presses into him. As Sebastian starts moving after Blaine adjusts the room is filled with pants, moans and the sound of skin on skin. Blaine pulls his mouth away from Sebastian’s to press his nose into the crook of his neck, biting down to muffle his moan as he comes untouched between the two of them.

Sebastian cries out, the bite sending him over the edge. He spills deep into Blaine, collapsing on top of him. After his breathing steadies he slowly pulls out of Blaine and wipes them clean with tissues before tucking the covers round them and pulling Blaine into him so they’re lying on their sides chest to chest, arms wrapped round the other. Sebastian places a kiss on the top of Blaine’s head. “Best birthday ever.” Blaine chuckles softly. “Not just because of that killer, though that was incredible, everything you’ve done for me today, I still don’t know how I got so lucky to have you.”

Blaine hums sleepily into the crook of his shoulder, “It’s not luck Bas; you love me for me and I love you for you,” Blaine says matter of factly. 

Sebastian’s heart melts a little and he holds onto Blaine even tighter. The truth was he didn’t understand how someone could love him. Neither of his parents, the two people who were supposed to love him unconditionally did, but yet this beautiful boy with a heart of gold seemed to and sometimes it was overwhelming; not only because it felt a little unbelievable but because it scared him; letting himself be that vulnerable.

XXXXXXX  
In the morning they went downstairs to find Santana ready to go out. “Did you sleep okay Santana?” Blaine asks, “You know you can stay as long as you want.”

Santana smiles softly at Blaine; he was always so caring, “I slept great, once all the noise died down,” she replies with a wink, causing Blaine to blush fiercely and turn to hide his face in Sebastian’s chest, who places one hand on the small of Blaine’s back and the other cradling the back of his head. She looked up at Sebastian, “He’s adorable. What did you say about the whole bashful schoolboy thing?”

“That it’s superhot” Sebastian grins

“Hmm I agree”

“I’m right here,” Blaine mutters against Sebastian, causing the other two to laugh softly, before he turned around. “You can stay though; I hope we didn’t make you feel like you couldn’t.”

“And that’s why you’re my favourite twink” she says kissing Blaine’s cheek, “But I’m going to meet up with the girls; we’re going out for brunch. Now do you need me to talk to Cohen-Chang or is it all sorted? There’s only so long Trouty can cling to you for.”

“Actually we talked about it. She’d just found out Mike was seeing someone else and was feeling lonely so sort of projected those feelings onto me I guess. Kitty also pointed out I might not have helped as Tina was reading me being friendly as more, but I had no idea she had a crush on me and I’m clearly gay and with Bas so I don’t get how I could have been sending mixed signals. Anyway I just want to forget about it now, I get how it is to feel lonely and rebound your feelings onto someone who shows you kindness.”

“Yes but you didn’t force lighthouse guy into anything” Blaine shifted uncomfortably back into Sebastian’s body. “Sorry I didn’t mean to...”

“No Santana, it’s okay, but err I wasn’t actually talking about that, I meant Sam, but I never did anything like that to him either”

“Trouty huh? Well I’m not surprised. He has no sense of personal space and his lips are clearly going to waste,” she says causing Sebastian to laugh. “Well boys it’s been a blast, I’ll see you when you at the great McKinley wedding I guess...and don’t worry about Hummel, he hasn’t been able to get the time off and even if he had, I’d keep him away, only so many people should be objected to that shrieky voice, between him and Berry I think I’m starting to lose my hearing”. Santana said, again making Sebastian laugh; she picked up her bags and went to the door, turning to add, “Oh I got you a present; it’s on the counter.” Before blowing them both a kiss and heading out to the end of the drive for her ride, refusing to let Blaine carry her bags.

“You okay B?” Sebastian asks noticing how Blaine had gone oddly quiet.

“I’m just worried about what she’s left in the kitchen”

“Well let’s go find out” Sebastian said; taking Blaine’s hand and leading them down the hall. On the counter was a pink box, Blaine recognised as being from the doughnut store in Westerville.

“She got us doughnuts?” Blaine asks cautiously.

“Well maybe she got them for our breakfast; after all she knows we worked up an appetite.”

“Oh shut up,” Blaine moaned playfully rolling his eyes and made his way over to the box on the counter. Blaine’s eyes grew wide and he froze upon opening the lid, causing Sebastian to walk over; as soon as he saw the contents he burst out laughing. In the box was a pastry shaped like an erect penis, complete with decorative icing.

“I’ll take the cock; you can have the balls!” Sebastian exclaims, tearing the pastry in two.

“You can have it all; I’m not eating that!”

“Oh come on B, I’ve seen you humming happily as whore with real balls in your mouth, you can’t go shy now,” Sebastian teases, finishing his own piece of the pastry before picking up the balls and chasing after Blaine, laughing hard with tears streaming down his cheeks. Sebastian catches Blaine round the waist and pulls him harshly back against his chest, knocking some air out the smaller boy. Sebastian holds the offending piece in front of Blaine’s face. “Eat it,” and makes biting actions with his teeth in encouragement.  
Blaine shakes his head so Sebastian tightened his hold. “Eat it,” he orders in a deep commanding voice, the one Blaine knew he would never be able to resist.

Taking a deep breath Blaine takes a bite of the pastry, his eyes going wide at the filling. “Oh my god there’s cream in there!” he exclaims, causing Sebastian to laugh again, though his hold didn’t lessen. Instead Sebastian wiped some of the cream that was starting to leak out of the pastry with his finger and placed it at Blaine’s lips, who readily sucked his finger clean.

“Eat it,” Sebastian commands again, making Blaine go weak at the knees. When Blaine finished the doughnut Sebastian turned him around, taking him into a deep kiss. “Now how about some coffee to watch that down with, hey killer?” placing another kiss at the corner of Blaine’s mouth.


	23. Valentine's plans

Blaine and Sebastian are queuing up for coffee in a small independent coffee shop they’d found tucked away in Westerville. They’d become regulars at the coffee shop and couldn’t believe how long it had taken them to discover it. Valentine’s Day was the following week and although they would be at Mr Schue’s wedding for the day, Blaine wasn’t sure if they were going to do anything else. When he was dating Kurt, it was clear he was expected to make a huge fuss with over the top romantic gestures, and although he knew Sebastian wouldn’t be into that he wanted to celebrate it some way, but wasn’t sure how his Warbler boyfriend would feel about it, or if he’d even want to do anything.  
“So,” Blaine starts hesitantly, “You know it’s Valentine’s Day next week.” Sebastian feels the Blaine’s nerves radiate through his hand, fingers clutching tighter onto his own. He turns to face Blaine to find him grinning shyly at his feet, not able to meet his eye.

“It is and we’ll be at your teacher’s wedding. I still don’t get why a load of students have been invited…I’m not sure that’s even ethical.”

Blaine chuckles, “Since when have you cared about ethics? And well Mr Schue has this thing about us being family and we were a big part of the proposal, so I guess they just felt it was right to invite us.”

“Ah yes the proposal, Artie showed me the video.”

“Artie is showing you too many videos” Blaine pouts

“I thought you wanted me to be friends with your friends B” Sebastian asks cheekily, wrapping his arms round Blaine’s waist.

“I do. I love having the two groups getting on so well, but Artie is like the archive of everything to do with the New Directions.”

“Oh I know” Sebastian wiggles his eyebrows, “So what did you want to ask about Valentine’s?”

“Who said I wanted to ask anything?”

“Well you brought it up and went all shy, so you obviously do. I’m sorry killer but I know you too well to let you talk your way out of it”

They collect their orders and quickly make their way to their favourite table, tucked in the corner giving plenty of privacy.

“I know we’ll be at Mr Schue’s wedding for the day, but I didn’t know if you wanted to do anything. I mean school break is the next week…” Blaine trails off when he looks up at Sebastian and can’t read the expression on his face.

“I know…and…well it’s a surprise killer”

“Wait seriously?” Blaine says with wide eyes, clearly in shock.

“Don’t sound so shocked killer” Sebastian scowls.

“Right sorry, I didn’t mean to, it’s just Valentine’s and you, no offense…I just figured you’d not see the point and hate it…again no offense…but now I’m actually excited for it for once!”

“As you should be...it’s what you deserve B”. Meanwhile he was mentally kicking himself, after all Blaine did deserve for someone to make the effort and sweep him off his feet for once, but he hadn’t even thought about it up until this point. He’d assumed because they were going to the wedding that was that so he didn’t even have the beginning of any sort of plan for the two of them and he’d just gone and promised his hopeless romantic of a boyfriend a surprise and gotten him all excited. There was no way a crappy card and ridiculously stuffed teddy bear would do it now. It would be obvious he hadn’t really planned anything and in truth he hated that side of Valentine’s. He better get something planned, and fast.

Blaine stays at Dalton that Friday night as Sam is staying over at Brittney’s to help get Lord Tubbington out of the gang. 

Blaine was warm and cosy in bed under several blankets; he did not want to be woken up, in fact he felt like he could sleep for one hundred years. He was however being shaken by his shoulder by his boyfriend. Not even an early morning blow job was going to convince Blaine to get up now so he stayed perfectly still, eyes firmly closed. “B…Killer…Blaine wake up”

Blaine mumbles grumpily in response as the shaking gets harder so buries himself deeper under the blankets so only his curls are poking out from his cocoon. He’d had Cheerios every morning at 6:30 that week as they geared up for regionals so had been leaving home at 5:00 and he really really wanted to sleep. He heard Sebastian sigh and thought he was in the clear but then suddenly the blankets were yanked off him with force, instantly making him wake up.

“What the hell!? Sebastian! What was that for? What do you have against sleep?!” He asks angrily as he rubs his eyes with the back of his hands.

“I want you to see this” Sebastian answers plainly, ignoring his outburst as he’d heard many stories about Blaine being woken.

Blaine met his boyfriend’s eyes and was stunned by what he saw. Sebastian was fully dressed in a deep green sweater and dark skinny jeans and had his coat clutched in one hand. It was the look on his face though that was so surprising; a look of boyish, pure but simply happiness that Blaine had never seen before and he couldn’t help but smile back. 

“See what?” Blaine asks softly

“Get dressed and I’ll show you”

Blaine gets up and pulls on the jeans that had been thrown haphazardly on the floor the previous evening when they were pulling clothes off each other as if they were on fire. It was cold, even in the down room and he’d only worn a hoodie over the night before. “Are you going to drag me outside? I’m not wearing enough clothes…I’m cold in here.” Blaine pouts.

Sebastian chuckles, “That’s okay. I have an extra coat…and you can put one of my hoodies on too.” Sebastian had already pulled his on and goes to the closet passing Blaine an extra hoodie to put on and a black wool coat. Blaine pulls the hoodie on over his own one and then the coat which swamps his frame, going down to just above his knees, the sleeves slightly too long, but it was warm and smelt of Sebastian, his most favourite smell.

There’s a moment of still as Sebastian’s impatient energy pauses and he watches Blaine as he buttons up the coat. Blaine’s surprised when Sebastian reaches over and straightens the collar, pulling it up to protect his neck. Their eyes meet and there is something very soft in Sebastian’s expression, so much affection and happiness and almost something like amazement. Like Sebastian couldn’t believe they were there together.

“I never saw the appeal before…” Sebastian starts, then catches himself and looks down, trying to hide his lightly pink kissed cheeks.

“Of what?” Blaine prods, loving seeing his boyfriend like this, Sebastian looks back up and Blaine sees the blush across his cheeks has spread. It was utterly adorable and makes Blaine smile impossibly wide.

“Of sharing clothes with your boyfriend” Sebastian shrugs casually, but Blaine knows how much it means to him, can see it written across his features.

Unsure of what to say Blaine leans up on his toes to kiss his boyfriend, soft and gently, matching the mood of the room. When he pulls away he meets Sebastian’s eyes and notices how they’re twinkling with mischief. 

“Come on. I want you to see this. And I know for a fact you’ll want to see it too.”

Sebastian laces their fingers together and pulls him out of the room and down the hall, his long legs carrying them so fast that Blaine is almost running just to keep up. When they burst out the back door of the dorm block they are met with a thick covering of snow as far as the eye could see, covering the open expanse of grounds that lead to the lacrosse fields.

“Oh” was all Blaine could manage, struck speechless by the view, the snow sparkling with the first kisses of sunlight. Nobody else was up yet, it was far too early, so the snow was still pure, a flawless blanket covering the world.

Sebastian wraps his arms around Blaine’s waist “Yeah” 

“Okay I’m not mad at you for dragging me out of bed anymore.”

Sebastian smiles then walks out onto the vast grounds, Blaine following a little behind. “Good. Cause you’re about to be” The taller boys smirks.

The snowball hits Blaine high on his chest bursting into a cloud around his face and settling on his curls.

“What!? That’s not fair!” 

Blaine lunges forward but Sebastian is already dashing out of arm’s reach, laughing as he uses his speed and lacrosse training to his advantage, kicking up snow with every stride. Blaine quickly packs a snowball and tosses it at his boyfriend, but it falls short, so he takes chase, just as Blaine’s getting close Sebastian suddenly pivots and charges directly at him, ducking down to wrap his arms around the smaller boy’s waist and picks him up, spinning him around in the air before falling sideways into a deep bank of snow. Sebastian’s breathless with laughter as he pulls Blaine into a hard kiss.

“I’ve always wanted to do this” Sebastian murmurs between kisses. 

Blaine loves the passionate and impulsive side of Sebastian that hides behind the cold, arrogant mask so many never see passed. Despite his layers he is freezing though and suddenly realises that his jeans are soaked from lying in the snow, his uncovered fingers red with the cold as his body shivers harshly.

Sebastian notices at the same time, “Jesus B, you’re freezing! Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I’m fine. I love snow” he replies with his teeth chattering.

Sebastian was not going to let Blaine get even colder so jumps up, pulling his boyfriend with him, “I know you do but come on, let’s go back inside…I don’t want you turning into Mr Freeze.”

They walk back to the dorm block with Sebastian’s arm around Blaine’s waist, but stop when the sun finally breaks free and rises above the horizon. Blaine is completely awestruck, not even noticing the cold as he takes in the now golden world around them, “Bastian, wait” he tugs at his boyfriend’s jacket. Blaine just stares, committing the beauty to memory, only snapping out of his revere by the click of a camera. Sebastian is holding his compact digital camera that must have been stuffed in his pocket and grins when Blaine catches him in the act, capturing another picture.

“Sorry. You just…Let’s get inside before you freeze in place” Sebastian mumbles, stuffing the camera back in his pocket.

After stripping their coats and having a long shower to warm up Sebastian links his camera to his laptop to print the picture of Blaine. The curly haired boy looking far away in front of him, lips slightly parted in amazement. The whole picture was bathing in the golden sunlight, making the snow dusting Blaine’s shoulders and hair sparkle, “I think it’s the best picture I’ve ever taken” Sebastian grins, pulling Blaine onto his lap.


	24. The not-wedding

The McKinley wedding came round all too quickly for Sebastian. After school and practises had finished on Friday he grabbed his bags and passport before heading to Blaine’s. They wouldn’t have time for him to come back to Dalton first as their flight was early Sunday morning. Sebastian had filled Sam in on his plans for Blaine that winter break, who, along with some remote guidance from Santana, had managed to pack a bag for Blaine and track down his passport. Both of which were waiting in the cupboard in Sam’s room, ready to be loaded into Sebastian’s car that night, so there was less chance of anything being forgotten.

Traffic was a nightmare and by the time he gets to Blaine’s, Santana and Rachel are already there too. Santana at least was sticking around for winter break to visit her parents and catch up with some friends but was staying at Blaine’s that night. Rachel was going to be going back to her Dad’s house but had decided to stop by to see Blaine, Sam and Britt, plus it wasn’t so far for her one of her dad’s to drive to pick her up. 

Sebastian texts Sam to let him know he’s arrived and Sam takes the opportunity to sneak Blaine’s bag and passport out to Sebastian and puts them in the trunk of his Audi. They then both head inside. As soon as Blaine sees Sebastian he breaks out into his ‘Sebastian smile’ making the three girls giggle, particularly as Sebastian responds with his ‘Blaine smile’, then strides across the living room to where Blaine is nestled in the corner of the sofa and shifts him to sit behind so his legs are either side of Blaine and gives him a kiss on the cheek.

“So what can I expect from this wedding tomorrow then? How much chance will there be of getting drinks from the bar?” Sebastian asks everyone.

“We get to have drinks with the toast” Blaine replies

Sam looks puzzled and turns to Blaine “We’re having toast?”

“Oh Trouty I miss you,” Santana giggles

“Not that kind of toast Sam, a toast when you raise your glasses and drink together in honour of a person or thing, in this case the bride and groom.” Blaine explains without a hint of patronisation and Sam smiled in understanding and at the fact his best bro never made him feel dumb, even when explaining stuff.

“Well it’s a McKinley wedding so no doubt there will be drama,” Rachel adds

Santana notices Blaine tense slightly, “But we left lady Hummel in New York so you two don’t have to worry. Whatever drama happens will probably be something to do with Sue or from Frankensteen tripping over his two left feet and falling of stage.”

“Hey that’s not fair Santana, Finn worked really hard on his dancing and we won Nationals with him; he’s not that bad.” Rachel quips.

“Berry I’m not blind and I know dancing. As a dancer, I know lurch here will agree and Frodo’s with me too”

“Erm well…” When Blaine couldn’t disagree that’s all the group needed.

Rachel’s dads arrived to pick her up and popped in to say hi to the group and were introduced to Sebastian. When Rachel left the rest stayed up for a while longer just chatting until they noticed the time and all headed off to bed, Santana staying in the guest room she used before. In the morning they all got ready and headed to the church where the ceremony was being held. Drama was certainly delivered when Sue walked down the aisle announcing the bride had run away. Mr Schue told them all to go and enjoy the reception. They hung back a bit with the rest of the New Directions, letting everyone else clear the car park first, it was pretty icy out and most people had parked where they felt like, making it a nightmare, plus some of the relatives in attendance were interesting to say the least.

When they arrived at the hotel the non-wedding’s, as they decided to call it, reception was in full flow. Santana, Sam and Brittney and Quinn, who’d, squeezed in to ride with them walked behind Blaine and Sebastian as they entered the room and were abruptly halted by a high-pitched voice none of them expected to hear.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing here!?” Kurt squeals at Sebastian.

“He came with me Kurt, Mr Schue said he could come” Blaine replies

“You’ve got to be kidding me! You’re the one who cheated on me Blaine! You’re clearly only doing this to get back at me because I wouldn’t take you back. I bet it was him you cheated on me with! I was thinking of forgiving you but now I’m not so sure.”

By now the whole room was watching the debacle. An angry looking Puck and Mike were moving over with Rachel and Finn from behind Kurt. Sebastian, Quinn, Sam and Santana were all seething and ready to jump in but wanted to give Blaine the chance to handle the situation.

Blaine was starting to see red considering what he knew, “Seriously?! Well I suppose I should be gracious that the great Kurt Hummel was starting to consider forgiving me…”

Blaine was cut off as Kurt slapped him hard across the face, making Brittney cry and leaving Rachel flabbergasted; she had recently been questioning her friendship with Kurt the more he bitched about Blaine (not knowing Rachel knew about his affair) and with how judgemental he’d been over her life and how bad he was making her feel most of the time.

Quinn quickly grabs hold of Sebastian’s arms to stop him from doing anything stupid. “Don’t do it, he’ll press charges on assault and Blaine needs you”. That was enough to stop Sebastian swinging at Kurt, but Santana on the other hand was a different matter. Sam was hugging Brittney to try and calm her down but she was upset about her narwhal being hurt, so they went with Sebastian and Blaine to reception for quiet and to get ice for his face. It seems Kurt had slapped him with his hand that was covered in ‘fashion statement’ rings, which had already caused his face to start to bruise where contact with the metal was made. 

Santana was ranting in Spanish at Kurt and Puck and Mike managed to stop her and Kitty, who’d come to join in from lunging full force at him.

“Santana how can you take his side in this?” Kurt shouts at the fiery Latina.

“Don’t even try it Lady Hummel. I know exactly what you did to Blaine before you left for New York and what you did after. He’s happy. Sebastian’s with him now. You made your choice. Now let it go and move on. It’s not his fault you’re all pissy because your boy toy left you.”

That flustered Kurt a little but he quickly got on his roll again...”I don’t know what you’re talking about. Why is Blaine always the victim? He cheated on me! He stole all my solos when he moved to McKinley and took Tony from me. He’s an alpha gay! Everyone always worshiped the great Blaine Anderson, but now you’re making out like I’m the bad guy and I even came back here to forgive him and work things out!”

“I heard Blaine moved to McKinley for you. It’s not his fault if he’s a much better singer and dancer than you and got given more solos. And for the record if he wasn’t gay I would totally tap that because he’s freaking hot, but that doesn’t make him an alpha gay, whatever the hell is meant to be” Kitty chips in.

“You don’t even know what you’re talking about.” Kurt throws back at Kitty, but he underestimated her and how close she had got with Blaine. Kitty had learnt her lesson from messing with Marley and was now fiercely protective of her friends. As far as Kitty was concerned, revenge really is a dish best served cold and had resulted in other Cheerios having Nair added to their shampoo when they made fun of Unique.

“Yeah but I do and if you don’t leave him and Sebastian alone, I will go Lima Heights on your ass” 

“I’m surprised at you Santana, I mean I can understand that Sam and Brittney being fooled by Sebastian but I thought you would be able to see through it, he’s obviously pretending to be nice to get into Blaine’s pants.” Everyone is shocked by Kurt clearly implying that Sam and Brittney were dumb and it only riled Santana and Kitty up more.

“Kurt, dude I really think you need to stop now. You’re digging yourself into a hole here man.” Puck says trying to get the situation under control.

“Oh my god! You’ve got to be kidding me! Not you too! Why can’t anyone see that I was the victim here!? Why are you all fussing around Blaine and Sebastian?” Kurt spits out the former Warbler captain’s name.

Santana had had enough; as far as she was concerned it was time for everyone to know the truth, though the graduates bar Mercedes and some of the current New Directions already knew the full story. When she saw Sam and Brittney return and Sam gave her a shake of the head, letting her know Blaine wasn’t coming back and wasn’t really okay she launched into it.

“Let me tell you a story Kurt,” Santana began, “There was once a prince who recovered from a lot of shit in his life and still found the strength to help a boy who came to spy on him. That boy chased after him till he cracked and they became boyfriends. The boy then guilt tripped the prince into leaving his castle where he was safe and had his friends for the selfish reason of making his senior year magical, because apparently that’s all that mattered. When the prince joined McKinley he was then guilt tripped into turning down solos and was punished for being given a leading role, even though he freaking deserved it and hadn’t even gone for it in the first place because of the boy. The prince then started to fade into a shell of the person he once was. When he got hurt he was lied to by the boy about there not being any evidence and guilt tripped again into completely cutting contact with the guys who were once his brothers and the tall prince who he had become close friends with, even though that prince was clearly sorry for what he did.”

Kurt went to interrupt but Santana didn’t let him and continued. “The boy then went about sexting another boy and left the prince for New York three days before his birthday, only saying goodbye in a text. The princes became friends again, but that was soon stopped by the boy, again by being a manipulative little bitch. The curly haired prince through sheer loneliness and desperation made a mistake. He was so cut up by it and went about punishing himself, literally. But all along the boy had already been sleeping with someone else and spread shit about the prince to make people turn on him. But that prince, thanks to his friends and the tall prince, came back to life and is finally himself again. And I will not let you try and zap the life from Blaine again.”

“Hang on, you cheated on Blaine first and let him take all that crap?!” Kitty bellows at Kurt. By now all of the New Directions had surrounded Kurt and Santana. Kurt’s previously smug expression dropped as he realised everyone now knew the full story. But he wasn’t going to go down easily. He wanted Blaine back; they’d both made mistakes but now he knew they could fix it. Finn pulled Kurt out and took him home before anything else could go down. 

When the boys arrived Burt could immediately tell something was wrong and forced them to tell him what was going on. Kurt remained silent but Finn spilt out everything he’d been hiding from his step-dad for the last few months, including his own behaviour towards Blaine. Kurt then went onto say that he’d come back as he wanted to get back together with Blaine, still not understanding, or perhaps accepting, that Blaine and Sebastian were in fact a couple. Burt couldn’t believe it and told Kurt he’d have to give Blaine time and wait until he was ready to talk, if he ever wanted to and that Kurt would have to respect his choices. Burt was also feeling guilty as when he’d bumped into Blaine once he was particularly cold given what Kurt had told him.

Meanwhile at the hotel, the girl on reception had gotten Sebastian some ice for Blaine’s face and had let them use a small room near the front desk that was sometimes used for holding bags for some privacy. Sebastian and Blaine were closely sat face to face on the floor, legs intertwined, while Sebastian gently held the bag of ice wrapped in tissue to Blaine’s cheek. 

Blaine’s raspy voice cut through the silence, “I’m sorry”. 

Sebastian smiled a half smile, “What have you got to be sorry for B?”

“Ruining Valentine’s and making Brittney upset”

Sebastian frowns, “Hey, listen to me B, you haven’t ruined anything, he’s the one that showed up and started kicking off, and he’s the one that slapped you and made Brittney cry. She cried because you were hurt and she loves you. You have done nothing wrong. I can only imagine what Santana did when we left. She’s as protective of you now as she is of Brittney, and Kurt hurt both of you at once. I wouldn’t be surprised if his voice is even higher when we next see him.” Sebastian smirks causing Blaine to laugh a little. “So what do you say killer? Blow job in the back of my car make you feel better?”

Blaine laughs again. “Maybe not in the back of your car; come with me” Blaine stands up and went back to the front desk where he handed back the ice and collected a room key. He took Sebastian’s hand and led him to the room, where Puck had put a bottle of Champagne he’d lifted from the reception for Blaine. 

“Well, well killer. Did you have this whole thing planned all along so you could ravish me?”

“Not quite the whole thing no, in my original plan there was dancing first” Blaine opens the champagne and pours two glasses. The room had a small balcony that looked over the hotel’s gardens, which had a fountain in the middle. The night was too cold to stay out on the balcony, so after stepping out for a moment they quickly made their way back inside the room. Sebastian was thankful he’d already got their luggage in his car, otherwise they’d have to make a trip back to Blaine’s in the morning and the hotel was actually closer to the airport. Blaine put both the glasses down on the side, “I know you didn’t really want to come tonight so I figured it was only fair to give you a reward.” Blaine says as he plays with Sebastian’s tie.

Sebastian raises an eyebrow, “Oh really?” He sits back on the edge of the bed and pulls Blaine down so he is straddling him.

“Mmmhmm” Blaine presses his lips against Sebastian’s but as the kiss gets deeper he pulls away with a slight hiss.

“I’m sorry,” Sebastian says as he traces a finger gently over Blaine’s lip where a ring had come into contact and split it.

“It’s not your fault”

“No…but I did promise you a blow job to make you feel better” Sebastian waggles his eyebrows and scoots backwards up the bed with Blaine still on his lap, rolling them over so Blaine is on the bottom, when he gets to the headboard. He sits Blaine up and takes off both their jackets before taking off Blaine’s bowtie and slowly undoing his shirt, kissing each bit of newly exposed skin. Sebastian takes his time teasing Blaine and building him up again and again before finally letting him have his release. There are two rounds, each taking it in turn to bottom before they have a shower, which is full of kisses and gentle touches. When they get into bed Sebastian makes sure to set his alarm.

Sebastian holds Blaine until he drifts off; he knows tonight has taken more out of his boyfriend than he’s trying to let on. Although they have to be up early it’s 11:30 and he doesn’t feel like he can sleep yet so he keeps the TV on low and flicks through the channels, though he’s not really watching anything other than Blaine. He’s pulled from his thoughts by a gentle knock at the door; he thinks about ignoring it but then it goes again and his phone buzzes with a message from Santana ‘Open up – it’s just me and Q’. 

Sebastian gently unwraps Blaine’s arm from around his waist and gently lowers his head on to the pillow from where it was propped on his shoulder. Blaine doesn’t wake up but frowns slightly in his sleep, bringing a smile to Sebastian’s face. 

He puts his boxer briefs back on and slips on his shirt, though doesn’t bother buttoning it up before answering the door.

“Now we know what took you so long” Santana smirks.

Sebastian chuckles, “Nothing like that I assure you Miss Lopez, B’s asleep and I had to untangle myself from his grasp” he teases, opening the door slightly so the girls could see Blaine, who was now cuddling Sebastian’s pillow.

“He’s too cute”, Quinn comments, smiling at the sight of her friend whose hair was completely wild free from any product and where Sebastian had been massaging his scalp to help him relax, “How is he?” 

“Well thanks to the stupid rings on gayface’s hand his cheek is pretty bruised up and his lip is split in the corner. Lucky he has such a high pain threshold from all that boxing and fencing.”

“Hang on, Blaine fenced? We knew about the boxing, hell we spied on him in the gym after Puck told us.” Santana comments, clearly shocked.

The memory makes Quinn smile again, “I remember that, we couldn’t believe it so we hid behind the lockers, I think it’s safe to say we were all pleasantly surprised at what we saw, but when he caught us all he did was blush and offer to teach us. Though I never knew he fenced.”

“He was on the team at Dalton, but had to give it up when he transferred. By all accounts he was damn good too; he placed third at the National Youth Tournament and was tipped to win the following year.”

That made both the girls frown, they realised neither knew the true extent of what Blaine sacrificed when he transferred to McKinley and it caused Quinn, and the psychology major in her, to go back to her question, “But how is he really? It must have been a shock as none of us knew Kurt was going to be there and I would never have expected it to end with Blaine getting hurt…and Brittney crying.”

“He’s doing better now, but he blamed the whole thing on himself.” Sebastian shakes his head at the thought, “He seriously tried to apologise for ruining Valentine’s Day and making Brittney cry.”

“None of what happened is his fault”, Santana reaffirms.

“Yeah, but he takes everything on himself and hates seeing people he cares about hurting, particularly if he thinks they’re being pulled into something because of him.”

Santana smiles, “Well I’m sure when you pull out all your stops tomorrow he’ll realise Valentine’s Day isn’t ruined.”

“Ahh is that what the bag is about?” Quinn asks pointing to the night bag at Santana’s feet. Sebastian hadn’t noticed it until then and looked quizzically at Santana.

“It’s a good job both of you let your plans slip to me, otherwise you could be having to fly all that way in your suits. There’s a change of clothes for you both and some toothbrushes and shampoo, this hotel stuff is normally horrible and is clearly doing nothing for Blaine’s hair” she teases.

“Well to be fair, I told Sam to pack a bag for Blaine and apparently that required your help.”

“You’ve seen how Trouty dresses; of course he didn’t have a clue what to pack” 

“So is someone going to tell me where you’re taking him?” Quinn asks.

“It’s top secret and I’ve got it planned so he won’t know until we land so you can’t say anything until he lets you know or tweets or something, but I’m taking him to Paris for winter break. My cousin’s going to Edinburgh to visit some friends so we’re using her apartment.”

“Oh my god he’s going to freak!” Quinn squeals a little too loudly, causing Blaine to stir but not enough to wake him. The three giggle when it sounds like he hums a little tune. 

“Of course he sings in his sleep,” Santana comments fondly, “Give me your suits and I’ll take them back to Blaine’s in the morning. The last thing you want to do is leave them in a car all week or lug them all the way with you.”

Sebastian quickly gathers their suits and shirts, making sure all the pockets are empty. “Thank you. Not just for this,” he says taking the bag, “but for stopping me from doing anything stupid earlier or the whole situation getting worse.” The two girls exchanged looks. Sebastian sighs, “What happened?”

“Well, I might have had enough of Lady Hummel playing the victim act and trying to put everything on Blaine, so I might have told the story of the prince and the boy; though I can’t help it if it was an exact parallel of what happened between Blaine and Kurt and if everyone overheard. And if it causes a great McKinley divide I will be more than happy to take full responsibility.” Santana explains.

“Yeah but trying to convince B will be harder; though I wish I could have seen Hummel’s face.”

“Oh it was a picture that’s for sure. Kitty was fuming and from what I’ve heard of her recent antics in protecting her friends, he better watch out or he could have poison ivy in his many moisturisers too” Santana jokes, though she was serious, Kitty really had been known to do that to people who insulted her friends.

Sebastian laughs, “I knew I liked her for a reason”

“Yeah you’re two of the same” Quinn responds

“Oh as if you two are any different.”

Quinn sighs thoughtfully, “Though, something isn’t adding up quite right to me. Kurt seemed to think he’d come here to get back with Blaine.”

“Well he clearly didn’t know that we all know what really happened and that Blaine’s with me now and that’s not going to change.”

“No I know, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he comes back. There was just something about the way he said it.” Quinn couldn’t pin point what it was but she had a feeling this wouldn’t be the end of it.

“Don’t worry Sebastian; we won’t let anything happen to Blaine or you. I never thought I’d see the day but we both like having you around too much to the point where we actually might miss you.”

“Gee I’m touched,” Sebastian says playfully clutching his heart.

“Plus you make Blaine happy, and if anyone deserves to be happy, it’s him.” She adds and Quinn hums in agreement.

“Well as much as I’d love to stay and chat; I better get some sleep, early start and all that, but could you do me one more favour?”

“Depends what it is...”

Sebastian laughs, “I like your style Lopez; I was wondering if you could tell the Dalton boys the story of the prince and the boy, and fill them in on what happened tonight and threaten them so they don’t say anything to B about it or go after gayface and make things worse. No doubt the whole thing will go round the rumour mill and I’d rather they hear it from someone who actually knows all the facts, but I don’t want them bringing it up with B, if he wants to talk about it then it needs to be on his terms. Wes knows the whole story but could you give him heads up as to what went down tonight and that the Dalton boys now know, he’ll keep them in check. You have his number right.”

“Yeah I’ve got it and no problem; anything else?”

“Yeah, apart from Wes no one actually knows why B went to Dalton…”

“So don’t let any of it slip…” Sebastian nods at the Latina, “It’s fine Sebastian; I’ll never tell anybody; I won’t break my promise to him.”

Sebastian smiles at her, “I don’t doubt it. Thank you; both of you. Good night,” Sebastian gave the girls a kiss on the cheek and received one back before closing the door and crawling back into bed. He removed the pillow from his boyfriend’s grasp and replaced it with himself. Blaine smiled when he was wrapped round Sebastian’s body again and nuzzled into his chest. Holding onto Blaine Sebastian let himself drift to sleep, thinking about how much his life had changed in the last year and although it was a little terrifying he wouldn’t change it for the world.

“Something happened to Blaine for him to go to Dalton didn’t it? When he was helping me after my accident he said something about knowing what recovering from a trauma was like but never said why or how, so I know something happened to him, but now I get the feeling it wasn’t exactly an accident” Quinn asks Santana as they enter their hotel room.

“Sorry; I really can’t say, but it gave me a whole new respect for him that’s for sure,” Santana answers.

“Why do I get the feeling there’s more to Blaine Anderson and, dare I say it, Sebastian Smythe than I ever thought?”

“Because there definitely is…night Q”

“Night San”


	25. The real Paris

The alarm goes off at 5:30 and causes both boys to wake up, though as always Blaine is a little slower to properly come to.

“Bastian turn your phone off! It’s sleep time” Blaine moans grumpily and buries himself in a mound of pillow and duvet, effectively cocooning himself.

Sebastian turns off the alarm and stretches before unravelling his boyfriend. “Sorry B, but it’s actually time to get up”

“Really what time is it? Are we going to miss check out?” Blaine asks slightly panicked, trying to wake up quickly.

“No we’re not going to miss check out, but we will miss something if you don’t get up now. Come on…I’ll blow you in the shower, but you’ll need to get up now” Sebastian wiggles his eyebrows.

That gets Blaine’s attention and quickly heads for the shower and is pleasantly surprised when Sebastian gives him a bottle of his shampoo to use. The blow job distracts Blaine for a while and he happily gives one in return, but then he realises Sebastian never actually answered his question. “You never told me what the time was”

Sebastian smirks at his boyfriend, “The time doesn’t matter. What does matter is why we’re up now and I’m afraid you won’t find that out yet. This is my Valentine’s Day surprise for you and as it’s the first time I’ve ever had reason to celebrate this holiday I know you don’t want to dash my efforts by ruining the surprise.” Blaine grumbles because Sebastian was right; he didn’t want to ruin whatever surprise the taller boy had planned, particularly because he because to be honest he had half expected him to write it off as a Hallmark holiday. Then again Sebastian was always surprising him, so it shouldn’t have really been a shock.

Sebastian could tell that Blaine was getting more and more agitated as they made their way through the airport and eventually on the plane as he was sure to stop Blaine from getting any clues. The only thing he did tell him was that it would be 7 hour or so flight so Blaine should rest given everything that happened the night before. After some protest Blaine couldn’t resist any longer and ended up asleep on Sebastian’s shoulder, face pressed into the taller boy’s neck.

Sebastian couldn’t help but smile at his boyfriend as he gently ran a hand through his curls and placed his head on top. The only sign of the whole wedding drama were the bruises that had already started to change colour so would soon fade. Maybe the surprise was too much; but Blaine had surprised him so much already by just being him that he wanted to do the surprising this time. Sebastian knew he still wasn’t great at showing his feelings or being affectionate, not like Blaine, so he really wanted to do something to show how much he cared. 

Sebastian kept a secure arm around Blaine’s waist as they stepped off the plane, to steady him as he was still waking up, he just hoped that Blaine would be awake enough to notice the sign they were approaching.

Bienvenue a Paris!

Blaine mouthed the words quietly to himself and he immediately straightedned at Sebastian’s side and quickly looked around. “Bienvenue a Paris?!” Blaine shouts and jumps up and down. Sebastian manages to capture a picture of Blaine, eyes wide with surprise and a huge grin on his face as he looks at the sign. Sebastian puts his arm back around waist to guide him along, there was so much more he wanted Blaine to see that he didn’t want to get stuck in the airport. 

By the time the boys reach Sebastian’s cousin’s apartment in the city, Sebastian was surprised Blaine hadn’t tired himself out from the excitement of it all. He knew he’d never been to Paris before and had always wanted to, but he hadn’t quite expected Blaine to spend the entire car journey with his nose pressed up against the window, bouncing in his seat every time they turned a corner, much in the same way an excitable puppy would. In fact Sebastian was sure that if the weather was warmer, Blaine would have had the window down and his head hanging out.

“Do you need a nap now killer?” Sebastian teases as he leads them into the apartment, wrapping his arms around Blaine’s waist and nuzzling against his neck gently.   
“Sorry,” Blaine mumbles, his cheeks lighting up with a blush. 

“Don’t be, it was adorable...you are adorable…and it made me realise how special Paris really is all over again.”

Blaine sighs happily and turns in Sebastian’s arms, reaching up and looping his arms around his neck before kissing him gently, “You take my breath away…you seriously are the best boyfriend ever…I don’t know what I did to deserve you but you made me so happy, even when I wasn’t sure I ever would be again.” he confesses quietly, pressing his forehead against Sebastian’s.

“I love you,” Sebastian tells him, his arms tightening around Blaine’s waist.

“I love you too,” Blaine grins, tilting his head to kiss him softly, “but my Valentine’s surprise is rubbish compared to this.”

“It wasn’t but I’m sure you could find a way to make it up to me,” Sebastian seductively nips at Blaine’s ear lobe. 

“Hmm, I’m sure I could,” Blaine replies seductively nipping at Sebastian’s bottom lip, before tickling his side and running off, madly laughing as the taller catches him and throws him over his shoulder, taking him to the bedroom. Needless to say they didn’t go out that night.

The next morning the city is even more beautiful in the low, bright winter sun. Blaine couldn’t help but notice that there was something a little different about Sebastian in the city. Not in a good or bad way, is was as though he was more comfortable strolling down the streets of Paris with his arm proudly around Blaine’s waist, fingers dipping low periodically to play with the waistband of Blaine’s underwear beneath his jeans. Then again Blaine knew better than most what could happen in conservative Ohio if you were seen to be outside the norm, so it made complete sense.

Blaine also loved hearing Sebastian speaking French, yes they spoke it to each other, but hearing Sebastian speak it to other people so casually was doing something for Blaine. It didn’t take Sebastian long to pick up on the fact due to the look that kept crossing Blaine’s face and the way he would fidget at his side.  
That’s how Blaine found himself with his head pushed back into the pillow with his hips rocking in rhythm with his boyfriend’s slow thrusts as he dragged in and out of him, brushing his prostate with every stroke. Sebastian murmured sweet nothing’s in French into his ear softly, causing Blaine to let out even more new noises that he couldn’t get enough of.

The next morning Blaine woke up early and slipped out. He wanted to go and buy two padlocks before Sebastian woke up so he could surprise him. When he got back to the apartment Sebastian was still dead to the world so he quickly got undressed, leaving just his boxer briefs and a t-shirt on so his boyfriend wouldn’t be able to tell he’d already been out, and made his way to the kitchen to start cooking breakfast.

When Sebastian woke up, he was a little disgruntled to find Blaine wasn’t in bed, but soon heard Blaine singing along to the radio and smelt what was obviously going to be breakfast cooking. Sebastian got up and made his way to the kitchen; he leant on the door frame and watched Blaine dance and sing along to ‘Take On Me’ while he moved effortlessly around the kitchen cooking French toast, bacon and spinach. He couldn’t help but be drawn to the way Blaine’s hips moved so freely when he thought nobody was watching, or the way the red material of his boxer briefs clung to his ass. As the song ended Sebastian moved forward to where Blaine was standing in front of the stove and wrapped his arms around the shorter boy’s waist, startling him slightly.

Blaine chuckles slightly as Sebastian started peppering his neck with kisses. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“Taking you on” Sebastian smirks against Blaine’s skin.

“After breakfast, I haven’t made all this for it to go bad while you have your wicked way with me.”

“You say that as if you don’t enjoy it” The look on Blaine’s face let Sebastian know he wasn’t going to win this one so they ate breakfast. Just as they had finished loading the dishwasher Blaine turned around to face Sebastian, who’d been staring at him.

“What?” Blaine asks; intrigued as to what had caused his boyfriend to stare at him in a way he didn’t quite recognise.

“Nothing” Sebastian replies shaking his head, and wrapped his arms round Blaine’s waist. When Blaine wrapped his arms around Sebastian’s neck, he bent down to pick Blaine up so his legs were wrapped around his waist. “I’m just going to take you on and see if I can make you hit that high note again,” Sebastian whispers into Blaine’s neck and carries him to the bedroom. After Sebastian did in fact manage to make Blaine hit that high note again, albeit a lot breathier, Blaine convinced him that they should go out that day so they showered. Just as Blaine was finishing in the bathroom, putting his eye drops in, Sebastian walks in ready to go and immediately pales. “What are you doing?” he asks hurriedly.  
Blaine wasn’t sure how to handle to situation; he’d never told Sebastian about using eye drops as it wasn’t important to him, but it was clear it had disturbed his boyfriend. “Nothing, just putting in my eye drops,” Blaine replies too casually.

“Why? What for? You never told me you had to use eye drops before, and I’ve never seen you put them in.”

“It didn’t seem important and I use them so I don’t get dry eyes.”

“If it wasn’t important you wouldn’t have been hiding this from me!” Sebastian shouts, getting angry at himself but directing all of his frustrations at Blaine. He had finally forgiven himself for hurting Blaine, but here was a blatant reminder of what he did, of why he wasn’t good enough for Blaine and why surely someday soon Blaine would wake up and find someone better, and he didn’t want to face that heart break. He left the bathroom and grabbed his wallet and keys.

Blaine runs after Sebastian, “Bastian wait! It doesn’t matter! Please just talk to me!” But Sebastian simply grabs his coat off the hook and slams the front door shut with such force you could feel the apartment shake. Blaine went back into the bedroom and threw himself face down onto the bed and began sobbing heavily into his pillow. After he was all cried out he sat up and let his mind wonder. Should he have told Sebastian before? He honestly didn’t consider it a big deal; he’d been prone to dry eyes before the slushie incident. Yes it had gotten worse since and yes he now had to use the eye drops daily, but it didn’t matter, not to him. Why hadn’t he said anything? Because he didn’t want to make Sebastian upset. He knew his boyfriend still felt awful for him getting hurt, even though it seemed he had finally forgiven himself and now Blaine felt like he’d messed it all up.  
Blaine’s mind was racing so much he called Sam; his Sammy who would never judge a soul and would help him slow his thoughts down and stop him from over thinking too much, like he knew he was prone to do.

Sam answered after a few rings, “Dude save me! Britt, Santana and Quinn have taken over the living room with a chick flick marathon and are keeping me hostage!” The sound of Sam’s voice causes Blaine’s emotions to heighten again so he lets out a little sob that he was powerless to stop. Of course Sam picks up on it immediately, “Blaine what’s wrong?” Sam’s tone instantly causes the girls to stop the film and look at Sam. Blaine starts to ramble about what had happened but was going too fast for Sam to understand what he said. “Hang on dude, take a deep breath and start again, my ears can’t keep up. I’m going to let the girls hear okay, they’re all worried about you.” 

Sam puts the phone on speaker and Blaine starts his ramble again, though at a slightly slower speed. It was obvious to them that Sebastian’s outburst was the result of being reminded of the past. Sam told Blaine to decorate the padlocks so when Sebastian got back he could take him to the bridges as planned and that if anything what they stood for would now have more meaning. Quinn and Brittany assured Blaine it would be okay and Santana snuck off to call Sebastian. She knew he didn’t think he was good enough for Blaine and that he would see this as confirmation of that. When he finally picked up she was glad he’d calmed down and was on his way back to the apartment so gave Sam the heads up to get Blaine off the phone.

Blaine heard the front door go but kept his seat on the centre of the bed. Sebastian appeared at the doorway, eyes red and puffy with his normally perfectly styled hair a mess where he’d obviously been running his hands through it. Blaine of course was in the same state and the pair just stared at the other for a while, before surging forward and clinging to each other tightly, sharing deep, longing kisses. Blaine broke away first and pushed some of Sebastian’s hair off his forehead.

“I’m sorry I hadn’t said anything before. I’ve always been prone to dry eyes so it never seemed like something to bring up. I should have said something though so you wouldn’t have gotten upset when you saw me.”

“So it’s not because of what I did to you?” Sebastian asks Blaine, his voice weak from crying.

“No.” 

“Honestly?”

“Honest Bastian, they’re maybe a little more sensitive to things like the cold now and maybe get dry a little quicker, but the problem wasn’t caused by the slushie.”  
“You mean by me.”

“No I mean by the slushie. I thought we’d moved past this.” Blaine soothingly runs his hand up and down Sebastian’s spine.

“I’m sorry. I just freaked out. Seeing you made me think of how I hurt you, of how I left you that night screaming in pain.” Sebastian’s insecurities had never been so evident on his face before and it hurt Blaine to see him like that. All the doubt and fear etched into his features.

“Hey. Don’t do that. I’m fine, you’re fine and together we’re amazing. Come on, there’s something I want to do today and the timing is actually pretty perfect.” Blaine pulls Sebastian off the bed and slips on his shoes and coat.

Blaine was so excited, this was something he had always dreamed of doing and since he’d arrived in Paris with Sebastian he knew this was the right time and the right person to do it with. 

“This is the Pont de l’Archeveche.” Sebastian says as they arrive at the first bridge and Blaine smiles up at him. 

“Look at them all…It’s like a mosaic.” Blaine says softly as they start to walk down the wall of padlock, gently running his fingers over them. He sighs happily as he leans back against Sebastian and holds on to the arms wrapped around his waist.

Sebastian nods and kisses the top of Blaine’s head and the mound of curls on top that were still wild from where Blaine had been running his hands through them. “Much as I can understand the point of this now…you’re going to have to explain to me why the timing of our fight was so perfect.”

Blaine grins mischievously a little and looks Sebastian in the eye. “One, we didn’t have a fight…that definitely goes down as a misunderstanding and because…well…I got us a pad lock” Blaine says as he pulls out the red square padlock decorated with an interlinked ‘S’ and ‘B’ with the date on the other side.

Sebastian raises his eyebrows and smiles brightly with a little amusement, “And when exactly did you get the chance to get that?”

“I slipped out early this morning,” Blaine shrugs, “I’ve read about the bridges, but I never thought I’d be lucky enough to find my someone to do this with. But then I found you, or more like you found me and didn’t give up.” Blaine smiles shyly. Sebastian stands staring at Blaine with a look of pride, total happiness and love and places a tender kiss on his boyfriend’s lips. Blaine smiles up at Sebastian, “I just wanted to do something to show you how much I love you and the timing is perfect because it shows that no matter what…I love you for you…the good the bad and the ugly”

“You can scratch that ugly comment” Sebastian feigns hurt and tickles Blaine’s side.

Blaine squirms away and takes the two keys off the lock and opens it, “Would you do the honour? Think of it as an apology for the ugly comment” he grins cheekily.  
Sebastian nods, the smile never leaving his face as he fixes the lock to the bridge.

“You know the story don’t you?” Blaine asks as he watches Sebastian, loving how much his obviously means to his boyfriend.

Sebastian just nods. “Of course I do...I did live here you know” he winks; “Now we have to through the keys into the river.”

Blaine smiles brightly, “Right, as a symbol of our undying love,” he hands one of the keys to Sebastian and they both throw their keys into the river below.

Sebastian lets out a soft sigh as he pulls Blaine closer. “Thank you for this,” he whispers, kissing his forehead, “I love it”.

“Of course” Blaine says as he peppers soft kisses to Sebastian’s lips, “I knew you would, I know that deep down you’re a hopeless romantic”.

“Hmmm….you must be rubbing off on me…and you better not tell anyone.”

“Nope…I like that it’s our secret…that I’m the only one who gets to see this side of you.”

Sebastian chuckles, “You’re such a sap” and they stand for a moment, both revelling in the feeling of being even closer to each other than ever before. Blaine takes Sebastian’s hand and walks them to the second bridge. The next bridge was the most important part of this and he was definitely a little nervous. This was going to be his way of promising Sebastian that he never needs to worry and that although they hadn’t been a couple for long, Blaine knew deep down that this was it, that nobody could ever replace Sebastian. Blaine had come to accept that Kurt was his first love, but that ultimately what he felt for him was nothing in comparison to what he felt for this tall, beautiful complex boy who loved him for who he truly was, flaws and all, and Blaine could honestly say the same about him. 

“So, do you know the story of both bridges?” Blaine asks as they make their way up to the Pont des Arts Bridge.

“Not really but I know I’m about to” 

Blaine playfully pinches Sebastian’s side, “And you say you lived here…Well the Pont de l’Archeveche bridge is the bridge for just your lover.”

“Oh?” Sebastian asks, raising his eyebrow as they stop in front of the small wall of locks and can feel a little anxiety come back as to him Blaine was far more than a lover, he’d had those before and knew what he felt for Blaine was beyond compare.

“Mmhmm” Blaine mumbles softly, looking at all of the locks in front of them, reaching into his bag again and pulling out the second padlock, identical to the first. “And this one is…well it’s for your committed love.” He smiles shyly a little as he looks at Sebastian holding the lock in his open palmed hand.

A bright grin of pure happiness spreads across Sebastian’s face as he looks at Blaine, the boy who had made him genuinely happy and actually feel something, he was no longer the numb individual walking around and not caring about anyone or anything. “Is that so?” He whispers contently, rubbing the tip of his nose against Blaine’s.  
“Yep…The love you’ll be with until the end of time”.

“Blaine…” Sebastian breathes.

Blaine’s nerves take over and he goes into full blown ramble mode, “We don’t have to leave the lock if you don’t want, if you think it’s too soon, but I know how I feel and I have never felt even half of what I do for you for anyone else. You actually love me for me, flaws and all, and I love you, all of you and I know, I just know that I am so lucky to have found you so soon, and I never plan on letting you go the idea of living without you is terrifying, and I would never ever change a moment we’ve had because the bad has made us who we are and makes us stronger as we face it together and the good is nothing short of magic, so if you’ll have me Sebastian Alexander Salvador Smythe, I’m yours, all yours and I always will be. This lock here, it’s my promise to you, my promise that I’m yours…no matter what…but we can keep it for another time.”

Sebastian lets out a breathless laugh, cutting Blaine off from his ramble, his smile growing impossibly wide as he gazes at his adorable boyfriend. Just when he thought it was impossible to love anyone more, Blaine surprised him all over again. Falling in love terrified him, not the love itself, but the hurt and heartbreak it leaves him open for, Blaine after all was a walking testament of that. But no matter how scary that seemed he knew it was worth it because the idea of losing Blaine was far more horrifying than anything else, and now he knew that the honeyed eyed boy with the heart of gold and ass created by sculptors felt exactly the same way. “Really?” he asks in a quiet whisper not quite letting himself believe it.

“Really,” Blaine tells him sincerely, his eyes, the windows to his soul, leaving no doubt.

Sebastian cups Blaine’s cheeks in his hands and kisses him slowly, pouring all his love and emotions into it. Blaine smiles into the kiss and places his hands on Sebastian’s hips. They eventually break apart and head back to the apartment after fixing the lock in a carefully selected place and tossing the keys into the river. That night they took their time to show the other the extent of their love, not leaving an inch of their bodies untouched, whispering hopes, dreams and promises to the other. Small confessions they hadn’t yet dared to make. Nothing could have made them happier. In that moment the whole world had stopped and it was just about them. 

When Sebastian woke up on their last day in the city he couldn’t believe how quickly the week had gone. Their plane was leaving at 4:30 am the following morning. Since the day at the bridges and the resulting night and day wrapped up in the sheets Sebastian was for once in his life feeling secure. Sometimes he still couldn’t believe that despite everything that had happened the beautiful curly haired boy wrapped up in his arms was actually with him. Blaine had done so much to show and prove his love since the eye drop incident and he wanted to do the same. When it came to talking about feelings Sebastian still found it difficult to explain what he felt, to get across to Blaine that he feels the same, so he decided he would have to show him instead. Knowing how Blaine loves romantic gestures but much prefers them in an intimate setting he hatches a plan.

They spent that day lazily walking around, stopping at cafes and taking some extra pictures. Sebastian had been in contact with one of his cousin’s friends who he knew had a spare key to her apartment in case of emergencies. She had agreed to help him by setting up the roof with fairy lights, blankets and pillows and a docking station, how they often did in the summer. On their way back to the apartment they stopped and had a light bite to eat, still mostly full from the treats they picked up from the delicatessen at lunch. When Sebastian kept walking up the stairs, passed the front door he couldn’t help but grin at the confused, but completely adorable, expression on Blaine’s face. When they stepped out onto the roof Blaine audibly gasped at the site. The fairy lights were strung from the roof of the stairwell to the top of the railing that went round the edge of the space, creating a beautiful canopy of light. Blaine snapped out of his daze when he heard music start and soon he found himself in Sebastian’s embrace, slowly moving to the music.

“Listen to the song B”

Blaine focussed in and never had the lyrics to ‘Use Somebody’ meant so much to him. This was Sebastian’s confession, as his had been with the padlocks and he felt completely overwhelmed, but in a very good way, as if his heart could actually burst from his chest. When the song ended, Sebastian placed a finger under Blaine’s chin and gently lifted it up so he’d be able to look into his eyes and wasn’t sure what to think when he saw a tear fall down his boyfriend’s cheek. Blaine immediately saw the worry in Sebastian’s face so gently cupped his face in his hands and kissed him, filling it with all the love he was feeling in that moment. They pulled apart, foreheads resting together.  
“Thank you Bastian, that was beyond perfect. That then, it meant everything to me.”

A soft smile creeps across Sebastian’s face. “Come on killer, we better get to bed, we’ve got an early start.”

“I don’t want to leave”, Blaine pouts, causing Sebastian to smile.

“I promise I’ll bring you back”

They spent the night cuddling and dreaming of the week they had shared. Both in no doubt about the feelings they had for each other.

Neither was pleased to be back in Ohio when the plane landed Saturday evening after a magical week in Paris. During that time they had learnt even more about the other and they were even closer than before. The feeling of being completely and wholly accepted by someone you love was a new feeling to both of them. They were both feeling pretty jet lagged so Sebastian drove them back to Dalton for the night as it was closer to the airport. When they arrived they found the Warblers and Sam in the common room, they said hello and quickly went to bed, saying they’d catch up properly in the morning when they weren’t dead on their feet. All of their friends couldn’t help but notice that something had changed between them, something for the better, and Sam couldn’t help the huge grin that crossed his face as he knew exactly what it was, and couldn’t be happier for his friends. Sam had grown up in a house full of love and instantly recognised that the way Blaine and Sebastian were looking at each other was the exact same way his parents looked at each other and knew from that moment they were end game.


	26. The scandal

Tuesday evening after school Blaine and Sam stop at Starbucks on the way home as it’s directly on their route and both are too tired after a hard day or practices to do anything or wait for take out to arrive. They’re sitting at a corner booth finishing off their toasties when they see Hunter enter. Neither liked the head Warbler, and they didn’t understand how he had been voted in as captain as the others didn’t seem to like him either, but Blaine remembers that Sebastian said that Hunter’s family had a lot of influence over the school board and therefore teachers. 

They’re glad they’re sat in a corner booth so Hunter doesn’t see them, but Sam can’t help but notice how much bigger Hunter seems than when he first met him, or the slight twitch and sunken eyes he seems to have developed. The realisation dawns on Sam, Hunter looks exactly like the guys he worked with at the strip club who were hooked on steroids. Blaine notices Sam’s eyes bug out and leans across the table.

“Sam what’s up?”

“Man I know what’s up with Hunter!”

“Huh? What do you…” But Blaine is cut off when Hunter flips out at the barrister for putting Splenda in his coffee and making it taste like pencils and tips some of the tables near the counter over and swipes the station free of sugar and stirrers. Some of the customers near the door run out and the barrister ducks behind the counter. Hunter’s rage shows no sign of calming and there’s a woman sat at the table behind Blaine clutching hold of her two young children, so Sam jumps up to try and calm Hunter down. Blaine immediately springs into action to help his friend; he knows Sam can take care of himself but Hunter wasn’t acting like a normal person and two people are better than one, right?

“Come on dude, calm down, I’m sure they’ll make you another coffee.” Sam tries to placate Hunter.

“Move it Evans, or I won’t be held accountable for my actions” Hunter growls, pulling himself to full height.

“Hey come on, there’s no need for that” Blaine tries.

“Of course, you would be here too. What are you two joined at the hip? Getting some on the side Anderson? It wouldn’t be the first time, would it?” Hunter sneers at Blaine, trying to provoke a reaction out of him and Sam, but it doesn’t work.

Sam steps in, “Come on man that was completely uncalled for” 

Hunter, frustrated at not getting the reaction he was hoping for, tries a different approach, “Well it’s a good job you didn’t come back to Dalton; you’re not good enough for the Warbler’s”. The small children start crying, “Shut the fuck up!” He screams.

That was the last straw for Sam, “Come on, that’s enough, let’s just go outside, they’re just kids man” Sam places a hand on Hunter’s shoulder and that was enough to make him flip out again. Hunter punches Sam, knocking him backwards and lunges for Blaine. Luckily Blaine was quick enough to dodge the tackle and when Hunter turned to go for him again he managed to land his own hit, causing Hunter to lose his balance and guard enough to give Sam and he a chance to pin the Warbler down. They held him there until the police the barrister called arrived. 

After giving their statements the boys were allowed to go home, being commended for their bravery and receiving thanks from the barrister and woman with her children. When they got back to the house they both showered then fell straight to sleep on Blaine’s bed. 

Blaine called Sebastian early the next morning when he knew he’d have just got back to his room after his morning run.

“Hey killer” Blaine could hear Sebastian’s smile down the phone and it immediately made him feel better.

“Hey. I’m really sorry I didn’t call you last night when we finally got back. As soon as I sat on the bed after my shower I was asleep, which wasn’t a good move as I obviously spent the whole night twisted.”

“Don’t worry about it, I’d already figured it out. When you called me before you left school you could hardly stop yawning. I know you had a long day.”

“Yeah but…” Sebastian cut Blaine off; he knew where his thought process was going and the last thing he wanted Blaine to feel like was that he was abandoning him and turning into Cooper or Kurt, who had broken their promises.

“It’s fine B. I was working on a history project all night anyway. Now what did you want to tell me?”

“What makes you think I want to tell you something?”

“You have your ‘I’ve got news voice’ on”

“I do not have an ‘I’ve got news voice’”

“Trust me you do. In fact you have two. One where you’re completely excited and this one where you want to tell me something but are nervous. So just spill”

“I hate you when you do that”

“No you don’t; such vicious lies so early in the morning” Sebastian chuckles.

“You can’t tell anyone else. I’m not even sure I’m actually allowed to tell you”

“Pinky promise”

“You can’t pinky promise down a phone”

“I just did and you’re stalling”

“Hmph…fine…last night on our way home Sam and I stopped at Starbucks, don’t judge we were just hungry and tired and couldn’t be bothered to cook or wait for take-out so stopped in for a toasted sandwich.” At that point Blaine could hear a knock at Sebastian’s door.

“Hang on a second B” Blaine heard muffled voices and exclamations and then the door being closed again. “Holy shit, Hunter was arrested last night!” Blaine wasn’t shocked by this news though and it wasn’t lost on Sebastian. “But you already knew didn’t you? That’s what your news was.” Realisation struck, “Oh my god you were there!” It wasn’t a question. “What happened, are you alright?”

Blaine couldn’t help but smile at the sudden concern in Sebastian’s voice. “We’re fine. Well Sam’s got a bruise to his jaw, but we’re fine.” Blaine then went on to explain what happened word for word, just as he had done to the police the night before. “But there’s something else. Sam thinks Hunter was, well is, using steroids”

“And why would Ken think that?”

“He used to work in a strip club Bas, he’s seen guys hooked on them before, and he’s seen what it does to them. Before Hunter properly flipped out he’d figured it out. Plus if you look at pictures of Hunter from the beginning of the year and now there’s no way someone could have bulked up that much on their own. Plus it would explain all the mood swings and twitches.”

Sebastian had a horrible feeling Blaine, well Sam, was right. But then it dawned on him that Hunter might not have been the only one.

“Shit!” 

Sebastian’s obvious anger startled Blaine. “I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to make you mad, we might not be right”

“No B, no, I’m not angry at you. I’m sorry. I’m angry at myself. I should have noticed it sooner, I don’t think it’s just Hunter. You know the two he’s always hanging around with? Well they’re just the same. If this gets out, they’ll want to test anyone on a team with them.”

“But you haven’t done anything wrong so it won’t matter. It won’t affect you.”

“It will affect all of us B. If they test positive; that’s a quarter of us who won at Sectionals; it will be the end of the Warblers”

“Oh my god,” Although Blaine had been gutted the New Directions weren’t competing anymore, he loved the Warblers and wanted to see them go all the way if they couldn’t. Plus that group had meant everything to him and had built him back up. The idea they could be disbanded made his heart and stomach churn. “Promise me something Bas. Promise me you won’t do or say anything about it to anyone. You can’t or they’ll think you’re connected somehow.”

Sebastian knew Blaine was right, though sitting back and waiting wasn’t exactly what he wanted to do, he knew he had to. “I promise B. Cross my heart and hope to die.” He heard Blaine let out a sigh of relief down the phone. “I hate to do this but I better go and get some breakfast, and you better get on the road.”

“I hadn’t realised the time!” Blaine squeaks, “Shit, I love you and I’ll talk to you later, yeah?”

“Of course” Sebastian smiles at how flustered he knew Blaine would be in that moment “I love you too”

XXXXXXX  
Everything kicked off that day. First it was all the questions about Sam’s face. Then the news about Hunter got to the New Directions so that started another round of questions. By lunch both Blaine and Sam were exhausted so went and hid at the top of the auditorium to eat. 

Things at Dalton were worse however. It seems due to his behaviour Hunter had been tested for substance abuse, which of course was positive for steroids. After that the Warblers and swim team were called into the senior common room by the head master. Everyone was asked to give a sample and were banned from leaving campus until the results came back.

As soon as Blaine got home his phone was ringing and he was relieved to see it was Sebastian. He’d texted his boyfriend during the day like normal but hadn’t received any reply so he knew something was up. “Hey Bastian, I was starting to get worried about you.”

Sebastian lets out a frustrated sigh, “Let’s just say it hasn’t been the best of days.”

“What happened?”

“The Warblers and swim team were all tested for steroid use. We get the results tomorrow on a 1-2-1 basis. My appointment is at 11:00 with the headmaster, police and doctor they’ve called in. I know I don’t have anything to worry about but it’s going to mess everything up.”

“It might not, we can’t know for sure yet. The Warblers might not be thrown out of the competition.”

“To be honest, that’s not my main concern. Do you even realise how much this could fuck up my chances of getting into Columbia?!” Sebastian snaps. “Shit, sorry Blaine I didn’t mean to take it out on you.” Blaine was silent for a moment. “B, are you still there?”

“You want to go to Columbia?” Blaine asks quietly

“Yeah; I want to go to Columbia”

“So, we could be in New York together? If I get into NYU anyway”

“No if, you’ll get in. But seriously if this turns into a scandal I doubt any school would want to touch me.”

“Okay one, as if Dalton will let this break out into some giant scandal. Two even if it does, there’s no way they would let you and the others get tarnished with the same brush. You’re captain of the lacrosse team, star of the swim team and have a ridiculously high GPA at a school with a renowned academic programme, even without the Warblers any school, Ivy League or otherwise, would be lucky to have you.”

Once again Sebastian was awe struck. “Thanks Killer”

“For what?”

“Helping me see straight”

“I didn’t say anything that wasn’t true.”

“Still…”

“I know. Makes a difference being the other way round doesn’t it. You’re normally the one sorting me out.” Blaine teases.

“Any time Killer. I’d love to sort you out now” Sebastian says, tone dropping.

“Oh really, and how exactly would you do that?” Blaine asks dropping back on his bed after locking the door. There was only one way this conversation was going and he didn’t want Sam coming in and ruining the moment.

The next day the Warblers are given their results. As Sebastian suspected, Hunter’s two sidekicks were escorted from the school. The Warblers were then called into the senior common room at the end of the day where the headmaster explained the show choir board had been informed and that despite the actions the school had taken and the fact the rest of the team had all tested negative, the Warblers were out of the competition and were banned for competing at all for the rest of the year. The boys knew it was coming, but it still stung. The headmaster apologised to the boys but did reassure them that this would in no way effect any of their college applications, to which a collective sigh of relief was heard across the room.

Sebastian wanted to talk to Blaine, but knew he would still be in Cheerios practise. He had to admit that the work outs they did were pretty insane, though couldn’t deny that he didn’t love the results. Bang on 8, Sebastian had a Skype call from Blaine. When he answered he couldn’t help but smile at the sight of his boyfriend, obviously just dressed from the shower. 

“Hey you” Blaine smiles softly

“Hey yourself killer”

“So how did it go today?”

“Well we were both right.” Sebastian chuckled when Blaine’s eyebrows knotted in confusion. “I was right about Hunter’s sidekicks and the Warblers being thrown out of the competition, but you were right that it won’t affect the rest of our college applications.”

“Well I’m glad about your applications but I am sad about the Warblers. I really wanted to see you guys go all the way this year.”

“Yeah but now you will get another chance. I know how much you miss performing. I know you have the Cheerios still but we both know it’s not the same. Hey if you’re competing again the school might actually let you practise in an actual room.” Sebastian teases.

“We were disqualified remember, the Howlers will get put through.”

“Then there really is no justice, they really did howl.” Sebastian says dryly causing Blaine to chuckle. “So what are you doing tonight?”

“I’ve got a French essay to do then some biology homework, but it shouldn’t take too long. You?”

“Maths and English”

“How long do you think you’ll be?” 

“A couple of hours, why?”

“Will you call me when you’ve finished?”

“As if you have to ask B. Speak soon. Je te aime.

“Ti amo”

Later that night, after finishing their homework, they both fell asleep with their phones pressed against their ears.


	27. Another chance

The New Directions were all called in to the choir room the next day where Mr Schue and Finn told them they would be going to Regionals as the Warblers had been disqualified and the Howlers had disbanded. Blaine and Sam were quick to fill in on what actually happened with the Warblers before the rumour mill got going. The New Directions were all sad their friends couldn’t compete but were over joyed they’d been given another chance.

“What are you thinking?” Kitty asks Blaine as she turns around to face him.

“I know the Warblers aren’t allowed to compete as a group, but what if as individuals they could join us. If we were to bring the best of the Warblers and the best of the New Directions together, we could be unstoppable.”

Kitty smirks; she knew he was right so quickly jumps up and gets everyone’s attention. “Mr Schue, what if the non-drugged up Warblers were to join us? Together we would be the ultimate show choir.” There are murmurings around the room.

“Great so there would be less chance of getting a solo” Tina pouts sulkily

“Tina this is a team, it’s not all about you getting a solo. You know those boys are frigging awesome. Plus are you really telling me you wouldn’t want to be surrounded by cute prep school boys.” Kitty shoots back.

“Right guys. Quick vote, who would like to invite the remaining Warblers to join us?” Mr Schue asked and everyone put up their hand. Blaine and Kitty shared smiles. “Okay but first I will need to check with the show choir board. They might not be allowed to compete at all, so don’t go saying anything yet.” Mr Schue went to make the call and the choir room went into chaos with everyone bouncing ideas off each other. When he came back into the room, Finn was looking bamboozled and everyone was shouting over each other. Mr Schue crashed the piano keys, making everyone stop immediately, though they could tell from the look on his face it wasn’t good news. “I’m sorry guys. The board said they aren’t allowed to compete with us.”

“But that’s not fair!” Sam shouts

“They didn’t do anything wrong” Kitty joins in

“I wanted to dance with pretty bird” Brittany grumps. Soon the room was in chaos again, so the piano keys took another hit.

“I’m sorry guys but there’s nothing I can do.” Mr Schue tells them, looking at Blaine. Yes the two groups were now friends but he knew it was Blaine who would be affected the most, but Blaine just nods in understanding at him.

As it was Friday and clearly nothing productive was going to be done they were dismissed early. Brittany was staying with Sam and Blaine for the weekend and convinced the two boys to skip out to Blaine’s car. When he pulled into his drive Blaine was happily shocked to see Sebastian’s car was already there as he didn’t think he’d be round until later. Sebastian stepped out of his car when he saw them pull in and was greeted with a kiss by a skipping Brittany, which was quickly followed by a hug and kiss from his boyfriend.

“Come on Blaine Warbler, you and pretty bird need to skip in with us.” Brittany says, taking Blaine’s hand. Somehow Sebastian ended up skipping up to the front door with the other three.

“So what’s with all the skipping?” Sebastian questions. 

“It helps you feel better silly.” Brittany smiles back 

“Of course silly me, but why do you three need to feel better?”  
“Not just us, all of the New Directions need to feel better”

Sebastian looks over to Blaine for an explanation. “The Howlers have been disbanded so we’re back in the competition.”

“Surely you should all be happy about that?” Sebastian asks; a little confused as to why they all seemed despondent.

“We wanted you guys to compete with us, but the board wouldn’t allow it.”

“Which is stupid because none of you did anything wrong. Everyone was really pissed about it” Sam adds.

“Seriously?” Sebastian’s question was greeted with three in sync nods. He could really tell how much time they spent together; they’re expressions were even matching. But what struck him most of all was that here he was with the Warblers as friends, Blaine as his boyfriend, and the New Directions as friends. To say it was surreal was an understatement and despite what he thought of public school, he had to admit he really got on with the New Directions, Sam, Brittany, Artie and Kitty in particular, even Tina could be quite funny. Not to mention the graduates. He’d been keeping in contact with Santana and Quinn, along with Kitty they were definitely kindred spirits. 

The Warblers had once told him that they found it funny how girls flocked to Blaine; yes some did it not realising he was gay and trying to get somewhere but others did it simply as they seemed to be drawn to him for friendship, they seemed to feel safe but also wanted to protect him. He’d seen and heard enough to know that Blaine could take care of himself, but his inherent goodness and caring nature seemed to make maternal instincts kick in. Aside from the Warblers, ex and current and Sam, the fiercest protectors of Blaine were certainly Kitty, Quinn, Santana and Tina and you definitely wouldn’t mess with any of them. 

Brittany wanted to cook for them tonight so she went into the kitchen, with Sam as her helper, to start dinner leaving Blaine and Sebastian alone in the living room.

“Not that I’m not happy to see you, but how come you’re here so early?” Blaine asks from where he’s tucked under Sebastian’s arm. 

“Well I wanted to show you this” Sebastian passes Blaine a large envelope.

Blaine takes out the letter and his eyes immediately boggle. “Oh my god!” He lunges at Sebastian, giving him a smacking kiss. “I’m so proud of you, I knew you’d do it, but seeing it in print!” Blaine straddles Sebastian’s lap and is physically buzzing with excitement and pride, making his boyfriend laugh.

“Easy B, I think you’re more excited than me”

Blaine blushes a deep red, “Sorry, it’s just you’ve done it. You got into Columbia” he beams. 

Sam and Brittany pop their heads round the archway into the living room to see what all the commotion is about. 

“Not interrupting are we?” Sam teases gesturing at how Blaine is sat on Sebastian, causing him to blush again and hide his face in Sebastian’s neck.

“Mind out of the gutter Ken”

“So what’s going on pretty bird?” Blaine looks up again at Brittany’s question, beaming with pride once more.

“I got into Columbia!” 

Brittany squeals and runs over to Sebastian and kisses his cheek.

“That’s awesome man!” Sam congratulates, with a high five. “You two are going to be in New York together!”

“I might not get in” Blaine comments but is met with three ‘yeah rights’. “Come on guys, I haven’t heard anything yet, I might not even get to audition.” This time the three just rolled their eyes at him. The doorbell goes and a puzzled Blaine answers and is greeted by his next door neighbour, a sweet retired lady who’d always been nice to him and had sometimes watched him when he was little and left under Cooper’s version of care.

“Oh hi Mrs Baltimore, can I help you with something?”

“No dear I’m perfectly fine thank you. I just came to drop this off; the postman must have got it caught up with our letters.” She says handing him a packet then walking away leaving Blaine to stare at the envelope.

“What is it B?” Sebastian asks as he walks into the hall to see Blaine staring at the packet in his hands.

“It’s…it’s from NYU” That causes Brittany and Sam to once again pop their heads round the archway into the living room.

“Aren’t you going to open it then?” Sebastian asks tentatively, seeing the nerves across Blaine’s face. “They wouldn’t send a packet like that just to say no”

Blaine gulps and opened the envelope with a shaking hand and reads and re-reads the letter several times in silence, his facial expression not changing.

“Come on dude you’re killing us here” Sam whines.

Blaine looks up wide eyed. “I’ve been accepted onto the languages programme and they want me to audition for the music one”.

Sebastian launches at Blaine and picks him up, “Told you! Who could turn you down?!”

Blaine giggles and is placed back on his feet only to be scooped up by Sam again. “That’s amazing bro! There’s no stopping you now!”

“Yeah there is; the audition. I’m not a definite yet”

“Don’t be silly narwhal you’re the best singer and performer I know.” Sam and Sebastian nod in agreement. Blaine came alive on stage and never failed to make an audience love him, but unlike Rachel, Blaine did suffer from self-doubt and nerves that could get pretty bad. Years of criticism from Cooper and being told he wasn’t good enough by his parents had left their mark, albeit a psychological one, but there was no way Sebastian or his friends were going to let that overcome him.

“Right this calls for a celebration; how long until dinner Britt?” Sebastian asks.

“About 30 minutes”

“Great, I’ll be back” Sebastian gives Blaine a kiss on the cheek as he leaves. When he gets back to Blaine’s he finds the three giggling and dancing round the kitchen and puts the two bottles of champagne and desert on the side. When Blaine sees Sebastian in the doorway he runs over and jumps so his legs are round his boyfriend’s waist. 

“Good job I put those down then. Miss me that much huh killer?” Sebastian wiggles his eyebrows as he supports Blaine. The four celebrated that night with good food and champagne, finally going to bed with aching sides where they’d been laughing so much.

Over the next few days the other seniors get their letters. Thad and Nick were also accepted into Columbia and Jeff had also been accepted into NYU. Artie had also gotten his place at film school in the city. Sam wasn’t sure if he wanted to go to college or not but had an interview at Pratt to study art. Soon a road trip to NYC to coincide with Blaine’s audition was being planned with the help of Rachel and Santana.


	28. The shooting

The day was like any other school day. Blaine was in glee with most of the New Directions when the first shot goes, then the second. They soon find themselves cowering behind the piano and chairs, with the doors locked and lights off. Sam is hysterical as Brittany isn’t there and Blaine couldn’t help but notice that Tina is missing too. The fear Blaine was feeling transported him straight back to the only other time he had been frightened for his life – Sadie Hawkins. Blaine struggles but manages to keep his breathing calm as he starts running times tables through his head in an attempt to stop those memories flooding his mind and making an already terrifying experience truly harrowing.  
At Dalton Sebastian is in AP Physics when his phone goes off with a message, the teacher despairs when Nick, Trent and Jeff’s phones go too. The boys look at each other, grab their things and run out of the classroom, running all the way to Sebastian’s car and see Thad, who’d been in maths, charging over as well. 

Nick steps in front of the driver’s door, “Smythe give me your keys” 

“Fuck off and get out of my way!” Sebastian threatens as he towers over Nick.

“Sebastian we need to get there in one piece and I don’t trust that will happen with you behind the wheel like this.”

“The quicker you give him your keys, the quicker we can go” Thad reasons and begrudgingly Sebastian shoves his keys into Nick’s hand and jumps in the back, not wanting to waist a second by walking round to the passenger’s side. Trent jumps in the front as Jeff and Thad fasten themselves in the back. Jeff places a firm hand on Sebastian’s forearm to try and offer some comfort as well as get some for himself, not even daring to think about what is unfolding at McKinley. 

They arrive at McKinley to find crowds of people, police and reporters gathering round the school. They can’t get close enough no matter how hard they try but Sebastian is sure Blaine is still inside so works hard to get through the crowd as far as he can. The other Dalton boys have never seen him in such a state of panic before, even his breathing is getting laboured but Sebastian won't stop, completed fixated on seeing Blaine. After what feels like a lifetime an all clear is sounded and students start running from the school. 

Sebastian uses the movement to surge forward through the crowd, determined to find Blaine. He all of a sudden stops dead on instinct and turns his head to the left to see Sam, Brittany, Tina and Blaine hugging each other tightly. He’d recognise Blaine’s hair and ass anywhere, particularly in his tight, bright red Cheerio’s pants. Sebastian approaches cautiously and touches Blaine’s shoulder gently, not wanting to startle him, “Killer?” Blaine turns round and lunges forward at Sebastian for comfort, and immediately feels safe and protected when he’s engulfed in his boyfriend’s arms. The other Warblers find them and all feel overwhelmed at the relief that washed over them at seeing Blaine and the others safe.

Sam and Brittany head off to Brittany’s after giving everyone a hug, Sam being reassured that Sebastian would be with Blaine and not wanting to leave Brittany, who needed to go home to see Lord Tubbington. The two blondes embrace Blaine tightly, the three sharing a lingering hug and promising to text and call each other if they need to.  
Trent pulls Tina into a hug and holds her until her parents arrive. Tina and Blaine share another hug goodbye before her parents take her home. 

“Look after yourself Cohen-Chang” Sebastian says to the Asian as she goes to leave, and gives him a smile of thanks in return, not just for today, but for giving her another chance after the whole vapo-rub incident, something she hadn’t given him so readily. 

Sebastian runs a firm hand up and down Blaine’s spine, while the other cradles the back of his head, “Let’s get you home killer” 

Blaine pulls back abruptly, eyes wide, “No! I need to find Kitty” and tares himself from Sebastian’s arms as he starts running through the crowd searching for the cheerleader, his boyfriend and the other Warblers following closely behind. He jumps up onto a bench to get a better view and sees the girl walking with her mother down the road so takes off once again. “Kitty!” Blaine calls out as he gets closer.

At hearing Blaine’s voice Kitty turns round and sees him coming towards her and runs to him, jumping into his arms, and tightly wraps her own around his neck.

“I love you wild cat” Blaine says into her neck

“I know…I love you too”

“But we’re okay”

“Yeah we’re okay” Kitty agrees as she fights tears 

“Message me later so I know you’re okay…or if you need me or anything”

“I will…same to you.”

The two stand for a few moments in silence, just holding each other before pulling apart, but Blaine doesn’t move from his spot as the blonde girl climbs into her mother’s car and is driven away.

Sebastian wraps his arms around Blaine’s waist and rests his head on his shoulder, “Are you ready to go now killer?” he asks gently. Blaine just nods silently in response. “Where did you park? I’ll drive you home…Nick can you drive mine back to Dalton?”

“Yeah of course man”

That’s the first time Blaine really registers the presence of the other boys and silently gives them all a hug before tucking himself back at Sebastian’s side to walk back to his car.  
When the Dalton boys are settled back in Sebastian’s car Jeff can’t help the tears that escape, “He’ll be alright…he’s strong” Thad reassures his friend.

“I know” Jeff breathes as he wipes his eyes

“And Sebastian’s with him…I’ve got a feeling he’s exactly what Blaine needs right now” Trent adds

“Since when have you become such a big fan?” Nick teases

“Even I can see how well they work together…you’d have to be blind not to” Trent replies sassily

“Does this mean you’ve also accepted that when it comes to one Blaine Anderson you’re firmly in the friend zone?” Thad half-jokes

Trent sighs playfully, “Yes…happy?”

“I am because now Sebastian won’t be asking me to help hide your body”

The journey in Blaine’s car is silent, the shorter having even turned the radio off as he stares distantly out of the window, Sebastian giving him frequent sideways glances of worry. When they get to Blaine’s house Sebastian guides him to the living room and settles them on the couch. Blaine clutches to him tightly and Sebastian can feel his body trembling so simply holds him, and doesn’t push him until he’s ready to talk. They sit there for a few moments until Sebastian lies back against the arm rest of the couch, pulling Blaine with him and stretches out, tangling their legs together along the length of the large seat.

Sebastian can feel Blaine’s body starting to relax but then they both startle when Blaine’s phone starts ringing – they both head upstairs so Blaine can quickly join a ‘family conference’. Sebastian makes sure he keeps off screen but keeps an arm around his boyfriend’s waist. He knows Blaine isn’t close to his parents but is relieved to see Cooper online – they’ve never met but he’s seen pictures of Cooper round the Anderson house and can’t help but think of how few pictures there are of Blaine. Although incredibly annoying Sebastian can see Cooper cares about his brother and shields him from his parents. Blaine’s dad is obviously still ashamed his son is gay and his mum seems to think that’s why the shooting happened. Sebastian can feel himself getting angry. His mum may not want anything to do with him and he doesn’t get on with his dad, but that’s more of a personality clash. He knows his parents at least aren’t bothered by his sexuality. The most heart-breaking thing though is the fact that it’s clear Blaine has accepted his lot and doesn’t even bother to try and correct them anymore, obviously knowing it wouldn’t be worth the effort. 

It gets late so both boys stay at Blaine’s that night. They agree to get up and leave for Dalton early, Blaine wanting to go with Sebastian and the taller feeling happy and proud Blaine wants to. He also likes knowing he can protect Blaine at Dalton. Sebastian wakes in the night to find the bed empty and hears a violin playing. He creeps downstairs and finds Blaine playing a beautiful melody. He didn’t know Blaine could play the violin and is sure not many others do either. 

Blaine stops and puts the instrument away and goes to sit at the piano. All of a sudden he’s aware he isn’t alone and turns to see Sebastian, “I couldn’t sleep…music helps”

Sebastian nods in understanding, and sits next to him on the piano bench, “Do you know Clare de Lune?”

Blaine smiles, “It’s one of my favourites”

“Mine too killer”

“Will you play it with me?”

Sebastian rolls his eyes fondly and kisses Blaine’s forehead, “As if you have to ask”

They play the piece as a duet perfectly in sync with each other. Sebastian can’t stop himself from stealing glances at Blaine; he’d never seen him play the piano quite like this before and the sight is absolutely breath-taking. Blaine is doing exactly the same thing; he loves watching Sebastian play anyway, but there’s something about playing a duet together, working together as fingers nimbly play across keys that he finds captivating.

When they finish Sebastian takes Blaine’s hands in his own, “Do you want to go back to bed for a bit?”

Blaine nods, “Yeah…come on” and gets up, pulling Sebastian all the way to his room. They both manage to get a little more sleep before the alarm goes and they head over to Dalton.


	29. The aftermath

McKinley is shut for the rest of the week, giving the students Friday off. Santana and Rachel decide to use some holiday from the diner to take a long weekend to head back to Ohio to see their friends. What the two didn’t know however was that when Kurt learnt of their plans; he booked his own flight back too. When they land early afternoon on Friday, Santana and Rachel both message Blaine, Sam and Brittany. Blaine quickly messages back telling them he’s at Dalton, but will be going back home on Saturday if they would like to meet up then. It’s exactly what the two girls expected. They knew Blaine would be with Sebastian not only because that’s where he’d feel safest, but because the taller would be wanting to keep Blaine as close as he could so he could protect and look after him. 

Brittany messages to explain Sam is at hers so she could spend time with Lord Tubbington and invites the two New Yorkers over, so that’s where they go. They also arrange to meet up with Finn while they’re in town, who they discover has rented out a small apartment of his own. Kurt lands only an hour or so after the girls and makes his way straight to Blaine’s from the airport. He’s disgruntled to say the least when he discovers nobody is home and can’t think where Blaine would be. After a while of waiting Kurt reluctantly heads home, telling his dad he came to visit with Santana and Rachel once they heard what happened.

Meanwhile at Dalton, Blaine’s sat in Sebastian’s dorm room while his boyfriend is in class, completing his own school work when he throws his pen down in frustration, completely unable to concentrate any longer. He hadn’t told Sebastian yet, but the vivid Sadie Hawkins dreams haunted his sleep last night; the kind that were so intense it’s as if he was back there, as if he could feel the pain all of again, the fear as real as it was that night. Knowing Sebastian would have to head straight to lacrosse practise after class, Blaine decides to call Wes.

“Hi Blaine, how are you doing?” Wes answers quickly, worried about the younger boy

“I’m okay…I guess”

“You sound tired”

“I couldn’t sleep last night…the nightmares came back” Blaine confesses quietly

“You will be okay Blaine…they went before and they’ll go again…you’re so strong, don’t let them haunt you.”

“I know” Blaine sniffs “It’s just hard”

“You’re staying at Dalton tonight right?”

“Yeah”

“I’m sure it will help…that’s where you beat them before and I’ve got no doubt Sebastian will watch over and guard you if that’s what it takes” Wes says part light-heartedly, trying to make Blaine smile.

“Bas doesn’t know…I woke up before him so went downstairs…I haven’t told him about the nightmares…I just hadn’t had them for so long I…I didn’t think to mention them.”  
“It’s okay Blaine…I won’t tell you to tell him…”

“But I should…I want to…it’s just…”

“He won’t be annoyed that you didn’t tell him about them before Blaine…I can guarantee you that...and it won’t make him think of you differently.”

“Thanks Wes”

“Anytime Blaine, you know that”

“I do, but still thank you” That makes Wes laugh, “I think I need to get out of this room, I’ve probably got cabin fever.”

“And you get to spy on lacrosse practise” Wes teases, glad to be hearing Blaine’s voice lighten slightly.

“Well the fresh air would probably do me good.” Blaine replies coyly, “Speak soon Wes”

“Soon” 

With that Blaine disconnects the call and grabs his coat and makes his way to the lacrosse field, but he’s a little early so wonders the corridors and finds himself in the auditorium. As Sebastian and Thad make their way from the changing rooms out to the field they stop when they hear a familiar voice coming from the auditorium and find Blaine completely caught up singing ‘Cough Syrup’. The rawness and tone behind his voice is absolutely mesmerizing, but in truth worries Sebastian, though he didn’t have the chance to approach his boyfriend as his coach appears and tells them to get out to the field. When he spots Blaine watching their practise from the side lines he is needless to say a little relieved.

Blaine answers his phone as he watches his boyfriend, not even looking at the screen to see who it is.

“Hi sweetie”

“Quinn?”

Quinn chuckles slightly, “Yes it’s me. I wanted to see how you’re doing. If I could fly back home I would, but I can’t leave school at the moment.”

“You wouldn’t need to do that anyway.”

“Blaine stop…I care about you and want to make sure you’re really okay. You never let me just push you away, even when I used to take my frustrations out on you. Plus you know I would of course be checking on the others too.” Quinn’s tone makes Blaine laugh a little. “That’s more like it. Puck was worried about you too when you didn’t answer his message.”

Blaine runs his free hand through his curls, “I’m sorry…I’ll message him later. I just didn’t sleep very well last night and had too much going on…I couldn’t shut off.”  
“It’s fine, I told him that was probably it, but you know as well as I do he’s a secret worrier.”

“Not that he’d ever admit it”

“No…he’s far too macho for that” Quinn teases, again managing to get a little laugh out of Blaine. “Am I going mad or did I just hear a whistle?”  
“You’re not going mad. I’m watching Bas at lacrosse practise”

“Good. I was hoping you’d be with him. My next lecture is about to start so I’ve got to go, but please remember I’m only a call or text away.”

“I will…thanks Quinn”

“Any time…I love you Blaine Warbler…remember, just like you told me, you don’t have to do this alone and there’s no right or wrong way to feel about anything.”

“I love you too Q” Blaine’s voice wobbles a little so he quickly disconnects the call and takes a deep breath before continuing to watch Sebastian.

Meanwhile Wes was making his own phone call. 

After a few rings the person picks up “Hello?”

“Cooper? It’s Wes. Wes Montgomery”

“Well I only know one Wes. So what can I do for you?”

“Have you spoken to Blaine since the shooting?”

“Yeah we Skyped with my parents last night, he seemed fine. Why?”

“Are you seriously telling me you’ve only spoken to him in front of your parents, particularly after what happened at Christmas?”

“Well he seemed fine to me”

“Cooper I don’t want to overstep here but you need to call your brother.”

“Why what’s wrong?”

“I’m not telling you over the phone. It’s up to Blaine to talk to you, but you need to give him the chance to. There’s no way he’d open up in front of your parents. I know he can call you, but at the same time you know he won’t want to bother you and maybe this could be your chance to prove to him that you are sticking around and thinking of him.”  
Cooper sighs heavily, “You’re right. Bye Wes” and hangs up.

If he was honest, Cooper was a little pissed at the way he was spoken to, but he also knew Wes was right and that he was only looking out for his brother. His career was starting to look a little better though and he’d got a lot of things to concentrate on so maybe he hadn’t picked up that Blaine wasn’t quite himself and maybe he should have called. Knowing he has the weekend free Cooper books a flight to Ohio.

While waiting for Sebastian to change after lacrosse Blaine wonders down the familiar corridors and finds himself back in fencing practice. Nick beams at him and tells the other guys they are the in the presence of a fencing legend. Blaine blushes and finally concedes to duel with Nick – the current top fencer. After one warm up round Blaine feels as though he never stopped that year and a half ago. They start a proper duel with the other boys keeping score. Sebastian hears a commotion coming from the fencing room and steps in silently to find Blaine duelling with Nick – and beating him a little too easily. He gets mesmerised watching his boyfriend’s easy, calculated movements. 

Blaine notices Sebastian and moves towards him, but his stomach rumbling stops any comments from his boyfriend about going to his dorm as he knows Blaine hasn’t eaten properly since the shooting. They go to the cafeteria for dinner and sit with the other Warbler’s. Blaine is a little jumpy but makes an effort to join in with the conversation, Sebastian’s hand a permanent fixture on his thigh helping him pool his strength. Occasionally other students wonder up and try to ask Blaine what it was like but they are quickly moved on by Sebastian and the rest of the guys. Blaine is easing up a little more and finally starting to let his guard down a little when he gets a message from Artie, of the video he took in the choir room. He drops his phone on the table and quickly walks out of the dining hall and straight to Sebastian’s dorm.

The other boys are confused until Sebastian looks at Blaine’s phone. All the guys watch the video Artie took and are all worried and saddened to see the complete horror in their faces – particularly Blaine and Sam, who looks so broken at the end when he grabs Artie’s phone. Sebastian runs to his room to comfort Blaine. When he arrives the shorter grabs him and pulls him into a deep kiss. 

“Hey Killer don’t you think you should take it easy?” Sebastian says as he breaks the kiss and passes Blaine his phone.

Blaine quickly puts his phone down on Sebastian’s desk and covers it with some papers, an action that does not go unnoticed, before hugging onto Sebastian. “I promise we’ll talk but right now I just need to forget, I need you, please Bastian.” Blaine pulls him back into a kiss and Sebastian is powerless to stop. He makes love to Blaine, gently and whole heartedly trying to make Blaine forget and feel at peace and full of pleasure, knowing that’s something he can do.

Afterwards, Blaine falls asleep so Sebastian takes a shower and starts on school work. He’s part way through his maths when Blaine has a nightmare and wakes up with a horrifying scream. Sebastian immediately jumps up from his desk chair and sits on the bed, pulling Blaine into him.

“Shhh; it’s okay B. I’ve got you, I’m here.” Sebastian says soothingly while cradling Blaine until his sobs and breathing calm down. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“The nightmares are back. That’s why I went to play my violin last night. That one was worse though. I haven’t had them like this since it happened.” Blaine says quietly in a rush.

Sebastian instantly realises what Blaine is talking about, but he has to make sure he isn’t jumping to conclusions. “You mean Sadie Hawkins?” Blaine nods and presses himself even tighter into Sebastian, if at all possible, holding on with a death grip. “Talk to me B; I’m not going anywhere. You don’t have to though, you said Wes helped you before, do you want me to get hold of him?” Blaine shakes his head and looks back at Sebastian, who can’t help but feel a little heartbroken by the look in his boyfriend’s eyes.

Blaine takes a deep breath. “I told you about what happened before and after the attack but not really about during. I remember it Bas, well at least I remember it until I blacked out…I’ve never told anyone this before…not even Wes” Blaine whimpers. He goes onto tell Sebastian about every hit and kick he could remember. How the bat felt when it hit him. How a foot slowly pressed down on his throat when he lay on the ground, unable to move anymore. How he remembered hearing bones snap and the burning pain in his chest before tasting blood. How he felt he was truly going to die when they were only encouraged by his pleas, until everything went black. Blaine is drained by the time he admits everything to his boyfriend, who is feeling physically sick that people could do that to anyone, let alone someone like Blaine, who is so good and kind, and was younger and smaller than his attackers. 

The two continue to hold onto each other when there’s a knock at Sebastian’s door. He quickly wipes his eyes to rid them of any tears and opens the door to see Nick, Jeff and Thad stood there, “Everything alright?” Jeff asks with concern.

“Fine. We were just napping.” Sebastian replies abruptly.

The boys knew not to push any further. “Neither of you really had anything to eat so we wondered if you wanted a pizza or something?” Thad says, “You must be hungry from lacrosse practise, it was pretty intense today.

Truth be told Sebastian wasn’t really hungry with what he had just been told, but he knew he needed something and he was concerned as Blaine hadn’t really eaten anything since the shooting. “B do you fancy a pizza?”

“Oh. I’m not really hungry. You should get one if you are though” 

“Sorry killer but that’s not going to cut it. You need to eat; you’ve hardly eaten since it happened. Can you honestly tell me you’ve had a meal since breakfast yesterday?” Blaine looked down as he couldn’t. “That’s what I thought. So how about that pizza then? Or would you like something else?”

Blaine sat and thought for a moment. “Actually I kind of fancy some Thai food”

The fact that Blaine had actually thought about what he would eat and didn’t just agree to a pizza to only pick at it makes Sebastian smile, which doesn’t go unnoticed by their friends. Truth be told, they were all getting a little worried about Blaine not eating too. 

“Great that sounds good” Nick states, “We’ll grab a selection. I haven’t had Thai in ages and there’s no way you’re having it all to yourselves.”

“And we can watch the Lion King!” Jeff beams.

“Really Jeff?” Sebastian raises an eyebrow.

“Wait till you hear Jeff and Blaine sing ‘I just can’t wait to be king’” Thad chuckles and rolls his eyes good-humouredly.

“And here I thought I was going to get a nice meal and some peace and quiet” Sebastian playfully sighs.

“Don’t pretend you don’t like it Bas. I heard you humming along to ‘Hakuna matatah’ when we watched it” Blaine beams.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about”

“Sure you don’t” Thad teases, “Right we’ll be back soon.”

Blaine jumps in the shower and changes into a pair of Sebastian’s sweat pants and a hoodie while his boyfriend finishes his school work as they wait for the boys to come back. When Sebastian finishes he turns around to see Blaine sat on the bed reading, drowning in his clothes. The sight melts his heart a little and sends some blood south.  
“That’s not fair killer, you know what you in my clothes does to me”

Blaine gives him a smile that’s anything but innocent, but they are stopped from going any further by the return of the three Warblers. They eat then Jeff puts on the Lion King and, just as Thad said they would, he and Blaine sing and do all the voices for ‘I just can’t wait to be king’. Blaine’s sat against the headboard between the wall and Sebastian. It’s about halfway through the film when he feels himself start to truly relax after everything that’s happened since the shooting when a loud bang comes from the corridor. Blaine immediately stiffens against his boyfriend. Another loud bang, sounding closer goes and running footsteps echo. Blaine tucks himself into the corner as tightly as possible.   
“Thad sort them out” Sebastian orders then focuses all his attention on Blaine. Nick and Jeff sit back not sure what to do to help their friend and hear Thad berating a group of sophomores in the corridor. 

“What the hell do you think you’re all doing?” Thad shouts at the boys. “Go back to your rooms. If I hear another noise from any of you I’ll become your worst nightmare!” The boys sheepishly apologise and hurry back to their rooms as quietly as possible. Thad enters Sebastian’s room, to see him kneeling in front of Blaine, their foreheads pressed together as he talks quietly to his boyfriend while Nick and Jeff sit back trying to give their friends space without being so obvious as walking out of the room. Whatever Sebastian says to Blaine obviously works as a soft chuckle escapes his lips. The boys finish watching the Lion King then leave Sebastian and Blaine for the night, knowing they probably wanted to be alone together and that they were heading back to Blaine’s the next day.


	30. Unexpected guests

They spend Saturday doing school work and lounging around Blaine’s house. Sam comes back in the evening saying Brittany just wanted to be alone with Lord Tubbington as it’s his AA night. Sebastian’s learnt better than to question the antics of Brittany’s cat so lets it go. The boys watch some films and have dinner together before going to bed.   
Sebastian and Blaine cuddle on his bed, chest to chest. “How are you doing killer?”

“Not bad. It kind of feels like it never happened. I’m kind of worried about Sam though.”

“Well it was a pretty big thing to go through. I’m sure it will take everyone a while to feel like themselves fully again.”

“I just feel like nothing actually happened. Thankfully nobody was hurt so I should be okay. People go through so much worse.”

“You can’t think like that and you didn’t know that at the time. Everyone reacts differently to things and there’s no right or wrong way.”

“Who are you and what have you done with Sebastian Smythe?” Blaine deadpans

“Very funny”, Sebastian huffs playfully sarcastic. “Now is there anything I can do to help you feel better?”

“Well there is something…” Even in the dark of the room Sebastian knew Blaine was blushing from the coyness in his voice and the way he looked down slightly, refusing to meet his gaze.

“And what might that be?”

“Cuddling”

Sebastian raises an eyebrow “And what do you think we’re doing now?”

“I was thinking more of naked cuddling”

“Oh were you now?” Sebastian hooks a finger under Blaine’s chin and tilts his head to get eye contact once again. The way Blaine bit his lower lip when he was worrying or feeling uncomfortable was one of the cutest and sexiest things Sebastian had ever seen. “Well I guess I can do that” Thanks to Blaine, Sebastian appreciated how naked cuddling with the person you love really could make you feel better and protected. So that’s what they did. They lay there holding each other and if Sebastian’s hands wondered a bit nobody could blame him. He was there with his gorgeous boyfriend, naked, in bed and what was better for stress relief than a good orgasm?

Sunday morning and Blaine wakes up with Sebastian pressed firmly against his back, his morning erection pressing against his crack. Blaine’s own cock hard and desperately wanting Sebastian’s hand to slip a little lower from where it was rested against his stomach. Blaine couldn’t help himself when he rocked back into Sebastian’s erection, the action causing his boyfriend’s hand to clutch against his skin. Blaine rocks back again, but this time Sebastian lets out a soft moan then bites Blaine’s shoulder gently while his hand wraps around his cock. 

“You better let me do something about this killer” Sebastian rocks his hips as he strokes Blaine’s length. “Particularly as you woke me up”

“I don’t hear you complaining” Blaine moans as Sebastian’s hips and hand keep moving. The next thing he knew he was on his back with Sebastian on top of him, pressing his body into the mattress as they shared a hungry kiss. When they were finished they were both thoroughly pleasured and covered in sweat and come. “Shower then breakfast?” Blaine asks as he kisses the corner of Sebastian’s mouth. After a particularly long shower they both throw on some boxer briefs and sweats and head down to the kitchen, hair still damp. As Blaine walks into the room he stops dead in his tracks.

“Good morning baby brother!” Cooper, sitting at the island, beams at him. “And good morning guy who was defiling my baby brother.” At that moment Sam comes running down the stairs and into the kitchen in just his boxers and was about to start talking to Blaine when he noticed the extra person. “And good morning second guy who was possibly also defiling my baby brother. What’s going on squirt?” Cooper looks to Blaine with a playful and quizzical look as Blaine’s blush starts to spread down his neck.  
Blaine gathers himself, “Okay one, don’t call me that, two this is Sebastian, my boyfriend, and this is Sam, my best friend who also lives here, which you know. Three, what are you doing here?”

Cooper couldn’t stop himself; he loved messing with his brother. “Okay one, I’ve always called you that and I’m not going to stop, two hello Sebastian and Sam, and three I came to see how you are.”

Blaine just looks at Cooper, eyes narrowing and assessing, while Sam and Sebastian watch the interaction between the two brothers, both a little curious as to how this was going to work out “Fine”, Blaine relents with a huff.

“But from what I heard you’re doing more than alright” Cooper teases, making Blaine blush fiercely.

“Well then you can go…sorry for your wasted trip” Blaine says sassily but Cooper just ignores him.

“So what plans have you boys got for the day then?”

“Nothing really,” Blaine answers “But we were about to get some breakfast”

“Great so I didn’t miss out on pancakes!” Sam beams

Blaine turns to look at his friend “Is that seriously what you ran down to check on?” When Sam nods Blaine laughs “And what if I wasn’t going to make pancakes?” Sam’s face falls.

“Come on B, don’t be mean” Sebastian says as he wraps his arms around Blaine’s waist and kisses his temple. 

“You’re only saying that because you want pancakes too” Blaine raises his eyebrow at his boyfriend, who smiles at him, eyes sparkling. Cooper was enjoying watching the interaction between the three boys. “You two are ridiculous” Blaine laughs.

“Yeah but you love us man” Sam grins and ruffles Blaine’s hair, getting a playful punch to his arm in response.

“Make that three for pancakes Blainey, though I suppose if you want some too, you better make enough for four” Cooper cuts in.

Blaine turns in Sebastian’s arms to look at his brother, “Seriously?” he rolls his eyes, places a kiss on Sebastian’s jaw and starts cooking. 

Sam and Sebastian look at each other, before setting coffee and juice with cups and glasses on the island and sit opposite Cooper. 

Cooper sits and looks at the boys, “So you’re the best friend,” Sam nods “Cool, I remember you from last year when I ran my master class, you do impressions right?”

“Yeah man that’s me” Sam replies, happy that he’s remembered and that some of the awkwardness had gone.

Cooper then turns and points at Sebastian, “And you’re the boyfriend. So what exactly are your intensions with my baby brother? I remember about you from last year too”

Blaine spins round, “Cooper” he says warningly at his brother with a fierce glare. 

“What I didn’t say it?” Cooper feigns innocence

“Everyone knows exactly what you meant so just drop it”

Before the brothers can get into it Sebastian starts talking, “For the record I never meant to hurt Blaine. And I would never intentionally hurt him in any way ever again. I can’t promise I won’t ever hurt him because let’s face it; I’m human and we all make mistakes and yes some of mine have been worse than most peoples. But I will never do anything that I know would hurt him. Can I still be an arrogant asshole? Sure, but the whole stupid blackmail and cheating of last year is long gone.”

“Yeah that about sums it up” Sam adds and pats Sebastian’s shoulder, who just looks at the blonde and shakes his head with a fondness. It’s clear to Cooper these two have clearly become friends too. Blaine continues cooking, closely listening to what everyone is saying. 

Cooper looks at Sebastian and thinks about everything he’s seen and heard. He knows the slushie was the result of trying to wreck Kurt’s clothes, and to be fair he couldn’t blame the guy, they were awful but it did end in Blaine getting hurt. He also never saw Kurt look at his brother with anywhere near that amount of love and the fact his brother’s best friend and boyfriend get on, knowing that Sam’s protective, could only be a good thing. Plus it was obvious Sebastian was being 100% genuine and honest when he spoke and that he’s admitted his mistakes. Also his attention was solely on Blaine, despite him being there and Sam sitting there in hardly anything. Cooper decides this guy could be good enough for Blaine so at least deserves a chance, “Great, so what shall we do today guys?”

Sebastian turns in his seat slightly to look at Blaine, “You can stop pretending to not listen in now killer. What do you want to do today?” Blaine blushes at having been caught out. 

“I like him Blainey, plus he’s passed the test” Cooper beams brightly.

“What test?” Sebastian questions

“The Cooper Anderson test; basically you’ve passed because you aren’t falling all over him” Blaine explains.

“For the record, his ex failed miserably” Cooper smiles

“Can we just not, plus he knows what happened the last time you came to town” Blaine places the pancakes on the table, a mix of flavours.

Sebastian smirks slightly and looks dead at Cooper, “So do I get to warn you now?”

“Warn me about what?” Cooper asks taking a mouthful of pancake

“Not to hurt your brother again or Ken and I, and most likely a feisty Latina and a Montgomery will be after your ass before you know it” Blaine wasn’t sure how Sebastian’s warning was going to go down with Cooper but Sam was nodding in agreement.

Cooper swallows his mouthful and takes a drink, “Yep I definitely like him” he grins. His baby brother deserved someone to look out and protect him, to fight for him if need be and that’s exactly what this guy was threatening to do him with.

They continued talking as they ate all getting along well and Blaine couldn’t remember feeling quite so happy, even if Cooper is doing his best to embarrass him. They all tidy up and end up splashing water and bubbles at each other, laughing madly. Cooper couldn’t be happier that his brother had these two guys in his life and couldn’t remember the last time he looked so care free.

The doorbell goes and as Blaine’s the driest one he pulls on Cooper’s abandoned sweater and makes his way to the door, leaving the other three to finish cleaning up. As he opens the door he doesn’t even have a chance to see who’s there before he’s jumped on, being pulled into a fierce hug. Realisation quickly dawns on him and he pushes the assailant off and steps back.

“Kurt what are you doing here?” Blaine asks hurriedly.

“I was worried about you. I wanted to make sure you’re okay. I thought you might need…someone…me” The distinct high pitched voice grabs the attention of everybody in the kitchen. Sebastian quickly goes to make his way to his boyfriend but Cooper grabs his arm.

“Let him try and deal with it” Cooper says to Sebastian and glances at Sam, letting him know that means he has to stay put too.

“You shouldn’t have come here Kurt” Blaine steps back again as Kurt moves forward. “Not after everything. Not after the wedding. You can’t do that and then just turn up, you haven’t even tried to apologise.”

“I didn’t want you to be on your own”

“You’re not listening to me Kurt!” Blaine says starting to get frustrated, “And I’m not alone”

“We both made mistakes Blaine, but we can move passed them. We’ve both had experiences now and I know we’re meant to be together and I know you do too.”

“No Kurt. I’m sorry but I don’t love you anymore. And to be honest I’m not sure I even want to be your friend at the moment. Do you even feel bad for anything that happened? I felt awful. I was physically sick because I was so disgusted with myself. I flew to New York as soon as I could to tell you and was hoping we could make it but you told me I was a disgusting whore, when all the time you’d already been sleeping with someone else.”

“But that’s how I know it’s you Blaine. Just give us another chance. We won’t make the same mistakes again.”

“You’re still not listening to me! And besides I’m with Sebastian, he’s my boyfriend. I love him. Please just go.”

“You can’t and anyway he can’t possibly love you”

“But he does. Dark side and all” Sebastian can’t help but smile slightly at Blaine’s reference to the song. 

“Yeah right, he doesn’t know a thing about love” Kurt scoffs, “Can’t you see Blaine, I love you; I’m the one who’s here!”

“Because you were so worried about me?” Blaine asks sarcastically, a little bitterness clear in his tone

“Of course!”

“Well if you were so worried, why didn’t you text me as soon as you found out what happened? Why didn’t you call me to see how I was doing? And what about your other friends, what about Artie, Sam and Britt, have you tried to find out how they’re doing...But wait. That’s it isn’t it? You’ve only come here because Santana and Rachel have…so what you thought you could show up and everything would be okay as if by magic? Because if you really cared about me Kurt; it wouldn’t have taken something like this for you to get back in contact.”

“You’re having a go at me? I’m the one who’s come back from New York! I’m the one who loves you, unlike your so-called boyfriend.” Kurt shrieks at his ex.

Blaine’s tired of going round in circles and raises his voice in frustration, “Stop it Kurt! You don’t even know Bas and he does love me!”

“Well if he loves you then where is he?!” Kurt shouts at Blaine

Sebastian has had enough and storms out of the kitchen. “Right here” He stands next to Blaine and wraps an arm round his waist.

Kurt is completely taken aback he hadn’t expected Sebastian to be there, particularly shirtless. “He just wants to get into your pants Blaine!”

“I’m not even going to justify our relationship to you. Just get out now!” Blaine’s says, his voice rising once again.

Kurt doesn’t move. Cooper wanted to let Blaine handle the situation but he’s had enough of Kurt’s blatant disregard for his brother’s request for him to leave. As soon as Kurt spots Cooper his whole demeanour changes, a smile crosses his face and any hint of hostility is gone. “Oh hi Cooper” he says brightly.

“Sorry Kurt but that’s not going to wash. I believe my brother asked you to go.” Cooper steps in front of Blaine and Sebastian. Sam meanwhile messages Santana, who so happens to be with Rachel and Finn and the three quickly make their way to Blaine’s house.

“I just wanted to see him”

“You’ve seen him and he’s asked you to leave so you should go.” Cooper tries to reason.

“But…”

“Kurt I’m not asking you. I am telling you.” Cooper steps forward.

“But how can you have him here” Kurt spits out looking at Sebastian

“He’s Blaine’s boyfriend Kurt, he has every right to be here, which is more than I can say for you.”

“Even though he nearly blinded Blaine?” Kurt asks smugly

Cooper laughs without a hint of amusement. “I know all about that Kurt. I know about the rock salt and the slushie, I also know that it was meant to ruin your clothes, and quite frankly I can’t blame him. I’d throw a rock salt slushie at most of them too. I also know what you did. You hurt my brother far more than Sebastian ever did and quite frankly if I were Blaine, I’d never give you the time of day again.”

“Just go dude” Sam says calmly, moving to stand next to Cooper.

Kurt spots Blaine take hold of Sebastian’s hand and turn to move back towards the kitchen. “That’s it Blaine, runaway, that’s what you’re good at after all!”

Blaine sees red. Kurt never took the Sadie Hawkins incident seriously and holds the fact that Blaine transferred away from his bullies over him. “Screw you Kurt” Blaine says with disgust and anger clear in his voice. He changes course and starts to pull Sebastian up the stairs.

“Where do you think you’re going?!” Kurt screams after Blaine, trying to push passed Cooper and Sam.

Blaine pauses but doesn’t even turn to look at Kurt, “Not that it’s any of your business but we’re going up to my room” and starts to move up the stairs again. Sebastian turns around, looks Kurt square in the eye and smirks. That’s it for Kurt, while Cooper and Sam’s gazes are on Blaine he pushes past and runs up the stairs, pushing Sebastian from behind to the side and grabs hold of Blaine. “What so are you going to hit me again?!” Blaine shouts. Then Kurt does, he slaps Blaine again. Cooper goes to lunge up the stairs but a girl he recognises gets in the way.

“Big mistake Hummel, I told you never to lay a finger on Blaine again and to leave him and Sebastian alone.” Santana goes for Kurt but Finn beats her to it and grabs hold of his step brother. As Finn moves a screaming and kicking Kurt down the stairs, they pass Sebastian, who is now standing and Kurt tries to kick and hit out at him. 

“This is all your fault!”

“No Kurt, it’s yours” Blaine says from where he’s stood at the top of the stairs and reaches a hand out to Sebastian. They make their way to Blaine’s room, shutting the door behind them.

Finn gets Kurt out the front door. 

“You ever come here again uninvited and the police will be called” Cooper warns

Sam’s emotions have gotten the better of him and his upset and anger bubbles to the surface, “Keep away from Blaine, Kurt. I mean it; I never want to see you lay a hand on him again. I took a punch for you and now you’re the one hitting out. What the hell happened to you dude? Cos this guy, this Kurt, I don’t like him and I don’t want anything to do with him.” Sam states emotionally. There is no way he can stay friends with a guy who put his best bro through everything he did and sees nothing wrong with it and keeps hitting out at him. It makes Sam wonder if Kurt did it when they were together.

Kurt calms down in Finn’s arms considerably. “Rachel are you coming?” he asks when his best friend doesn’t move, doesn’t even look at him.

“No Kurt, I’m not. I’m going to stay here with Santana and make sure our friends are okay. I can’t be around you at the moment. Not after I’ve seen you hit Blaine again and you pushed Sebastian. He could have fallen down the stairs Kurt. You could have really hurt him.”

“He’s not your friend!”

“Face it Hummel you’re pushing everyone away. You have no right to tell Rachel who she can be friends with. Now if you don’t mind I’m going to see them.” 

“You can’t” Kurt tells her.

Santana turns slowly to look at him, “I know you didn’t just try and tell me what to do! Frankensteen get him out of here now before I really lose it!”

Finn pulls Kurt away and gets him in the car to drive home, leaving Cooper, Sam, Rachel and Santana at the bottom of the stairs.

“Do you think we should go up?” Rachel asks nobody in particular.

“No. Give them some space. They’ll come out when they’re ready and if I’ve learnt anything, Sebastian can get through to Blaine like no one else” Sam says but then turns to Cooper “No offense dude”.

“None taken, but I feel so useless” Cooper states and the girls nod in agreement. 

“Well there is something we can do” Sam smiles cheekily.

“Then go and put some clothes on Trouty so we can get started”

“You must be the feisty Latina” Cooper states as Sam heads up the stairs.

“That’s right, I’m Santana, and this is Rachel, we met last year”

“Ah yes I remember you two, thanks for coming, I take it Sammy boy sent out an SOS”

“He did, and I’d never not come”

XXXXXXX  
Sam gets dressed then the group go about making a giant blanket fort in the living room with cushions for seats on the inside. It’s nearing lunch time so Sam sets them to work. The girls make a salad while Sam makes spaghetti he knows Blaine loves to eat after a long day and Cooper’s sent to get brownies from the bakery to have with some vanilla ice cream they have in the freezer. 

While all of this is going on in the house below them Blaine and Sebastian are sat tangled together on his bed with Blaine clearly trying to fight back tears. 

“Talk to me killer” Sebastian says softly while rubbing the back of Blaine’s neck.

“I’ve never felt so angry before Bas. When he pushed you; he could have really hurt you and it would all been because of me” the tears start to fall down Blaine’s cheek.

“Shhh” Sebastian soothes “None of this is your fault. Absolutely none of it; I’m okay, he didn’t hurt me B and even if he did, it still wouldn’t be your fault. His actions are down to him alone.”

“I’m sorry” Blaine sniffles and presses his forehead against Sebastian’s

“You don’t need to be. You couldn’t have predicted he’d turn into the ex from hell. Unless you’ve invented a time machine or met Dr Who and already saw all this happen and could have stopped it, nothing is on you.”

The geeky reference makes Blaine smile. “Thank you Bas”

“For what, I haven’t done anything” 

Blaine shakes his head lovingly, knowing he’d lose if he tried to argue the point, “I love you”

“I love you too killer” They kiss, which turns deep and a little heated before Sebastian pulls away. “No offence B but do you mind taking your brother’s sweater off.”

Blaine blushes then chucks the sweater to the side. “I kind of forgot I had it on.” They go back to kissing and cuddling for a little bit as that’s exactly what they need in that moment. After a while they decide they better go downstairs. Blaine puts on some jeans, a t-shirt and his old Dalton hoodie; Sebastian puts on his jeans and a long sleeve jersey top and smirks at his boyfriend, “Looking good B” he gestures to the Dalton hoodie, causing Blaine to smile shyly and hug him.

There’s a soft knock at Blaine’s bedroom door, “Come in”

Santana opens the door slightly and sticks her head in and smiles at the pair before walking into the room.

“Thanks for coming Santana” Blaine smiles softly at her

“Always, you’re my favourite twink remember and that’s what Auntie Tana’s for. Can’t say I’m looking forward to going back to the loft”

Blaine looks down, “I’m sorry”

“Blaine, don’t even try it.” Santana reproaches him, “This is all on Hummel; I didn’t say that to make you feel bad. In this situation, you’ve done nothing wrong”

“Told you B” Sebastian smiles warmly at his boyfriend and places a kiss on his forehead.

“Now are you two going to come and join the rest of us? None of us are getting Trouty’s impressions and it’s getting kind of awkward.”

“Actually we were just on our way down” Sebastian answers

“Great” Santana takes one of Blaine’s hands, while he holds onto Sebastian’s with the other and the three make their way down the stairs. They walk into the kitchen and can hear 

Sam, whose back is to them, doing another impression and see Cooper and Rachel looking at him blankly.

“Captain Jack, Torchwood” Blaine says and Sam turns around beaming at his best friend.

“Exactly!” Sam puts his hand up for a high five, which Blaine quickly gives him, “So I made you spaghetti, the girls made a salad and Cooper brought brownies, so you hungry?”

“When you say you made spaghetti…”

“Yes I made you that spaghetti” 

Blaine beams at Sam’s reply, “Great, I could definitely eat! Bas?”

“Definitely”

Sam stands up straight and places a tea towel over his arm, mimicking a waiter, “Well then gentleman if you’d like to follow me” and leads everyone into the living room.  
Blaine’s eyes bug out when he sees the huge blanket fort, “You guys did all this?!” he asks brightly, smile stretching from ear to ear and eyes crinkling. Nobody says anything but just smile at Blaine’s reaction. Sam steps forward and opens the flap of blanket that acts like a door to the fort and shows them in. Blaine couldn’t believe it, a circle of pillows made seats for them with plates and cutlery placed in front and the spaghetti and salad in the middle. There was also a cool box with a selection of drinks for them.

“Guys this is…thank you” Blaine says to his friends and brother.

“Any time baby brother…though you should know it was Sam’s idea”

Blaine did know it was Sam’s idea and moves to give his best bro a hug, which is quickly reciprocated. The boys stand there for a moment just clutching to each other and talking quietly, though it’s very different from a hug Blaine would share with his boyfriend. Cooper moves over to Sebastian, “So this doesn’t bother you?” he says quietly gesturing to Blaine and Sam.

Sebastian looks at Cooper, “Not even slightly. If you’d seen how they helped save each other, it would make total sense”

“What do you mean?” 

“Look I’m not saying this to make you feel bad because I know you’ve been working at being a better brother and keeping in contact, but these two have been through a lot together and helped pull each other from some dark places and you’d only really know if you’d seen it. If you spend more time with them you’ll realise they’re kind of like twins. There’s nothing but brotherly love between them. So I have no reason to be jealous and anyway I would never want to take Blaine away from his friends.”  
Cooper nods in understanding, as the two boys pull back from each other. They sit down, Sam and Sebastian either side of Blaine, who gives his boyfriend a kiss. They eat and have a good time, all telling stories that have each other cracking up. Blaine and Sam make the others cry with laughter when they re-enact a scene between Sue and Figgins, with Sam as Figgins and Blaine as Sue, both getting their impressions spot on. They also go into the 90s boy band battle between Mr Schue and Finn, which Sebastian just so happens to have a video of, thanks to Kitty, and shows it to everyone. 

Sebastian has to leave to get back to Dalton in time for curfew and the girls take that as their queue to go too, both needing to return home for their things before flying back to NY the next day. Monday morning and Sam and Blaine are ready to head to school after saying goodbye to Cooper, who had to leave for the airport.

“Well sorry this was a flying visit squirt, but it’s been good to see you.”

“You too, thanks for coming Coop”

“No problem, both of you boys take care, okay? And call me if either of you ever need anything” Cooper pulls both boys into a hug. “Now I need to leave if I’m going to catch my flight and you guys better get to school. Send me a message or something to let me know how it goes.”

Blaine chuckles, he likes seeing this side of his brother, “We will, now move so we can go” he teases.

Everyone at McKinley is jumpy. None of the students know what went down the previous week but Sue is no longer there. Something doesn’t sit right with Blaine though. Yeah Sue was crazy but she wasn’t a shooter, plus Becky has been acting shiftily and the new coach brought in for the Cheerios is completely mad. Seriously where did they get her from at such short notice? Sam seems to be struggling and has developed an alter ego in the form of ‘Evan’.   
By the end of the day Blaine is utterly exhausted and is glad to be home. Though unfortunately Evan hasn’t disappeared completely, but he is appearing a lot less frequently now they’re watching Avatar on Blaine’s bed. When the movie ends Sam goes to have a shower so Blaine calls Sebastian.

“Hey killer, how was it today?”

“Mostly fine, but everyone’s really jumpy. If someone shuts a locker too loudly you can hear gasps down the corridor as people jump. I think the fact they’re refusing to tell us what actually happened is making it worse. All we know is that Sue’s no longer at the school.”

“Well you and Sam had wanted to take her down before the end of the year right? It may not be in line with operation BLAMASS but at least she’s gone. Plus you’ve said she’s a crazy psychopath so maybe she finally lost it.”

“Mmmm. Something’s not right though. I mean Sue was scary enough; she wouldn’t need a gun, like she’d think they’re for the weak or something, and Becky’s been acting really strange and shifty. Plus the new coach seems completely nuts. I mean she told us she’d already got us all booked in to have a couple of ribs removed!”

“What? Why your ribs?”

“To help improve flexibility apparently”

“There’s nothing wrong with your flexibility killer,” Sebastian growls seductively causing Blaine to blush at the other end of the phone, “You’re totally blushing now aren’t you” he smirks.

“N...No” Blaine stutters.

“I can hear it”

“Oh come on, you can’t hear me blushing”

“Yes I can”

“Sorry can you just hang on a sec?”

“Sure thing B”

Sebastian listened and could hear Blaine talking to Sam, or apparently someone named Evan.

“Bas could Sam and I stay at Dalton tomorrow night?

“You know you can always stay B, though you wouldn’t normally midweek. What’s going on, and who’s Evan?”

“Sam found it really hard being at school today and Evan is sort of this alter ego. I just don’t really know what to do to help him and I’m kind of hoping being somewhere drama   
free will do some good. Let’s face it he had plenty of stress here yesterday. But please don’t say anything to the other guys; I don’t want anyone acting differently around him.”

Sebastian thinks for a moment, “Of course I won’t say anything if you don’t want me to, and maybe your right, maybe a change of scenery will do him good, but don’t neglect yourself B.”

“I won’t”

“Yet you’re not telling me what’s up with you”

“I’m worried about Sam”

“Of course you are, but now I want you to tell me what else going on in that brain of yours; I can hear it from here. You don’t have to do it all on your own B; I’m here and I’m not going anywhere.”

Blaine takes a deep breath before hurriedly saying “I’m scared the nightmares will come back now you’re not here.”

“I know it’s easier said than done but don’t think about them. Don’t let them haunt you; you’re so much more than those bastards who did that to you. I’m sorry I’m not there.”

“No Bas you don’t have to be sorry, I know I can’t always have you with me. It’s just when I’ve slept with you they’ve stayed away and I just really don’t want them back again.”

“So they came back last night?” Blaine stays silent on the line. “B talk to me”

“Yes” Blaine answers with a whisper.

“It will be okay B; I’ll stay on the phone until you go to sleep okay? Just imagine me holding you.” 

Sam comes back into the room and gets into Blaine’s bed not wanting to be alone that night either. Blaine falls asleep on his side, phone pressed against his ear listening to his boyfriend talk and hum songs quietly with his best friend lying in front of him. Blaine jumps awake some point in the night, breathing heavily and skin covered in a light layer of sweat. Sam flicks on a light and takes in the state of his best friend and quickly cuddles him.

“Sadie Hawkins” are the only words Blaine stutters and they are the only ones Sam needs to hear. He turns off the light and pulls his friend back into his chest. “It’s okay Blaine, it’s just us here, and nobody’s going to hurt you.” Both boys manage to go back to a light sleep.

The next day at school was much the same but after glee instead of going back to Blaine’s the two boys headed straight to Dalton. Sebastian had organised a film night in the common room of the dorm block with the other Warblers and had ordered pizza in for everyone rather than the boys having to go to the cafeteria for food, where he couldn’t guarantee other school members wouldn’t try and ask about the shooting. Jeff, Nick, Thad, Trent and Beat were more than happy to have their two friends over for the night and didn’t press for a reason as to why it was happening midweek as they knew being back at McKinley must be hard.

The boys all sat in the common room together completing homework before they could relax for the night. Blaine finished what he was working on and helps Sam who’d got stuck on some English homework. They finished up before the Dalton boys, thanks to McKinley’s considerably lighter work load so decided to start brain storming ideas for how to raise money for the New Directions as they no longer get any funding from school. Before they get any ideas down Blaine’s phone rings.

“Oh hi Marley” he says brightly into the handset

“Hi Blaine I was wondering if you’d be able to help me with something”

“Of course, what do you need?”

“I want to do one of my original songs for Regionals but I don’t know how to put it across to everyone.”

“Is the song finished?”

“I have the lyrics sorted but I’m stuck on the melody”

“I’d suggest getting the song finished then performing it to introduce the idea to the group. Once everyone is blown away they won’t be able to say no.” Blaine’s comment makes Sebastian roll his eyes fondly at his boyfriend. He found it funny how Blaine was so sincere in his remarks but to those who didn’t know him it could seem like he was a massive flirt.

“Could you help me? You used to do the arrangements for the Warblers right? Maybe you could help me with this. And I need you to see the song; I kind of wrote it about us, but nobody will be able to tell.”

Blaine feels slightly nervous about the song being about them but trusts that Marley would never make it obvious. “Sure; I’d be honoured to. Does tomorrow after school work? You can come round then I can always drop you back home when we’re finished.”

“That sounds perfect, thanks Blaine; I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Bye Marley”

Blaine looks back at Sam who had started writing some ideas down.

“So Sam I Am what have you come up with?”

“Oh, most of these are ideas for the next edition of Nightbird and The Blonde Chameleon, but I did have one idea.”

Blaine looks over the piece of paper, “Oh Sam no come on; the calendar didn’t make much money, what makes you think people are going to pay to see us shirtless this time.”

“I dunno, but I always got loads of money stripping so…”

“Don’t even go there”

Their conversation gains the interest of everyone else in the room.

“What are you two even talking about?” Thad asks in amusement

Blaine sighs, “We’re trying to come up with fundraising ideas for the New Directions. Although we’re back in the competition we get no funding from the school to cover costumes, transport, hotels…well anything at all.”

“What about a car wash when the weather gets warmer?” Sebastian suggests, earning a glare from his boyfriend. “You could have a station with the girls and one with the guys and people get to choose which one they want to get their car washed at.” Blaine’s glare darkens, knowing exactly what is going through his boyfriend’s mind.

“Man that’s an awesome idea!” Sam beams.

“Yeah and it would cost you hardly anything to run the day, so whatever money you earn will basically be profit” Sebastian adds.

Everyone looks at Blaine who huffs, “Fine, but only when it gets warmer”

“Great I’m going to go tell Evan” Sam jumps up.

“Sam surely you don’t need to tell him right now” Blaine tries

“Who’s Evan?” Jeff buts in

“My twin brother” Sam replies as he walks out the room

Nick turns to Blaine, “I didn’t know Sam had a twin brother”

“He doesn’t”

“But…”

“You’ll see in a minute” Blaine leans forward and rubs his forehead; “If any of you laugh or make any comment about this I will personally kick your ass” Blaine’s comment takes the boys back a little bit, but before anyone could question him further Sam walks into the room, only this time he had a sweater wrapped round his shoulders and a pair of   
glasses on.

“Oh hi Blaine,” Sam as Evan greets, “I was hoping to find Sam, I thought he was here tonight, have you seen him?” Sebastian had an idea of what to expect but was left speechless along with all the other Warblers. Blaine stands up and moves to his friend.

“He actually went out to call you” Evan goes to turn but Blaine catches his shoulder, “When you find him can you tell him to come back? I miss my friend and I’m here if he needs me, just like he was there for me last night and all those other times.” Blaine says staring into Sam’s eyes. Sam’s Evan façade seems to falter slightly as he looks at his friend, before he nods and heads out of the room. When he leaves, Blaine closes his eyes and rubs them before going to Sebastian and collapsing on his lap, burying his face in his neck, while his boyfriend rubs comforting strokes up and down his spine.

“What the hell was that?” Beat breaths out.

Blaine’s head snaps up and he feels defensive on behalf of his friend, “PTSD affects everyone differently and unless you ever have the misfortune of experiencing it you can’t comment or judge.” He barks

“Sorry Blaine, I didn’t mean anything by it, it was just a shock” 

“Take it easy killer,” Sebastian places a kiss on top of Blaine’s head and hugs him tightly, while the other boys look on. “When he comes back do you want to head back to my room to start the movies? Maybe have a shower and get comfy first?” Blaine nods. Sam walks back into the room, obviously as Sam once again.

“Hey Sam, do you want to head to Bas’s dorm and have a shower and watch some movies there?” 

“Sure man, sounds cool” Sam mumbles and starts packing his and Blaine’s things away. Blaine approaches his best friend, who turns to him and hugs him tightly, “Evan told me what you said”

Blaine pulls back and nods and picks up his stuff, “Come on Sammy” he smiles softly. 

Sebastian chucks his keys across to Blaine, “I’ll be there in a minute B”, receiving a nod and a mouthed thank you.

“Aren’t you going to go with them?” Trent questions Sebastian.

“I just want to give them a bit of space; I think B might have gotten through to him.”

When Sebastian gets back to his dorm room Blaine is in the shower and Sam is sat on his sleeping bag on the floor with Blaine’s laptop, watching the video that his best friend made for him, which is just finishing. 

Sam looks up to Sebastian, “Hey man, thanks for letting me stay here with you and Blaine tonight; I know it can’t be the way you want to spend your time with him.”

“Actually a movie night with my boyfriend and good friend is just what I need; it’s the time of year where Dalton start to crank things up” Sam smiles at the taller boy just as Blaine walks out the bathroom yawning.

“Your turn Sam” Sam jumps up and grabs his things before heading for the shower. 

“Thank you Bastian” Blaine murmurs from where he places his face against his boyfriend’s chest.

“Any time B” Sebastian gives his boyfriend a hug and places a kiss on top of his head, “I’ve got something for you”

Blaine giggles, “As great as that sounds, Sam won’t be in the shower that long”

Sebastian laughs, “I’m hurt B, that’s not the only thing I like to give to you, although it is my favourite. Sit down and close your eyes” Blaine looks at him with a raised eyebrow,   
“Just do it killer.” Blaine sits on Sebastian’s bed, legs crossed and eyes closed holding out his hands. Something light and delicate feeling is placed on them, “Open your eyes B”. Blaine opens his eyes to see a beautiful dream catcher, made with dark brown leather and string with gorgeous red and amber beads and beautiful feathers. “Now when you get home tomorrow, I want you to fix this to your headboard. The amazing thing about dream catchers is that they only catch the bad dreams and let all the good ones through.”

Blaine wells up slightly and places the dream catcher on Sebastian’s bedside table before throwing himself at his boyfriend. “Thank you Sebastian; thank you so much” It was the symbol of the dream catcher and the thought that went into it that overwhelmed Blaine and causes a couple of tears to flow, which Sebastian quickly wipes away.   
Sebastian smiles at his boyfriend, “Anytime killer, now get the film ready and get that perky ass of yours into bed. Sam I Am maybe in the room with us tonight but I still plan on getting my cuddles and copping a feel” he winks.

“You’re incorrigible, and who’d have thought you’d turn into such a cuddle whore” Blaine teases as he climbs into bed next to Sebastian, the DVD ready to go as soon as Sam is out the shower.

“What can I say killer? You’ve ruined me for any other man”

“Good” Blaine smiles his wicked smile that nobody other than Sebastian ever gets to see.

When Sam gets settled they watch the film before calling it a night, all still feeling tired after the emotional drain of the previous week. And if Sebastian goes to sleep spooned behind Blaine with one hand slipping under Blaine’s boxers and cupping an ass cheek and the other underneath the material cupping his cock and balls, well that was just between the two of them. They all slept well that night and felt much better the next day.

Blaine and Marley work on her song together after school as planned and quickly come up with a melody and group arrangement including layers of harmonies. Blaine tells her the song is beautiful and he couldn’t be happier with it. The song really did capture his and Marley’s feelings as they worked through their issues, but nobody else would know what it was about; apart from Sebastian as Blaine knew he would quickly work it out.

Evan didn’t make another appearance that week, but Sam did turn up with Lady Tubbington for Brittany, and Blaine had to admit the whole thing was very cute and that the two cats would go very well together. Although people were starting to feel better in themselves, the school body as a whole was still a mess. Blaine told Sam about his theory of the shooting and Becky and Sue, and Sam agreed that McKinley actually needed her to keep everybody in line and after interrogating Becky, the two hatched a plan.


	31. Return of the coach

“What are you up to today then killer?” Sebastian asks as Blaine is driving to the gym to see Sue.

“What makes you think I’m up to anything?”

“Your voice”

“Oh come on, how do you do that?”

“What can I say? It’s a gift. So spill; I know you and Sam have been plotting again.”

“Well I’m on my way to the gym where Sue works. I’ve got to get into her class and then get her back to McKinley.”

“Are you sure that’s what you want?”

“Yes. I never ever thought I’d say it but the school was better with her there, the jocks were under control and actually she was much better for the Cheerios, not even she resorted to crazy surgeries like Coach Roz. I know what I’ve got to do; I just wish I didn’t have to wear these damn shorts.”

That gets Sebastian’s full attention, “I’m sorry what? What shorts are you wearing?”

“The gym has a dress code. You have to wear 80s style workout clothes so I’ve got these green shorts, but I don’t feel very comfortable in them; they’re too short.”

Sebastian’s brain starts running a mile a minute, “Where is this gym killer?”

“It’s the big one near the edge of Lima. Erm Sculpt I think it’s called.”

“How long does the class last?”

“An hour and I’ve already had two hours of Cheerios today. I’m not sure I’m going to be able to move after.”

“Well we can’t have that; I’ll be there for the end to make sure you get home safe. I’ll even give you a massage. How does that sound?”

“Amazing; right I’ve got to go. Wish me luck”

“Good luck B; I love you”

 

“I love you too”.

Sebastian looks down at his watch and quickly gets changed before racing out to his car so he could get to the gym for the end of the class, well before if he was honest. Breaking god knows how many speed laws Sebastian makes it to catch the last minute or so and was not disappointed. Blaine’s shorts were certainly short and the pelvic movement was pretty hypnotising. However the only other, and obviously gay, guy in the class also seemed to notice. Well that wasn’t going to wash with Sebastian, that guy was going to know who Blaine belonged to. When the class finished some people actually started crying and Blaine approached his old coach. 

Sebastian couldn’t hear what Blaine was saying, but it certainly seemed to perk some curiosity in Sue and he couldn’t help but think she’d soon be back at McKinley. Orange dressed gay had only just gone back into the changing rooms after talking to one of the women for a while, but Sebastian had certainly noticed the way he looked to the workout room. There was no way he was going to let Blaine go into the changing rooms by himself as long as orange dressed gay was in there.

“If I hadn’t mistaken you for a butch Israeli girl there is no way I would have let you into my class, but I am impressed you completed it. Now what do you want?” Sue glares down at Blaine.

“I’ll admit part of my joining the Cheerios was to take you down by the end of the school year” Blaine confesses, slightly breathless.

Sue looks a little impressed, “Admirable”

“But the school needs you. Something happened and it had something to do with you. No one feels safe anymore, the jocks are starting to run riot and frankly I’m concerned by Coach Roz’s tactics; she’s actually booked everyone in to get ribs removed. The Cheerios need you. Come back Coach Sue.”

Blaine leaves the studio and sees his boyfriend waiting for him. A big but tired smile crosses his face.

Sebastian, still deep in thought, is pulled back to reality at the sound of Blaine’s voice, “You made it”

“Told you I was going to come and take care of you; how did it go?” Sebastian bends down to give Blaine a kiss, which is quickly reciprocated and gratefully received.

“It was intense, but nothing worse than Cheerios practises and I think I might have gotten through to her. Sue loves the Cheerios and Becky so I can’t see that she’ll stay away, plus she’s power crazy. Let me grab my stuff and we can head back to mine; I’ll just shower when I get home.”

“You sure; I don’t mind waiting if you’d rather shower here”

“They only have open showers, plus I was kind of hoping you might join me at home”

“Well I think that can be arranged” Sebastian smirks.

Just as Sebastian predicted, orange dressed gay was obviously waiting for Blaine when they got into the changing rooms and was perturbed to see Sebastian there. He didn’t have any reservations about letting this guy know Blaine was taken though so when his boyfriend bent down to pick up his bag, he grabbed hold of Blaine’s ass then pulled him into a kiss when he turned round. Blaine didn’t seem to notice the other guy being there and pulls Sebastian in deeper.

Blaine breaks the kiss first, slightly breathless “Let’s go home Bas”

“Excellent idea killer” 

Sebastian lets Blaine lead the way and turns to glare at the guy on his way out. 

XXXXXXX  
Blaine didn’t know how she did it but Sue was back at McKinley as standing Principal until the end of the year with the potential of being made permanent Principal by the board of governors if she delivered results. Figgins however had been demoted to janitor. Blaine knew better than to ask any questions.

“Young Burt Reynolds” Sue’s voice stops him dead in his tracks and he turns to face her. “As admirable as your confession was and I really do admire the fact you were the only person with the sense and balls to bring me back, you have to know your mutiny can not go unpunished. This week you are at my mercy.” She then abruptly turns and walks off.

Blaine gulps and he makes his way to the court yard to meet his friends for lunch. That’s when he sees it, an aeroplane pulling a sign ‘Blaine is the bottom’. “Oh come on!” he shouts while the other students point and laugh. He sees Sam trying to get to him but turns and quickly makes his way to Sue’s office and burst through the door, “Seriously?! That sign is unforgivable, and it’s not even true!” Sue looks him over, “Not really! Do you have any idea what you’ve done; the jocks are already circling with slushies.” He shouts at his principal.

“Think of this as a test” Sue tells him calmly.

“A test of what?”

“Character. Strength. You might be the only one in this dump who could be somebody, but if you are, you’re going to have to fight for it. I’m just seeing if you really have got what it takes.” What Blaine didn’t know is that Sue did actually have some respect for him, which is a lot more than she does most people. She’d heard all about what happened with Kurt, she knew how he defended Kitty and Brittany that night at Breadsticks, but most importantly she’d looked over his record, which included the reason behind his transfer to Dalton. The fact that Blaine had bounced back from all of that and remained a high achiever and someone people looked up to actually impressed her. The Cheerios’ GPA had increased dramatically since he’d joined and been helping most of the girls with school work and he was actually a valuable member of the squad, able to take part in and lead routines with Kitty and Brittany.

Blaine, exasperated, spent the rest of his day dodging slushies and leers from his fellow students but held his head high. He’d been through way worse than this. There was no way Sue Sylvester was going to make him crack. If she wanted to test him; then test him she could. 

At the end of the day Blaine makes his way to the choir room and sees Finn, who was filling in for Mr Schue, approach from the other direction. Both stop before they enter the room. Something wasn’t right. The door was closed and that never happened. Plus some of the chairs had been moved. With Sue’s words ringing in his ears Blaine stops Finn from trying to enter. “Don’t go in. It’s Sue; she’s booby trapped the room.”

“Wait seriously? How do you know?”

“Gut instinct mainly, just trust me on this, unless you really want to test whether I’m right”

“No man, I trust you” 

When everyone else arrives they make their way to the auditorium to find that had been sealed off.

“Great so what are you going to do know? You guys need to do your performances today so we can start prep for Regionals next session…and we clearly can’t do them here if this is a sign of anything” Finn sighs.

“We could do them at Dalton” Blaine suggests.

“Really; do you think they’d let us?”

“Oh yeah dude, Blaine’s still totally their poster boy” Sam throws his arm around Blaine’s shoulders.

“Look let me make a call” Blaine walks from a few paces from the rest of the group, phone pressed to his ear.

“Hey killer, this is a welcome surprise, how come you aren’t in glee?” 

“It’s a long story but basically Sue has booby trapped all the spaces we can perform, what do you think the chances of us being able to come and use the space at Dalton are?”

“Oh please; you’re still the golden they’re not going to turn you down. Hang on a second; you’re in luck. B I’m going to pass you over to Mr Collins”

Blaine spoke to his old headmaster who agreed to the New Direction’s using Dalton’s facilities for the afternoon as long as everything was left in exactly the same way as it was when they found it.

“I’ll see you soon Bas” Blaine beams

“Come and find us in the choir room when you get here”

“I love you”

“I love you too sap, now hurry up and get your crew of public school ruffians on the road”.

Blaine rolls his eyes as he ends the call and turns to face his glee club. “Well we have a practise space for the day”

Some of the girls squeal. Anyone who hadn’t been to Dalton before was looking forward to going there and seeing what all the fuss was about. The New Directions headed over in Blaine’s, Tina’s and Finn’s cars. Blaine’s car arrived first and they waited in the reception for the others. When Finn arrived he had to go see the headmaster about using the facilities. The New Directions however broke into an impromptu performance of ‘Shout’ which saw them running through the school, collecting the Warblers on their way before heading to the cafeteria for the finale of the song.

The headmaster catches the end with all the New Directions still on the tables. When the song ends he steps further into the canteen and uses the power in his voice to full advantage, “Mr Anderson. When you transferred I thought my furniture was safe. Apparently I was wrong.” He then turns to Finn, “Mr Hudson, please control your students.” Blaine shrugs his shoulders and high fives Brittany, of course his boyfriend laughs at him. Blaine’s habit of dancing and standing on furniture was something he found to be adorable, ridiculous and just plain funny and he would never have him any other way. 

Blaine leads the way to the rehearsal room joined to the auditorium, which had a similar set up to McKinley’s choir room, just on a slightly bigger and definitely better equipped scale. As they walk through the school he could hear gasps and excited chatter as all his friends took in the sights Dalton had to offer. Kitty makes her way up the group to walk with him and links arms.

“You realise you were a massive idiot leaving here right?”

Blaine rolls his eyes fondly at the girl and could hear his boyfriend snigger beside him. “Trust me Kitty, I know, but what would you have done without me?”

“Oh please I would have managed, but I really wanted to make sure you knew what a massive idiot you were” she gives him a kiss on the cheek then goes back to Artie. When they reach the rehearsal space Blaine and the guys go to get changed as the girls and Warbler’s get settled.

Sebastian turns to Finn, “So what’s this week’s theme”

Finn beams at Sebastian’s interest, “It’s movie mash ups, boys vs girls” he addresses all the Warblers, “hey perhaps you guys could help choose the winners”

Unique interrupts, “Hang on a minute you can’t use them to help choose the winners!”

Sugar turns round, “They’d choose the boys!”

“Guys come on; they wouldn’t do that” Finn tries to placate them.

“Finn seriously; they’re all friends with Blaine and Sam!” Tina exclaims.

“Erm I thought you were all friends with them?”

“Yes but…” Tina starts but is shut down by Kitty.

“Tina don’t even finish that sentence, you realise you’ve just insulted all of them and made out like you aren’t actually friends, way to go” Kitty claps her hands sarcastically, which makes Sebastian laugh.

“Pretty bird wouldn’t just pick the boys because of Blaine.” Brittany smiles at Sebastian from where she’s sat next to him.

“Thanks Britt; and you’re right, I wouldn’t and he knows I wouldn’t.” Sebastian adds.

“See Sebastian doesn’t lie; people just don’t always like him because he always tells them the truth, even if it’s not very nice” Brittany squeezes his hand.

Thad chuckles, “Britt you’ve summed him up pretty perfectly there” causing the blonde cheerleader’s smile to get even brighter.

To clear things up Finn explains, “Look guys I will have final say but I will listen to their comments.”

Blaine, Joe and Artie appeared in pilot gear and the music starts for ‘danger zone’, which Blaine leads the vocal for. They had mashed it with ‘Old time rock and roll’, which Sam led the vocal for sliding in in a white shirt and briefs with Ryder and Jake, true Tom Cruise style. Everyone loves the performance; it was a perfect mix of comedy, great singing and the boys costumes really set it off. They get changed so the girls can use the space after. Marley and Unique leading the Moulin Rouge mash up.

After some deliberation and when everyone was changed Finn announces the winners, “Okay, so both groups were great, but the winners of this boys vs girls are…the guys!”

The girls erupt into various shouts of “what?!”; “why?!”; “that’s not fair!” 

“Hold on!” Finn shouts above them all, “The guys won because they came up with an original mash up; you girls gave a good performance, but you just used the arrangement from Moulin Rouge.”

Kitty rolls her eyes, “Whatever, you can all stay here arguing but I’m going to check out the rest of this place.” With that she stands and leaves with Sugar, Brittany and Unique.

Jeff turns to Blaine, “Is it always like this?”

Blaine laughs and leans back into Sebastian as he stands behind him, arms wrapped around Blaine’s waist, “Actually that was tame, and only because Kitty got bored.”

“Why did your principal booby trap all your performance spaces?” Thad asks.

“Actually killer, I’d like to know why too”

Jake and Ryder turn to join the conversation, “Yeah man we would too” Jake says, “and it’s obviously got something to do with you because of that sign earlier.”   
Blaine doesn’t respond but just glares at Jake.

“What sign B?” When Sebastian doesn’t get an answer he unwraps his arms from Blaine’s waist and turns him around to face him. “What sign Blaine?”

Blaine looks back over his shoulder at Jake, who proceeds to get his phone out despite Blaine’s glare, “This one” Jake gets the picture up then passes his phone to Sebastian who took it in and handed it back after studying the picture, before locking steely eyes with his boyfriend.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I’m not going into it here”

“Fine then we won’t” Sebastian grabs hold of Blaine’s wrist and marches them towards his dorm room, leaving the other guys clueless and a little lost for words. Blaine knew Sebastian was angry by the way he looked at him and wouldn’t talk to him on their walk to the dorm room. After Sebastian closes the door to his room he turns to Blaine, who is stood awkwardly, not really sure of what to do with himself. “So?”

“I was going to tell you…”

“Don’t lie to me; I know you too well and I saw the way you looked at Jake so don’t even try it and to be honest I’m insulted you did.” Blaine looks down to his feet. “B look at me.” Sebastian only continued when Blaine looked him in the eye again, “I’m just upset you didn’t come to me, that sign is completely inexcusable and it’s not even true, there is no ‘top’ or ‘bottom’ with us and I won’t believe for one second it hasn’t caused some back lash. So why weren’t you going to say anything?”

Blaine closes his eyes for a moment to fight back tears before looking back at his boyfriend, “You’re right, I spent the rest of my day dodging slushies and having people laughing and whisper but it doesn’t matter. None of that can hurt me, I’ve survived worse. I wanted to tell you but I wasn’t going to do it over the phone and I didn’t want to make you upset or worried. This is just part of Sue’s week of torture for mutiny for confessing I joined the Cheerios to help take her down. I confronted her after I saw the sign and she said to think of this as a test, of character I guess, she said I was the only one in McKinley who would probably make it as something but I only ever would if I fight for it over and over again so she’s testing me for fight. I know it sounds stupid but that’s kind of a huge compliment from her and I kind of get what she means.” Blaine hadn’t taken a breath throughout his whole ramble or noticed the tears starting to flow down his cheeks. 

Sebastian steps forward and wraps his arms tightly around Blaine and kisses his forehead, “Shhh B, just breathe okay.”

Blaine sobs, “I don’t like fighting with you”

“It’s a good job we weren’t fighting then.” He kisses Blaine’s curls, “I’m sorry I shouldn’t have gotten so angry at you, I was just worried about you, and you know I don’t like it when you try to keep things from me to protect me. I love that you want to but you should be honest with me B; we’ve always been honest with each other, it’s part of why we work so well.”

“I know, I’m sorry,” Blaine snuffles, “I really did want to tell you”

“Shhh” Sebastian rubs his hands up and down Blaine’s spine, “I believe you B, but you don’t have to face anything on your own anymore, you’ve got me to go through it with you and I want to fight everything and anything with you. Us against the world…well us and Sam” Sebastian teases which gets a smile out of his boyfriend.

Blaine had never had someone want to stand and fight with him before. Kurt was strong yes, but it was always up to Blaine to be the defender and comforter. If he had to fight, he had to do it alone and he tried so hard not to fall into habits he was ground into, but it was hard. Blaine buries his face into Sebastian’s neck and takes a deep breath.

“I know and I’m sorry. You’re right, we always have been honest with each other and I know we always will be. I really am sorry.”

“It’s okay B…it’s okay. Trust me; I know it’s hard not to return to default ‘shut out’ mode when that’s what you’ve had to do for so long to protect yourself…hence my douchebag mode coming back out.”

Blaine looks up into Sebastian’s eyes and couldn’t believe he was so lucky to have this boy in his life. This crazy, makes you pull your hair out and head spin boy, who loved him so much; loved all of him so much, utterly and completely. He leans up and kisses his boyfriend pouring every bit of passion, love and every other emotion he was feeling into it. When they finished showing the other how much they really meant to them they went to find the New Directions. Sam, Brittany and Kitty were in the dorm block common room with Jeff, Thad, Trent and Nick.

“Hey, where’s everyone else?” Blaine asks.

“They’ve already gone dude; you’ve totally lost track of time again haven’t you?” Sam smiles at his friend. When Blaine got into something whether it be homework, music or his boyfriend time seemed to lose all meaning or feeling of passing to him.

“Why, what time is it?”

“It’s 8:00 dude” Sam laughs and Brittany giggles.

Blaine turns to Kitty who lives a couple of hours away in Lima, “I better drive you home”

“No. I’m staying with you tonight. Thanks to these lovely boys” she says looking to the Warbler members, “all my homework’s done, I have a spare Cheerio’s uniform with me and Britt’s going to lend me anything else I need. All you need to do is drive us all back to yours and order me a pizza.”

“You guys didn’t seriously do her homework did you?” Blaine asks his friends who all look down. “Miss Wilde you are irredeemable”

“What? It’s not my fault these nerdy prep boys wanted to help me. They all know I have a boyfriend and they’re not going to get anywhere.” 

Blaine turns round to his boyfriend, “I better get her out of here before she has them polishing her shoes.” Sebastian laughs, “Laugh all you want; it’s happened before.” Blaine lowers his voice so only Sebastian could hear him, “I love you Bastian.”

“I love you too killer” They share a deep kiss goodbye. 

Before they leave the common room Kitty jumps on Blaine’s back to get a piggy back ride to the car.

“I wanted a piggy back ride” Brittany pouts.

“Jump on then Britt” Sam says to his girlfriend.

“I love you Sam but I wanted a Blaine piggy back ride.”

“Kitty can you share?” Blaine turns his face to ask the girl. The Warblers, apart from Sebastian, assumed he meant they’d switch part way and were all shocked at what unfolded.

Kitty thinks for a moment, “As long as I get to go on top.”

Brittany squeals with excitement as Kitty gets off Blaine. Brittany quickly jumps on; Blaine then crouches down low and Kitty jumps on top of Brittany. He then very easily stands back up, as if the girls weighed nothing and turns to Sam. “Hey man can you grab their bags?”

“Already ahead of you dude” Sam says holding the bags up.

Blaine then turns back to his boyfriend for a final kiss, both of the girls getting one too, before walking out to the car. The Warblers’ mouths dropping open. 

“Okay I know Blaine is stronger than he looks and those girls won’t exactly be heavy but seriously?” Thad questions

Sebastian chuckles at his friends’ reactions, “What can I say? Having a cheerleader boyfriend definitely has its advantages” he smirks before sauntering off.


	32. Guilty pleasures

Blaine had survived Sue’s week of torture and actually felt like he had come out of it stronger and with more respect from the student body. With Regionals only two weeks away they were meant to be getting their pieces sorted, but Mr Schue was sick and Finn had gone MIA. Sam and Blaine hatched a plan; Blaine had told Sam about Marley’s original song, but first they needed to get the club working as one. 

The whole thing came about when Blaine found out about Sam’s macaroni art and fell in love with the macaroni Sebastian. This led Blaine to confess his love of Wham, and hence guilty pleasures week was formed. The two introduced it to the group with a performance of ‘Wake me up before you go go’ which everyone got involved with. Over that week they took it in turn to perform each other’s guilty music pleasures whether it be a group or solo piece.

Just as they finished their ABBA number Blaine gets a call from Thad, “Hey man what’s up?”

“Any chance you can come to Dalton?”

“When?” Blaine questions a little worried

“Now”

“What’s going on?”

Thad winces at the obvious concern in Blaine’s voice. “I’m not sure to be honest, Sebastian’s not himself, he got sent out of lacrosse practise and he went off on one at Jeff and Trent. And now he won’t let anyone in his room.”

“I’m on my way” Blaine ends the call and runs over to Sam, “Sam I need to go to Dalton can you find another way home?” He blurts out in a rush.

“Woah dude what’s going on?”

“I don’t know I just need to go now”

“I’ll take him” Tina offers

“Thanks Tina!” Blaine shouts as he runs off, grabbing his bag as he goes.

When Blaine pulls up at Dalton he realises he was still in full ABBA gear apart from his shoes but manages to swap the pants for his Cheerios’ ones and pulls on Sam’s hoodie that he’d left in the car. When Thad sees Blaine running down the corridor where he's sat outside Sebastian’s dorm room it's clear he’d been at some sort of practise, his hair, although starting to rebel was straightened and he was in a mix of clothes that were obviously put on in a hurry.

“Hi Thad; how is he?”

“Well judging from movements and sounds in the room he’s calmed down a bit but that’s all I can tell you” Thad stands from where he’s been sat on the floor, “Well I’ll leave you to it” and walks off, knowing Sebastian would respond better to Blaine on his own.

Blaine knocks gently, “Bastian it’s me, please open the door” the door opens and Blaine is pulled inside and into a fierce hug. “What’s going on?” He rubs a strong hand up and down Sebastian’s back and grips the back of his head with the other, how he knows reassures and comforts his boyfriend.

“Grand-pere’s died” Sebastian sobs.

“Let it out Bas” Blaine moves them over to his bed and lies down, letting Sebastian wrap around him.

Sebastian’s breathing calms down enough to talk, “The worst part though B is the fact I’ve only just been told. He died a week ago, the funeral was yesterday and my father only thought to tell me today. Apparently it was for my own good so I didn’t let it distract me, after all this is senior year and my 4.5 GPA isn’t good enough.” He says bitterly.

Blaine feelsupset and angry on behalf of his boyfriend, “I’m so sorry Bastian, that was wrong of him; he should never have kept it from you…why don’t we do something so you can say goodbye in your own way?”

“I don’t want to say goodbye though B, I only spoke to him 10 days ago and he seemed fine!”

“I know you don’t but it might help you feel better. What did you two used to do together? Give me one of your fondest memories.”

“At New Year we would write down our regrets and burn them.”

“Well why don’t you write down all your favourite memories of you grand-pere and we can attached them to Chinese lanterns and let them fly? It can be your way of honouring him.”

“That actually sounds like a really good idea.” Sebastian sits up, “God I’m sorry I’m such a mess.”

“Bastian please don’t be sorry. I’m in this with you. If you need to shout, scream or cry I’m here for you. Us against the world remember? You should know by now emotions won't scare me away” Blaine sits up to mirror his boyfriend.

“Thank you” Sebastian manages a smile and leans in to give Blaine a soft kiss.

“For what, I didn’t do anything?” 

“You’re stealing my line killer”

“Well it’s a good line” Blaine gives his boyfriend another kiss.

Sebastian pulls back and takes in his boyfriend’s appearance for the first time, “What have you done to your hair?!” he part laughs as he plays with some of the curls that are starting to spring free from the product that was helping keep them straight. “And this is Sam’s hoodie” Sebastian pulls it up to see what is underneath but Blaine quickly pushes it back down. “No no no killer, I’m upset and from the looks of it you’ve got something on that’s going to cheer me up underneath.”

“Sebastian you can’t use your grieving to get your own way” Blaine reprimands but Sebastian only gives him his own version of puppy dog eyes that he can’t resist. “Fine” Blaine huffs and releases his grip.

Sebastian pulls the hoodie off Blaine and immediately starts laughing hard when the ABBA style top is revealed. “Well it’s a different look that’s for sure” Sebastian stutters out through his laughter.

Blain playfully pushes Sebastian’s shoulder and straddles him, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend’s neck. “It’s for glee”

“Ah yes what theme did Finn or Mr Schue set this week?”

“Actually me and Sam have been running glee club. Mr Schue is off sick, and don’t worry Sam’s already got all the vapo rub jokes in, and Finn has gone MIA. Things are still pretty awkward since the whole wedding thing and I think he’s putting more into school from what Mike’s said from when he's spoken to Finn.”

“So what theme exactly have you two chosen?”

“It’s guilty pleasures week, but I’m not at liberty to tell you about them”

“What it is about you making clubs you can’t talk about Red Leader?” Sebastian teases.

“I knew I shouldn’t have told you about fight club” Blaine narrows his eyes at his boyfriend.

“Oh I would have found out, and personally I think it’s hot” Sebastian says seductively while he nips Blaine’s ear before pulling back, “This look though, considerably less so, what was it ABBA or something?” Blaine looks down and worries his lower lip a little. “Well it was definitely ABBA then” Sebastian chuckles at Blaine’s reaction, “Don’t worry though killer, I won’t think any less of you.

Blaine snaps his head up, “Hey it’s not my guilty pleasure” then worries his lower lip again, his insecurities getting the better of him. Sebastian could have any guy he wanted, and for a time did, and Blaine sometimes couldn’t understand why Sebastian had decided he was the one, when he could have easily had guys 10 times hotter.

“Then what’s bothering you?”

Blaine buries his face in the crook of Sebastian’s neck, “You’ll think I’m silly”

Sebastian thought for a moment, “Is it because I said about this look not being hot?” Blaine hums in confirmation, “You’re an idiot, I always find you hot, but the idea of you sweaty and shirtless is hotter than you in this white and gold shirt, no doubt flares and platforms, though I’m sure your ass looked spectacular.”

Blaine giggles slightly and looks into Sebastian’s eyes, “But I’m your idiot”

Sebastian kisses Blaine softly, “Damn right”

“I’m a rubbish boyfriend, I’m meant to be making you feel better”

“Trust me killer you most definitely are” Sebastian growls and emphasises his point by rocking his hips up slightly.

Blaine got home late that night after arranging to go to the lake Saturday night to let the lanterns off in memory of Sebastian’s grandfather.

"Thank you for this B" Sebastian says as he wraps his arms around Blaine from behind and rests his head on top of his boyfriend's as they watch the lanterns float off into the night sky. "He would have really liked you you know"

"I hope so" Blaine replies, "And I'm glad this has helped...but you know it's okay to not feel yourself for a while right?"

"I do...you see I have this amazing boyfriend who actually encourages me to feel rather than push everything away and become a total jackass."

"He sounds like someone you should hold on to" Blaine teases

"Oh he's a keeper alright...if you saw his ass you'd understand why"

"Bastian" Blaine tries to say admonishinly but giggles

Sebastian stays with Blaine that evening, telling more stories about his grandfather until they both can't hold sleep off any longer and drift off in each other's arms, where they feel most protected and loved.


	33. Regionals

When Mr Schue and Finn don’t return the following week the glee club work hard on their pieces for Regionals, including Marley’s original song, which everyone agreed her and Blaine should sing lead vocals for after they performed it for the group. The boys would kick of the set, followed by the girls and then everyone would come in for an equally balanced finale of Marley’s song.

The week was also marked by Brittany flipping out and demanding all the solos and dumping Sam by text when in the same room as him in front of everyone else. Blaine and the Warblers rallied round Sam while the rest of the New Directions were trying to figure out what was going on with Brittany. As Regionals were being hosted at McKinley Santana came to visit having taken a couple of days off from the diner and needing a break away from the loft.

The Warblers all head over to McKinley to support their friends in competition. Sebastian wonders down the corridor to the choir room to say good luck and see Blaine. When he gets to the room he sees the glee club stood in their ‘show circle’ so waits at the door. Brittany sees him so asks him to join them.

“Don’t stand there pretty bird, join the circle” Sebastian smiles and slots in next between Brittany and Tina. “So guys I’m really sorry I freaked out this week but I got offered early admission to MIT. In fact I have to leave straight after competition. I never thought I’d graduate high school let alone attend college so I have to go, but I don’t want to say goodbye to any of you. Mr Schue’s like our dad, even if he is missing at the moment. Blaine, Tina, Artie, you’re like my brothers and sister. Marley, Kitty, Jake, Ryder and other Mercedes, you guys are like the foster kids who became part of our family and hearts. Pretty bird, you’re like my cousin from the nicer part of town…and Sam, you’re the boy next door from the wrong side of tracks” Brittany walks across the circle to share a fierce hug with Sam, “I love you Sam”

“I love you too Brittany” Sam says through tears

“And Santana” Brittany turns to the Latina to give her a hug

“You don’t have to say anything Britt”

Brittany takes her place in the circle once more. Everyone has tears in their eyes and are doing their best to fight back full sobs. “Well as it’s my last competition guys let’s go and kick some ass” Everyone chuckles.

Blaine wipes his eyes, “Too right…come on guys” and puts his hand in the middle, everyone else adds their hands, including Sebastian.

All together they shout, ‘Aaaaamazing!’ and lift their hands, Sebastian managing to fight back the urge to tell them how lame they all are.

Sebastian and Santana went to join the rest of the Warblers in the audience as the New Directions waited back stage.

“Everything okay man?” Thad asks, noticing a slight change in Sebastian’s demeanour and the remaining tears in Santana’s eyes.

“Fine. You’ll find out when you see them after” Sebastian tells them

The New Directions were impressive especially considering how much time they’d had to prepare and that they’d been abandoned by their mentors. ‘All or nothing’ was a hit and Sebastian couldn’t help but notice how the song seemed to capture Blaine and Marley’s journeys, giving it an even deeper meaning. The New Directions were announced winners and were headed for Nationals once again. The Warblers, Sebastian and Santana met them all in the choir room, where they dedicated the win to Brittany for her contribution to the glee club and for being their friend and part of their family.

After emotional goodbyes nobody felt like celebrating much so Sam, Sebastian, Santana and Blaine headed back to his house and reminisced and comforted each other. Although Brittany wasn’t gone forever and would be in contact with them, she would definitely be missed greatly by those four.


	34. Goodbye to a friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm really nervous about this chapter so it would be good to hear what you all think; I'm not opposed to changing it if it is a complete disaster!
> 
> And a big thank you to all of you who are supporting this fic so far. The comments and kudos have been more than I could have imagined.

Sam’s staying at Ryder’s one night as they had an away football game and would be arriving back in Lima late so didn’t want to drive the hour and a half back to Blaine’s. It’s only 7.00 but sat in an empty house in sweats and a hoodie, finishing his homework and listening to music, Blaine gets the worst phone call of his life so far. He grabs his phone and car keys and drives straight to Dalton, in complete silence and with tears in his eyes.

Blaine bursts through the front door of Sebastian’s dorm block and takes a step inside the common room where some of the Warblers and other students are sat watching a film. Jeff looks up at the noise from the doorway and sees Blaine frantically looking around, with red tear filled eyes and dressed in lounge wear. “Blaine, what’s wrong?” Everyone else immediately looks to the doorway but Blaine turns and takes off down the corridor. Jeff, Nick and Thad immediately jump up and chase after him and catch up as Blaine is frantically knocking on Sebastian’s door.

Sebastian is getting to the end of his chemistry report and looking forward to Skyping with his boyfriend when frantic loud knocking disrupts him. Pissed, he marches over to the door and throws it open, but before he has time to reprimand whoever the hell dares knocking like that, he has his boyfriend desperately clinging on to him and heavily sobbing. Sebastian wraps his arms around Blaine and looks to their three friends stood in the corridor with a questioning look on his face. The three can only shrug their shoulders and shake their heads in response, not having any idea what’s up with Blaine.

Nick steps forward, “let us know if you need anything” and quietly shuts Sebastian’s door to give him and Blaine some privacy. Sebastian picks Blaine up and carries him to his bed and lays them on their sides, wrapping Blaine tightly into his body, tangling their legs. He can feel Blaine’s tears soaking through his shirt, “I’ve got you” Sebastian says quietly into Blaine’s curls until the sobs calm down. He’s about to ask what’s wrong but Blaine beats him to it.

Blaine’s voice is raspy and quiet from all the crying, “Finn’s dead”

Sebastian doesn’t know what to say for a moment. Did he really hear that right? Is Finn really dead? “He’s dead Bas” Blaine sobs again.

“I’ve got you; I’m here” A tear comes to Sebastian’s eyes; he never would have thought it but he’d actually become friends with Finn despite everything that had happened between them.

“I’m sorry I’m such a rubbish boyfriend” Blaine’s apology catches Sebastian completely off guard.

“You’re definitely not. What makes you think otherwise…hmm?”

“Well your grand-pere, and Finn is, was, your friend too.”

“Oh B. I do miss my grand-pere but I’ve had time to accept he’s gone now, though that doesn’t mean I don’t think of him and that it doesn’t hurt at all. And yes Finn was my friend too but I hadn’t gone through all you had with him. I know you spent quite a lot of time with him when you and Kurt were together and that what happened at the beginning of the school year cut you up more than you tried to let on as you thought you’d lost his friendship and I know how much it meant to you when you got it back. Plus just because I’ve lost someone doesn’t mean you aren’t allowed to grieve too. I wouldn’t have got through losing my grand-pere without you B. You didn’t let me go through it alone even when I was pushing you away and being an asshole and I won’t let you go through this alone now. Where’s Sam tonight?”

“Staying at Ryder’s”

“Oh yes, the football game. Have you spoken to him?”

“Not yet” Tiredness takes over Blaine and he goes to sleep while Sebastian holds him. 

When he knew Blaine was sound asleep Sebastian slips out of his boyfriend’s grasp and heads to Nick’s room where he, Thad and Jeff are.

“Is everything okay?” Thad asks.

“No not really……Finn’s dead”  
“What?” Jeff gasps. The senior Warblers had gotten to know Finn like Sebastian had at various parties and joint New Directions/Warblers guys’ nights.

“He’s dead Jeff”

“But how? What happened?” Nick asks softly

“Does it matter? He’s dead and that’s all there is to it. I’m going to stay at B’s tonight. Sam isn’t there as he won’t be getting back into Lima until late so is staying at Ryder’s and B has a long enough drive to school anyway without the added half hour.

“Another thing that didn’t make sense when Blaine transferred” Thad comments

“Now’s not the time for that Thad” Sebastian glowers

“But you know why”

“Yes”

“And you know why he wouldn’t transfer back”

“Yes but like I said now is not the time and you know he’ll tell you if and when he wants to talk about it.”

“How’s he doing Sebastian?” Jeff asks with a huge amount of concern for his old roommate.

“Shocked and upset as you’d expect. He’s asleep at the moment, tired from all the crying. Guys can you let everyone else know? Just don’t let them message the McKinley crew tonight if you can help it. I doubt they need to be bombarded by everyone now and they might not all know yet.”

“Of course, no problem; now get back to your boy and get him home. Let him know we’re here if he, or any of them, needs anything.” Jeff assures him.

“I will. Thanks guys” Sebastian makes his way back into his room and packs an overnight bag. It’ 8.30 by the time he’s got everything sorted and decides they need to leave to get back to Blaine’s sooner rather than later.

“B, wake up” Sebastian says gently into his boyfriend’s ear between peppering kisses onto his cheek. When Blaine groans Sebastian knows he’s coming to.

“What time is it?” Blaine slurs with sleepiness.

“8.30, come on, we’re going back to yours. An hour and a half drive is bad enough; you don’t need a two hour one in the morning.”

“You’re staying with me?”

“Of course I’m staying with you.” Sebastian smiles at Blaine; he's always the cutest thing when he first wakes up. Well he was if he was woken up by Sebastian. Anyone else waking him up and Blaine could be incredibly cranky, Sam, Brittany and the Warbler’s who’d shared dorm or hotel rooms with him over the years could all attest to it. “My bag is all packed so let’s go.” Sebastian stands up and offers his hands to Blaine to help him up.

When they get back to Blaine’s he receives a call from Sam, who’d just gotten the news along with Ryder. Sebastian holds him throughout the tearful conversation. Blaine then calls Santana to see how she and Rachel are and if they need anything; another tear filled conversation, particularly when Rachel took the phone. Although she and Finn weren’t technically a couple at the time, she loved him and he loved her and now he was gone. Blaine got other calls that night from Kitty, Marley, Tina, Mike and Quinn who all seemed to be seeking some comfort. 

Sebastian knew why they were calling Blaine, he was unbelievably strong and kind hearted, and he knew what to say to help people. What worried Sebastian though was while Blaine was being a rock for so many; he would end up neglected himself. Sebastian knew he was going to have to be there and be strong for Blaine and he just hoped he’d be strong enough.

XXXXXXX  
Finn’s funeral and a memorial at the school are arranged and all the graduates are in town to attend. Sebastian and the senior Warbler’s who’d become friends with Finn are all invited to attend the funeral. They were all shocked to receive the invites from Burt and Carole and pressed their suits and shirts ready. Sebastian goes to Blaine’s the night before the funeral and somehow finds himself sharing a bed not only with his boyfriend but Sam too, who didn’t want to be alone. They’d seen Puck earlier that day, who was not dealing with Finn’s death at all well and it’d had a big impact on Sam seeing his bro, who was normally so tough, that way.

Sebastian drives them to the funeral the next morning, a beautiful late spring day. The church’s car park is only big enough for family to park there so he drops Blaine and Sam off and parks further down the street. He finds the pair talking to Burt Hummel in the church.

Burt turns to Sebastian when he appears next to Blaine and holds out his hand for him to shake. “Thank you for coming Sebastian”

“But of course.” Sebastian replies, shaking Burt’s hand, “The rest of the Warblers should be here any minute. On behalf of all of them, thank you very much for inviting us. We know we’ve only recently become friends with Finn, but it means a lot to be here.”

“No problem. It was important to us for all of Finn’s friends to be here if they could. And you know as well as I do that friendship isn’t measured in time.” Burt nods and then goes back to greeting other guests. The rest of the New Directions arrive. The glee club and graduates had been allocated two benches towards the front as they were performing at the ceremony. Sebastian has a space to sit with Blaine but the rest of the Warblers are sitting further back.

Puck makes his way up to the group, “It’s good to see you again Sebastian, though I wish it was under different circumstances.”

“Me too; if there’s anything I can do…”

“I know. He would be happy you’re here. I’m glad you could come, that all of you could.” Puck replies looking to the other Warblers.

“When we got the invitation there was no way we were going to miss the opportunity to pay our respects to Finn, he was a great guy…One of the best.”

Santana appears next to Blaine, linking an arm with him and leaning her head on his shoulder, “Couldn’t have said it better myself.”

“What is he doing here?!” Kurt’s voice cuts through the group.

“He was invited Kurt, all the Warblers were” Blaine says calmly, trying to placate the situation.

“I doubt that” Kurt replies snootily.

Tina turns from her conversation with Unique, “Why? Finn was friends with all of them including Sebastian. Things changed when you moved to New York Kurt.”

Burt quickly makes his way to his son and takes hold of his arm, “Come on Kurt”

“I want him out of here” Kurt demands.

“He has every right to be here Kurt, come on” Burt pulls him to a private area to talk. “Carole wanted to invite him and the rest of the boys. They became friends to Finn and it was important to her for all of his friends to be able to come. Tina’s right, things change, even if you’re not here to see them.”

“But dad…”

“What Kurt?”

“After everything he’s done”

“For which he made amends. Plus you say you still care about Blaine. Prove it. Who do you think is taking care of all the New Directions? Who do you think is supporting everyone at the school who misses Finn? Who do you think Blaine needs to support him, to be there for him?”

“I could be there for him”

“I know you want to be Kurt, but you have to accept Blaine’s moved on, and you had too by all accounts. Let him be happy. If you really care about him, apologise, try to make amends as friends, but you’re going to have to let him set the pace and accept it if he doesn’t want to. Now we need to take our seats.”  
The funeral was beautiful, a real celebration of Finn’s life. The New Directions’ performance of ‘Seasons of love’ moved everyone in the church and Sebastian was not ashamed for his tears to be seen. He knew Blaine had been anxious about the performance, he knew he feared letting emotions getting the better of him, but he held it together along with every other member. At the end of the service Sebastian waited for Blaine to say his goodbyes. They ended up going back to Blaine’s with Rachel, Santana, Puck, Mike, Quinn, the current New Directions and the invited Warblers. Carole hadn’t wanted to hold a wake; it wouldn’t have been in Finn’s style so she headed back home with Burt and Kurt and other family members.

Blaine plays the dutiful host, ensuring everyone has drinks, food or whatever else they could possibly need. Sebastian finds him in the kitchen, bent over the island, face in his hands, “Hey killer” Blaine turns and clings onto Sebastian fiercely, who in turn wraps his arms tightly round him and rests his head on top of the shorter boy’s. “You know I’m here for you right, you don’t have to do this on your own.”

“I know and it means everything to me. We’re meant to be performing at the school memorial on Thursday. What if I can’t do it Bas? What if I let everyone down?”

“You’ve already proved you can do it. And you wouldn’t be letting anyone down B”

“But they need me”

“Yes they do, and you’re not going to be any good to them if you keep pushing yourself too hard. You’re the strongest person I know Blaine. If you need to cry or scream, then do it at me, but you need to let it go too for your own good. You can’t carry everyone and not take care of yourself, let me help.”

“Thank you Bastian”

“What for? I haven’t done anything” Sebastian places a firm kiss to the top of Blaine’s head. Later after those who aren’t staying overnight have gone, Blaine lets himself cry in his boyfriend’s arms in the privacy of his room to let out all the emotions he has been bottling up. He falls asleep peacefully that night, Sebastian forming a protective cocoon around  
him.

XXXXXXX  
After the memorial for Finn, at which the New Directions again performed ‘Seasons of love’ the glee club, old and new is gathered in the choir room and Kurt approaches Blaine, but is being watched carefully by Kitty, Quinn, Santana and Sam, although he doesn’t realise it.

“Blaine can we talk?”

“Erm sure okay” Blaine replies, causing Kurt to smile brightly.

“Can we go somewhere more private?”

Blaine stays inside the choir room with everyone else but moves to step round the other side of the piano. “There we go we can talk here”

Kurt’s face falls momentarily; this is not the kind of private he had been hoping for. “I just wanted to apologise for how I reacted at the funeral and when I turned up at your house after the shooting.” Kurt says, not apologising for anything specific. This was not lost on Santana who had moved so she could hear the conversation. “Since Finn died I’ve realised how important it is to forgive and forget and it’s put certain things into perspective. We were friends once and I’d like us to be again.”

The mention of Finn’s death plays heavily on Blaine, as he would have felt awful if he and Finn hadn’t been able to make amends before he died. His internal struggle was not unnoticed by those watching them and Santana knew exactly what Kurt was up to. “Okay…but it’s going to take time…and you have to accept that I’m with Bas now.”

“I know” Kurt can’t help but feel hopeful; he knew once he and Blaine started talking again Blaine would realise they were meant to be together, he just had to show him. 

Sam interrupts to talk to Blaine, “Sorry to butt in dude, but your ride should be here any moment.” 

Blaine looks at his watch, “Thanks Sam” gives his best friend a hug then turns to Kurt, “Sorry but I’ve got to go.”

Kurt sees an opportunity, “That’s okay, I need to get going too, I’ll walk out with you” and starts moving so not to give Blaine a choice. 

Santana, Sam, Kitty, Tina, who has also noticed what was going on, and Quinn follow at a distance. When in the parking lot Kurt pulls Blaine into a tight hug, before pulling back and leaving a lingering touch on his elbow, then walks to his car. Blaine looks completely dumfounded and doesn’t even react. However Sebastian couldn’t see that from the angle he was parked, all he saw was Kurt hugging and touching Blaine in a way he shouldn’t anymore, and Blaine letting him, so quickly leaves, driving back to Dalton.  
Blaine waits for half an hour. After dozens of unanswered calls he makes his way to the gym where he knows Sam would be.

“Hey man, what are you still doing here?”

“My ride was a no show. When you’ve finished do you mind if I just drop you at home? I want to head to Dalton. Bas isn’t answering my calls and it’s not like him to just not show up. I’m worried something’s happened.”

“I’m good to go now dude, I just need to grab my stuff. Try not to worry too much though; I’m sure everything is okay.”

“If it was okay then he would answer his phone or at least message me.”

“Well maybe he’s just lost track of time how you do sometimes?”

“Mmm yeah, maybe” Blaine isn’t convinced as Sebastian isn’t like that at all.

Sam fires a text to Santana to let her know what’s going on; he couldn’t help but shake the feeling that Kurt’s display was for a reason and if Sebastian had seen it, it would explain why he wasn’t answering Blaine’s calls.

Blaine pulls up and Dalton and grabs his bag before heading into the dorm block. He sees he boyfriend standing in the entrance of the common area talking to Nick and Jeff and immediately feels relieved, however that feeling is short lived. “Hey, I was worried when you didn’t show up” Blaine goes to kiss his boyfriend but Sebastian pulls back leaving Blaine confused, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing; come on.” Sebastian snatches Blaine’s bag from him and turns to make for his dorm room.

“Well something clearly is. Why didn’t you meet me at school?”

Sebastian sees red as he couldn’t get the image of Kurt clinging to Blaine or the lingering touch, which Blaine let happen, out of his head. “I didn’t want to interrupt your precious time with gayface seeing as you only have such little time together before he has to leave for New York again” he viciously spits at Blaine, causing him to recoil and Jeff and Nick to be completely stunned.

“What are you even talking about?” Blaine asks completely confused.

“Don’t even try it. I saw the two of you in the parking lot. He was all over you and you did nothing to stop him.” Sebastian shouts at him.

“What?! Are you being serious right now?! It was the memorial for Finn today. All the graduates were back. Kurt apologised for how he acted at the funeral and when he showed up after the shooting; he said Finn’s death helped him put things into perspective. He walked out with me as he needed to go too and then gave me a hug, I didn’t know he was going to do it and I didn’t react because I was shocked.”

“That wasn’t just a hug killer”

“Of course it was”

“To you maybe; but not to him. God you can be so stupid sometimes!” Sebastian barks angrily and quickly turns and starts walking again.

“Bas…” Blaine goes to follow but Sebastian stops dead but won’t turn or even look over his shoulder to look at him.

“Don’t…just don’t” then walks off, leaving a tear filled Blaine and two shocked Warblers who can’t quite make out what had just happened.

“Blaine” Jeff touches Blaine’s shoulder where he stood frozen on the spot. 

“Please leave me alone” Blaine whispers

“No Blaine, we’re your friends, we’re not going to leave you like this” Jeff tries again.

“I want to be alone”

Jeff relents and sighs with frustration, he knows how stubborn Blaine can be, “Give me your car keys, you can be alone but I want your keys so you can’t drive anywhere.”

“I don’t have them; they’re in my bag which is now in a room I’m clearly not welcome in.” Blaine goes to walk off but turns to his friends before he disappears round the corner, “Can you please see how he is? Look after him for me” Blaine walks away, seeking the room where he always found comfort before and the piano he played for hours while he healed.

Nick takes out his phone and calls Santana to see if she had any idea what was going on, knowing that if someone did it would be her.

“Listen to me Duval, Hummel is up to no good. He didn’t actually apologise for anything, he was so vague it meant absolutely nothing and he avoided any comments Blaine made about Sebastian. He even played on Finn’s death to get to Blaine, you know how bad Blaine felt for fighting with Finn at the beginning of the year; he was totally guilt tripped. Trouty’s with me” At that Nick and Jeff, who is listening in, hear Sam shout in agreement. “Tina, Kitty and Quinn are too. We watched everything, even the ridiculous stunt in the car park. Blaine was completely shocked and froze on the spot, he didn’t even reciprocate the hug, I mean he was literally rigid with his hands by his sides, which Kurt used to his advantage to hold on longer than he should. We’ve got no doubt he’s trying to cause issues to get Blaine back.”

“We’ve got to tell Blaine”

“We can’t; you know he wouldn’t believe anyone would use a death in that way. He needs to find out for himself. You need to tell Sebastian though, the last thing he needs to do is fall in to Kurt’s plan”

Nick sighs, “Too late”

“What?”

“He saw everything, though from the angle he was at it sounds like he thought it was worse than it was, and left without picking up Blaine and now they’ve just had a massive argument. He wouldn’t even look at Blaine Santana.”

“Shit. Right go and talk to him…hell call me back if you need to and I’ll talk to him. Just let me know how it goes alright?”

“Yeah, thanks”

“No problem. Hummel’s picking with the wrong people.”

Nick and Jeff couldn’t help but agree. Santana and Sebastian together would be a force to be reckoned with. Add Kitty, Tina and Quinn into the mix and you were really asking for it. Luckily Sebastian hadn’t locked his door so the two enter without knocking, knowing they wouldn’t get an answer and that it would probably spur Sebastian to lock it if they did.

“You’re a fucking idiot you know that Smythe?” Nick starts 

“What the fuck do you want?” Sebastian snaps back.

“We just wanted to make sure you knew how stupid you’re being for playing into Kurt’s hands” Nick and Jeff then go onto explain everything Santana had said to them. The fact that Sam didn’t trust Kurt’s intentions spoke words as he was almost as forgiving as Blaine. 

“I’m so stupid!” Sebastian shouts at himself and pulls on his hair in frustration.

“It’s okay man, we get it. You were scared of losing him so pushed him away. You didn’t want to have to see him go off with Kurt. But he wouldn’t do that. He loves you so much Sebastian, you have to know.” Jeff says sincerely. 

“I know…it’s just sometimes hard to believe…but I know” Both Nick and Jeff are a little shocked at this confession of Sebastian’s but didn’t show it knowing it would set him off if they did.

“What are you waiting for then? You better go find your boy” Nick teases

“Oh please as if I have to find him, I know exactly where he’ll be.”

“Oh yeah? Prove it”

Sebastian leads the way to the music room in silence. When they get there the door is cracked open and they can hear the piano being played gently; an unknown melody that sounds so full of sadness it makes Sebastian’s heart break. When Blaine changes what he’s playing and starts singing ‘Against all odds’ it moves Sebastian to tears and causes Jeff and Nick to well up with the amount of emotion that goes into it, particularly when Blaine’s voice nearly cracks from his own emotions. When the song finishes Sebastian walks into the room, closing the door behind him.

“That’s a little dramatic don’t you think killer?” he says trying to lighten the situation

“Yeah well you’re an asshole” Blaine retorts, his voice monotone as his eyes never move from where they’re fixed on the keys

“You knew that before we got together”

“And you knew I was dramatic,” Sebastian huffs a small laugh; pleased Blaine is at least responding to him.

Sebastian walks over to where Blaine is sat on the piano bench and crouches down, trying the find eye contact. “I’m sorry Blaine. I shouldn’t have gotten angry at you. I know you’re forgiving; I just don’t want you to get hurt again…and I don’t want to lose you…I thought I already had…I thought I was going to have to watch you walk away.” Sebastian stands up after letting his insecurities out knowing Blaine needed to hear them to truly understand why he reacted how he did.

His confession causes Blaine to surge from the piano stool into Sebastian’s arms, cupping his face and giving him a passionate kiss. “No you idiot…Never…You know I love you. I love you so much it scares me sometimes. Apart from when I’m with you, because then, I’m never scared. I’m never going to leave you. I’m yours. I meant the promise I made at the bridge in Paris and I’m not going to go back on it. I only agreed to try to be friends again because the thought of Finn dying before we got the chance to make amends kills me. But I told him he’d have to respect you and us and that it would take time.”

Sebastian lets the tears fall, which Blaine quickly kisses away. “But I’m your idiot” he whispers so quietly Blaine almost misses it.

Blaine smiles, “Now who’s stealing whose lines?”

“It’s a good one”

“Of course” Blaine kisses Sebastian again. “What do you say we freak out the two eavesdroppers? He whispers into Sebastian’s ear.

“What did you have in mind killer?”

Blaine takes Sebastian’s hand and walks towards the small door in the corner of the room that is surrounded by full book shelves. Many people hardly ever noticed the door’s existence. Dalton was old and there were many passages. This door was smaller than normal and almost disappeared due to the way the dark shelves stood next to it. Blaine tries the handle but the door is locked.

“And what exactly are you going to do now?” Sebastian smirks but is left speechless when Blaine pulls out two picks from his wallet.

“How exactly do you think we stole the trophy back?” Blaine smirks in return, unlocking the door. They enter the passage way, Blaine locking the door behind them.

“And where exactly does this go?” Sebastian asks as he turns his phone light on.

“I can’t believe you haven’t been down here before”

“What can I say? I normally don’t make a habit of going through doors I have to duck considerably to go through”

Blaine rolls his eyes fondly and playfully smacks Sebastian’s arm.

In truth the passageway didn’t go anywhere interesting, merely providing an alternate route to the other side of the dorm block and stairs to the different levels, but it meant they could go back to Sebastian’s dorm without being seen. 

When they exited a few doors down from Sebastian’s room Blaine shrugs, “I know it’s nothing exciting but sometimes I didn’t want to see anyone” 

Sebastian just smiles in return, knowing exactly what Blaine meant, when they are safely back in his room with the doors locked he holds Blaine tightly. 

“I really am sorry B”

“Me too Bastian”

“What have you got to be sorry for?”

“Making you doubt me”

“No…B don’t…you didn’t do anything wrong…I should have spoken to you before going off on one”

“I love you Sebastian”

“I love you too Blaine”

The two kiss and end up in Sebastian’s bed. 

“Well I know we were meant to be going to see a movie but I hope it’s not been a completely wrecked evening” Sebastian says as he cards a hand through Blaine’s now sex messed curls.

Blaine shifts his head from Sebastian’s chest so he could look into the green eyes that take his breath away, “The evening definitely hasn’t been wrecked Bas…I might be though”  
he smirks, causing Sebastian to chuckle and roll them over so Blaine is pinned beneath him, “We could still watch a movie and it would be much better than going out” 

Sebastian raises an eyebrow, “Oh really?”

“Mmhmm…at the theatre we wouldn’t be able to have naked cuddles at the same time.”

“You’re such a cuddle whore” Sebastian brushes his nose against Blaine’s

“You love it”

“I love you. What do you want to watch then killer? Though it has to be said I’d be more than happy just to watch you” Blaine blushes at Sebastian’s comment, “And there’s my bashful school boy again.” He kisses Blaine’s pink cheeks.

“Actually I’d quite like to watch the X Men”

“I’m slightly insulted B, though I’m sure I’ll be able to distract you” Sebastian rolls out of bed and walks to his TV to put the DVD in, “Any reason for the choice of movie?”

Blaine looks down in the way he does when he gets embarrassed and mumbles, “Sometimes when I used the hidden corridor I liked to pretend I was in Charles Xavier’s school for the gifted.”

“You’re such a dork” Sebastian muses as he climbs back into bed and once again wraps his boyfriend in his arms. It turns out Sebastian was right, he was able to distract Blaine before the film was even half done.


	35. The New York adventure

As planned Sam, Sebastian, Blaine, Thad, Nick and Jeff leave Lima for New York to visit their future colleges and, for Blaine, audition. Sam was using the trip to figure out if he really wanted to go to college or not, though he already knew the answer but was scared of letting Blaine and his family down. The six boys go to the hotel suit Thad’s parents had booked for them to leave their things before heading to the diner to see Santana and Rachel.

Blaine had been very cagey in telling Kurt anything about their plans for while they were in New York, not feeling completely at ease with the whole friendship thing. The conversations seemed too strained and forced and he needed a drama free week as his nerves were starting to get the better of him, and Kurt had always made them worse when they were together by making him feel bad or undeserving and inadequate. 

When they walk through the door of the diner they are quickly greeted by a waitress, who turns out to be Dani and are seated in her section. As soon as they could Santana and Rachel both greet their friends. Dani walks back over to take their orders after whispering something in Santana’s ear, who writes a message on her order pad and passes it to Sebastian while Blaine is busy catching up with Rachel. After Sebastian reads the note he rolls his eyes and passes it to the other boys.

“Blaine!” A high-pitched voice cuts through.

Blaine looks up to see his ex stood before him, “Err hi Kurt” he says cautiously, “ I didn’t think you were meant to be working today” he comments looking at Santana who exasperatedly shakes her head, letting him know he wasn’t meant to be.

“Well one of the other guys asked if I could swap shifts with him. Lucky for us though as we get to see each other” Kurt beams completely focused on Blaine.

Sebastian wraps an arm around Blaine’s waist while Sam coughs to get attention, “Hi to you too Kurt” snapping him out of his revere of Blaine.

Kurt looks haughtily at Sam who he hasn’t forgiven for the way he spoke to him at Blaine’s house after the shooting, “Oh hi Sam.” He scowls.

“Hi Kurt,” Nick says with a false sweetness

“Oh hi Nick, Jeff, Thad and Sebastian” Kurt grimaces; clearly not pleased the other boys are there.

Dani comes back with their drinks, “Kurt there are tables in your area waiting to place their orders” she politely tells him so a disgruntled Kurt scuttled off.

“I’m sorry” Blaine apologises quietly head down

“What are you sorry for B?”

“He was rude to you, to all of you” he says looking at all his friends

“That’s on him dude” Sam tells him, “I stand by what I said to him and if he can’t take it then it just proves I’m right”

“I just don’t like that you’re fighting because of me”

“It’s not because of you; it’s because of him”

“Sam’s right B” Sebastian kisses Blaine’s temple to help calm his nerves a little, but the high-pitched voice they all dread to hear comes belting through the microphone on the small stage area.

“Now to welcome someone to the stage who I’m all sure we’ll see one day on Broadway, Blaine Anderson!” The other patrons clap while an unknowing waitress comes and takes an astounded Blaine’s hand leading him to the stage. Blaine looks back at his boyfriend with panic filled eyes.

“Great this is just what he needs” Sebastian growls

“His nerves are starting to get the better of him again aren’t they?” Sam questions.

Sebastian only nods in response, his gaze never leaving Blaine’s, smiling at him in encouragement and mouthing ‘you can do it’. Blaine gives him a small nod and settles behind the piano, glancing at Sam. When he starts playing Sam instantly gets what his best bro meant and pulls out his harmonica, accompanying Blaine’s performance of ‘The piano man’ during which Santana, Dani and Rachel come and dance with them. At the end of the performance Kurt stands on top of one of the tables enthusiastically clapping to an embarrassing extent. 

Blaine heads back to the table, to be swept into Sebastian’s arms, “That was great killer, everyone loved you. Are you okay?”

“Yeah I think so; I’m just going to go to the bathroom before our food gets here” With that Blaine turns and heads to the men’s. Sebastian catches Santana’s gaze, who keeps an eye on Blaine while he moves through the diner. When Blaine comes out of the bathroom he is quickly cornered by Kurt.

“You were amazing” Kurt says breathlessly, beaming.

“Thanks Kurt” Blaine tries to move passed his ex, but Kurt blocks his way and steps closer.

“I mean it, you took my breath away” The exchange is not going unnoticed though and while Dani stops the table of boys from going over and making an uncomfortable situation nasty, Santana is listening intently nearby, as is Rachel who is a bit confused as to why her friend has approached his ex, her other, now good friend, in this way.

“Kurt…” Blaine warns, but once again isn’t listened to.

“There’s no way you’re not going to get into NYADA, when’s your audition? I could go with you. How amazing is this; we’re going to be together again next year”  
Blaine tries to step back but is well and truly cornered, a juke box blocking one side, a wall another and behind, and Kurt too close in front. He didn’t really know how to respond to everything Kurt had said, did he think they’d get back together? Surely not, Blaine had been perfectly clear they could only be friends and that even that would take time. 

“Actually I’m not going to NYADA”

“Don’t be silly, of course you are…there’s no way they wouldn’t let you in”

“No I mean I didn’t apply”

“What do you mean?! Broadway is your dream and the only way you’ll get there is at NYADA”

Blaine is taken aback a little by once again being told what his dreams are, “No Kurt, Broadway isn’t my dream, it might be a part of it, but it isn’t it, not like for Rachel.”

“Don’t be silly; don’t let him take your dreams away from you Blaine” Kurt wrinkles his nose in disgust.

“Trust me, Bas isn’t, he’s helped me run through my audition piece. He knows how much this means to me Kurt”

Kurt’s face brightens, “Oh so you’re still coming to New York then?”

“If I get in then yes I’ll be in the city”

“Well of course you’ll get in. That’s amazing; we can still be together next year”

“I’m sorry?” Blaine asks, at a complete loss

“Well I’ve really enjoyed getting to spend time with you again, even if it is virtually, and as we’ll be in the same city again it makes complete sense, don’t you think?”

Blaine feels as though he’s stepped into an alternative universe, he and Kurt had hardly been in contact, yes it was more than when they were actually together, but it was still very limited, and he didn’t understand where Kurt was coming from what so ever. “What makes complete sense?”

“Us”

“Kurt I’m with Bas”

“Yes but next year you’ll be in New York, and I’m willing to look passed that”

“Passed what?”

“Well we never officially split up Blaine, but I know you needed someone while I was here” From where they were listening Santana and Rachel’s eyes both boggle and they look at each other in utter shock, had Kurt really just said that?

“What? Kurt we’re not together anymore, I’m with Sebastian and I’m not splitting up with him when I come to New York, in fact he’s coming here too”

Kurt scoffs, “Of course he is...But that doesn’t have to matter, we can still be together”

“You’re not listening; I’m not splitting up with Sebastian”

Kurt is a little taken aback but isn’t going to let the opportunity go, “But that doesn’t matter. We can still be together.”

“Are you seriously suggesting that I cheat on Bas? After everything we put each other through?”

“Well it wouldn’t really be cheating as we were together first, and well technically still are”

“What kind of sick and twisted logic is that?”

Kurt goes to reach out to touch Blaine, who flinches away. Sebastian, who has anxiously been watching the whole exchange, has had enough at having to watch his boyfriend growing increasingly uncomfortable and agitated.

“Don’t touch me Kurt, in fact don’t talk to me, I don’t want anything to do with you.” Blaine pushes passed Kurt and storms back to his table.

“You’ve done it this time Hummel” Santana gleams at him, but it spurs Kurt to follow Blaine.

“Guys can we go, I’ll pay for everyone’s food but I can’t stay here” Blaine asks his friends and boyfriend.

“What did he say killer?” 

“I’ll tell you later but I just need to get out of here”

The boys quickly slip on their coats but before they can leave are joined once again.

“Now’s not a good time Kurt” Sam tries

“This is none of your business Sam” Kurt spits

“Actually it is as my best friend wants nothing more than to get out of here” Sam retorts, now in protective mode.

“What are you even doing in New York?” Kurt snaps at him

“Not that it’s any of your concern but I’ve got an interview at Pratt”

“Very funny, we both know you’re not cut out for college Sam”

“What gives you the right to judge?” Sebastian steps in

“And what gives you the right to stop Blaine from going to NYADA”

“I told you Kurt that I didn’t apply and it was my choice. Now if you don’t mind we’re going.” Blaine replies.

“Blaine wait!” Kurt grabs hold of Blaine’s wrist squeezing hard, “He’s just using you, he’ll already be cheating on you, you won’t be able to keep him satisfied, just give us another chance and I’ll prove to you it’s us, that we’re the ones who are meant to be together.”

“Let. Go. Of. My. Arm.” Blaine glowers but Kurt doesn’t budge and only tightens his hold, “You’ve insulted Sam, you’ve insulted Bas and our relationship, you’ve insulted me and you’ve been rude to all my friends. I have nothing I want to say to you. I don’t want to see you again. Do not contact me.” Although Blaine is talking quietly everyone can hear the pure anger in his voice. None of them have ever seen Blaine look quite so angry, his free fist clenching instinctively at his side.

“What are you doing Kurt? Let go of Blaine” Rachel appears next to him. 

“Stay out of this Rachel,” Kurt barks at her

“Don’t talk to Rachel like that and let go of his arm! You’re squeezing the hell out of it.” Santana adds as soon as she sees the dents and marks Kurt is causing on Blaine’s wrist

“Mind your own business” Kurt orders

“You should know to never tell me what to do.” Santana glares back “Rachel your shift is over, why don’t you go with the boys?”

“Yeah come on Rachel” Sam holds out his hand. Rachel glances round at the boys and Blaine, who all nod at her. Rachel takes Sam’s hand, leaving Kurt flabbergasted. How was his best friend taking their side?

Blaine uses Kurt’s distraction to pull his arm out of his grasp and marches out of the diner with Sebastian and the rest of the group quickly following. As Blaine walks down the street his pace quickens but Sebastian keeps up, eventually pulling his boyfriend reluctantly to his chest. After Blaine initially fights the action, he collapses against Sebastian’s chest in tears, being tightly and protectively held. His friends look on and Rachel starts crying so Sam hugs her, “It’s not your fault Rachel”

“Sam’s right it’s not” Thad tries to soothe her.

Sebastian walks up to them all. “I’m taking B back to the hotel suite, Rachel he really wants you to stay with us tonight; I’ve messaged Santana asking her to as well. Why don’t the guys take you back to the loft so you can change and grab some clothes then meet us at the hotel.”   
Rachel nods and looks over to where Blaine is standing; his back to them, shoulders slumped and head down, “Is he going to be alright? His audition is tomorrow”

“He’ll be fine, but he wants you and Santana to stay with us tonight so he knows you’re both okay. Can I ask one favour though guys? If we’re in our room when you get back to the suite, please don’t disturb us.”

“Sure whatever you need” Nick says

“Let us know if we can do anything” Jeff adds

“Sebastian…take care of him” Sam says, finding the site of his best friend in such distress heart breaking.

“Always, Sam, you know that”

“I know” Sam claps his hand on Sebastian’s shoulder as he walks back to Blaine, who immediately buries himself in his boyfriend’s side.

The group watches the couple walk round the corner, “Guys, give me a second, I’m just going to talk to Santana. If she’s staying with us tonight too we might as well get her stuff now so she can come straight to us” Thad says, turning back for the diner.

“Hang on, I’m coming with you” Nick tells him jogging to catch up. When the boys go back into the diner they are greeted by a infuriated Kurt.

“What do you two want?” he snaps at them

“We’d like a word with Santana” Thad steps forward

“You can’t, she’s working”

“Yet that didn’t stop you cornering Blaine or grabbing hold of him when he tried to leave” Nick steps forward to be level with Thad.

“Move Hummel” Santana pushes passed Kurt. “How can I help you gentlemen? Kurt your tables are waiting on you again” The three of them watch Kurt walk away.

“Sebastian’s messaged you but we doubt you’ve had a chance to read it yet. Blaine wants you and Rachel to stay with us tonight. We’re heading back to yours to pick up some things for her and we wanted to know if we could grab a bag for you too so you can come straight over.” Thad explains.

“Blaine’s audition is tomorrow and it would really help to have you both with us so he isn’t worrying as much, his nerves have already been building.” Nick adds.

“Okay guys, grab these things for me” Santana tells them, giving them a slip of order paper she’s scribbled down some things on. “Berry should know where everything is. Look after our boy.”

“Sebastian’s on it” Nick said taking the paper

“I have no doubt” Santana gives them both a kiss on the cheek then goes back to work. 

The two boys join their friends and head to the loft for Rachel’s and Santana’s things.

XXXXXXX  
Meanwhile at the hotel suite in their room, Sebastian is sat on the edge of the bed watching Blaine pace frantically around.

“Are you sure my piece for tomorrow isn’t too out there?” Blaine hurriedly asks

“I’m sure killer, the letter said to perform a piece that shows what you do, and that’s exactly what you’ve got.”

“Are you sure though? The first time you saw the music you weren’t convinced”

“That’s because I couldn’t imagine it, but when you performed it for me everything clicked. You know I wouldn’t lie to you B. The way you’ve blended the music is pretty incredible. The song shows you’ve got good range and it’s something unique.”

“Unique.” Blaine parrots, “but what if they don’t like it?”

“They’re looking at this subjectively killer; even if they don’t like it, which I doubt, the fact is what you’ve done is technically impressive. You have an amazing voice and you never fail to draw your audience in, just breathe B, you’ll be fine.”

Blaine pauses for a moment but then begins pacing again, “What am I going to wear?” 

“Show me what you’ve brought with you and I’ll help you pick out an outfit” Sebastian knows Blaine has to get some of this energy out of his system and wants it to be in the least destructive way possible. “Well I definitely think you should wear these” Sebastian says holding up the black jeans Blaine had worn on their first date.

“I thought so too; it’s why I packed them”

“Great so that’s half of you sorted” Sebastian stands and kisses the top of his head. “What about your white polo and red cardigan?”

Blaine smiles, “That works, I think”

“Well why don’t you try it on?”

“You just want me to strip”

“Guilty, but you’ll feel better once you’ve tried your outfit on” Blaine loves how well his boyfriend knows him so slips out of his chinos and into his jeans. He takes off his black   
cardigan then freezes, staring at his arm. Sebastian walks up behind him and wraps his arms around Blaine’s waist, gently taking his wrist in his hand. “The bruises will go soon B” Sebastian says, rubbing his thumb comfortingly where Kurt’s finger prints marked Blaine’s skin, hating seeing them there, but he knew Blaine hated them just as much, if not more, and that showing his anger would only have a detrimental effect on Blaine.

“They look wrong” Blaine whispers, Sebastian knows what he means. They looked wrong because Kurt had marked him once again when he had absolutely no right too. His marks didn’t belong on Blaine’s skin. “They look wrong Bas” a tear falls down Blaine’s cheek.

“Shhh…It’s okay B. They don’t mean anything. They’ll be gone before you know it” Blaine turns and buries his face in Sebastian’s chest.

“I’m sorry I’m such a mess”

“You’re no such thing. You’re amazing, talented, kind, clever, hot as hell, beautiful and are the best person I have ever met. I think it’s time you tell me what he was saying to you B.” Blaine nods in agreement; now he’d calmed down a bit he was ready to tell his boyfriend exactly what had gone on at the diner. “Do you want to get more comfortable?” Blaine nods again, so Sebastian scoops him up and places him gently on the bed, so they are laying chest to chest, Sebastian acting as a protective cocoon around his boyfriend.

“Bas…”

“You’ve got it killer” Sebastian knows exactly what Blaine wants, what Blaine needs so delicately strips them out of their clothes and covers them with the comforter and they get back to their original position.

Naked cuddling with Sebastian always helps Blaine feel more secure and connected, and Sebastian feels exactly the same way also needing to feel that level of connection with his boyfriend; the a closeness brought by intimacy of skin on skin. Blaine goes on to explain what Kurt had said; about how Kurt had claimed they were still together and how he tried to convince him to cheat on Sebastian, but that it wouldn’t really be cheating because they had been together first.

“How could I have been so stupid Bas?” Blaine cries. “All this time I thought he’d wanted to be friends again, that he accepted that I was with you now. When all along his plan was for us to get back together when I came to New York; the way he said it was as though I wasn’t even being given a choice! How could he use Finn’s death like that? Am I missing something here? I thought I was as clear as I could be that me being with you isn’t going to change. Was I not? Is this my fault? I just don’t understand.”

“It’s not your fault B; he’s deluded and he shouldn’t have used Finn’s death to guilt trip you into talking to him again. But it’s important you really listen to me and understand when I say this is not your fault. I’ve seen the messages you sent him in reply, there was no way you were ambiguous or gave any indication that you would be getting back with him. This is on him. Not you.” 

“This is ridiculous; you shouldn’t have to put up with all of this. I understand if you don’t want to anymore.” 

Sebastian tightens his hold around Blaine to stop him from moving away. “B look at me” Blaine doesn’t move, “Blaine, look at me” Sebastian says a little firmer, making Blaine look him in the eye, “Nobody could have predicted that he’d turn into the ex from hell. We’ve already established you haven’t done any kind of time travel and I would put up with one hundred Kurt’s if it means I get to call you my own. I’m here because I want to be with you Blaine, only you and I always will. You know I don’t look at anyone else, that I’m not interested in anyone else. I never used to understand monogamy until you came along. You keep me more than satisfied B and the idea of ever being with anyone else makes me feel empty and sick now I know what it feels like and means to be with you. Don’t let him put doubt in your brain.”

“I’m sorry”

“Shh you haven’t done anything wrong. You don’t need to be sorry.” 

“I don’t want to have anything to do with him ever again.” Blaine says quietly, his crying now stopped.

Sebastian rubs comforting strokes up and down Blaine’s spine, “You don’t have to killer and no, it doesn’t make you a bad person.”

“How did you…”

“Because I know you” Sebastian kisses the end of Blaine’s nose 

The couple fall asleep holding each other. Sebastian wakes a few hours later to chatter in the living area of the suite. He gently unwraps himself from Blaine and gets dressed before heading out to see what everyone else is doing. Sam, who’d been periodically watching the bedroom door for signs of movement, is the first to spot Sebastian. “Hey dude, how is he?”

Everybody stops what they’re doing, their focus solely on Sebastian, who runs a hand through his hair. “Honestly? Not great, but a lot better than he was earlier. He’d be even better if he didn’t have fucking bruises on his wrist staring at him from where gayface clung to him……oh hi Dani, thanks for earlier, I’m pretty sure you stopped us all from getting arrested”

“Already thanked her” Thad says raising a beer.

“I’m so sorry” Rachel says to no one in particular. 

Sebastian walks over to her and crouches in front of where she is sat on the sofa. “This isn’t your fault Rachel. Don’t blame yourself.”

“I just can’t believe how he acted, how he has been acting” It’s obvious there is more to what Rachel is saying but now is not the time to push and he wasn’t the person to do it.

“To be honest I didn’t expect this either. But trust me, this isn’t your fault and don’t you dare let B hear you say that.” That gets a small smile out of her. Although Blaine was one for taking on fault easily he never let other people feel bad for something out of their control. Sebastian stands and moves to grab a beer from the side. “Who do I have to thank for these?” he asks waving the bottle.

“I thought you could all do with it” Dani replies

Sebastian nods, “Thank you. Are you going to stay too? You’re more than welcome, though it might be a bit tight. I’m sure B would be happy to see you when he wakes up.”

“Well how can I say no then? I don’t want to make anyone unhappy who has eyes that make Santana melt”

Sam chuckles, “So you’ve heard of the puppy eyes of doom”

“Everyone is powerless against them” Jeff muses.

“What shall we do for food tonight?” Nick asks, “Don’t look at me like that guys you must all be hungry too” The guys look down, “Ha thought so”

“Well B won’t want to go out but you all should if you want.”

There are various forms of ‘no way’ and ‘don’t be stupid’ throughout the group. 

“Well you’re in New York, so I think you all have to experience a New York pizza” Santana interjects.

“Sounds good to me; Nick you know what me and B like, can you take care of the order so I can go and wake up my sleeping beauty?”

“Hell yes. Out of the two of us, I’m getting off lightly” Nick jokes causing all the guys to laugh.

“Come on, what are we missing?” Santana asks

“If anyone apart from Sebastian wakes Blaine up, it’s like he turns into a mini hulk, but just because he’s mini doesn’t make it any more pleasant. In fact I’ve wondered if the hulk would be nicer to wake up before.” Sam answers.

“Oh come on, he can’t be that bad” Rachel says disbelievingly 

“Yes he is” all the guys chorus at once

“And here was me thinking he’d be a morning person” Santana comments.

“Oh he is, but he takes a few minutes to get going and doesn’t take kindly to being woken. I think it’s from when Cooper used to wake him up as a kid” Jeff explains.

“That makes sense. I know I don’t know Cooper well, but I can’t imagine he was ever gentle with his wake up calls.”

“Let’s say he used to play ‘how can I make Blaine scream today?’ One time he actually put on a scream mask and woke him up by starting a chain saw he took from the garage.”

“This makes me glad I’m a single child” Rachel says

“Hey not all big brothers are like Cooper” Sam huffs

“Keep your knickers on Trouty; we know you’re an amazing big brother.”  
Sebastian slips back into his and Blaine’s room and gently lies back down next to his boyfriend, comfortingly stroking his side. “Time to wake up B,” Sebastian kisses his curls; Blaine stirs slightly so Sebastian nuzzles his neck, causing his boyfriend to roll over to face him. 

Blaine reaches out for Sebastian, his eyes still closed, “Why are you wearing clothes” he grumbles then opens his eyes, in time to see Sebastian’s smirk.

“Because I went to check on everyone in the living room and to sort out food”

“I’m not going out”

“That’s what I told them so they’ve ordered pizza. From what Santana said New York pizza lives up to the hype so we should be in for a treat”

“I’m not hungry” but Blaine’s stomach gives him away

Sebastian chuckles “I’m going to have to disagree with you there killer”

“I just don’t feel like eating”

“Come on, let’s go have a shower. Then if you still don’t feel like eating, I’ll set Santana on you”

“That’s mean Bas” Blaine pouts

The two emerge from their room dressed in sweats and hoodies (Blaine is clearly wearing one of Sebastian’s) with hair still damp from the shower. Blaine in truth was feeling a little better and cleaner, as silly as that might seem to some, but the bruises had made him feel kind of dirty. Plus the blow job Sebastian had given him had certainly helped release some tension. 

“Just in time guys” Thad says, carrying the pizza boxes towards everyone

“Jesus, do you think you got enough?” Sebastian teases

“Well we couldn’t decide on what we wanted” Jeff explains as he grabbed his first slice

“Evidently” Blaine says; eyes wide at the sight of what he was sure must have been one of every pizza on the menu.

“Tuck in then dude” Sam says through his mouthful

“Nice to see your manners haven’t changed Trouty. Try some of this one Blaine” Santana says handing him a slice, knowing Blaine would be too polite to refuse.

“Okay this is really good” Blaine comments after his first mouthful, causing Sebastian to let out a breath of relief that Blaine was in fact eating something.

“Do you want a beer man?” Sam asks Blaine

“Oh no thanks”

“Come on…Dani got them for us”

“Thanks Dani that was very kind of you and please don’t be offended that I’m not drinking”

“You’re very welcome and why would I be offended? That just means there’s more for the rest of us.”

“Why won’t you have one? You love beer and pizza” Sam tries again

“Sam, Blaine’s audition is tomorrow” Rachel cuts in

“And?”

“Everyone knows you shouldn’t drink before a big performance; it’s bad for your vocal chords…” 

Rachel is cut off before she can get into full flow by Santana when she notices Blaine stiffen and Sebastian pull him into his side, “Yawn Berry, nobody wants to hear you yack on about vocal chords and breathing techniques and whatever else you were about to drone on about. For the record I drink before I sing and I never fail to sound absolutely amazing so you can keep your super food mantras to yourself.”

“So Blaine, what are you singing tomorrow?” Dani asks, completely ignoring the tiff starting between Rachel and Santana.

“Erm…it’s…”

“A surprise” Sebastian finishes for him, earning a grateful smile from his boyfriend.

“I bet you know what he’s singing” Jeff pouts

“Of course I do; boyfriend privileges and all that!” Sebastian kisses Blaine’s curls

“What about best friend privileges?” Sam grins

“Nuh uh, not this time Sammy” Blaine smiles back before taking another slice of pizza, “You’ll just have to wait until tomorrow”

“So do you think you can handle some extras in your fan club then?” Santana asks Blaine, who looks questioningly at her, “Jeff let it slip that the auditions are done in front of an audience, and we’re not working, so we were wondering if we could come and support you.”

“You guys would want to?” Blaine asks, disbelieving 

“Of course; I wouldn’t be your Auntie Tana if I didn’t”

“That would mean a lot…thank you” Blaine can’t quite believe it, in truth he was pretty stunned the girls would want to go, to give up their free time like that for him.

“I can’t wait to hear you sing Blaine, I’ve heard so much about your voice” Dani says

“It’s like a dream” Sebastian winks at his boyfriend, who fondly rolls his eyes in reply.

“Hey what’s the time?” Blaine asks no one in particular

“Eight; why?” Thad answers

“Just going to see if Cooper’s free, excuse me” Blaine goes back to his and Sebastian’s room to try and call his brother. Cooper had gotten a small roll in a west coast TV series, it wasn’t a talking roll, ‘yet’ he heard Cooper’s voice say, but it was reoccurring. Blaine was really happy for his brother, but unfortunately since Cooper told him the news he’d cut contact again. Blaine figured he must just be busy, but still couldn’t fight the hurt and disappointment he felt at every rejected call or ignored message.

Sam and Sebastian look at each other when they hear Blaine leave another message then not come back to join everyone again. They both knew Cooper had resorted back to his old ways, as did Wes, who had also been ignored by the older Anderson brother and was not at all impressed. Sebastian stands and stretches, “Well boys and girls today has been quite frankly pretty awful, apart from your glorious company of course, now if you don’t mind, I need to make sure my B gets a good night’s rest. We need to leave at 9 sharp in the morning, I’m looking at you Jeff” With that he then saunters off to his boyfriend.

“So…we should have maybe asked this before but…” Rachel starts

“Berry wants to know what the sleeping arrangements are”

“Santana!” 

“What? You do, and so do I. So what’s the plan boys?”

Sam shrugs, “Well if we push these two sofas together they’d make a pretty awesome bed”

“You’re right. Have a good night!” Santana jumps up, grabbing Dani and running into Sam and Thad’s room, locking the door behind them.

“Well I walked right into that one.” Sam turns to Rachel, “Are you going to be okay out here with me and Thad or do you want me to see if they’ll let you in?”

“I’ll be okay out here; it will be safer that’s for sure”

Everyone got ready for bed, Sam and Thad pushed the two sofas together which formed a larger than double bed and found a couple of spare blankets. Despite another   
unanswered call from Cooper and the day’s drama and building nerves Blaine slept very well in Sebastian’s embrace. 

XXXXXXX  
Blaine wakes the next morning to Sebastian’s beautiful green eyes peering at him and smiles, “Morning”

Sebastian nuzzles Blaine’s nose “Morning killer, come with me” Blaine goes to pull on his sweats, “You won’t be needing those” Blaine tilts his head in question but Sebastian takes his hand and leads him to their en suite where he’d run a bubble bath. Sebastian steps in and sits down and gestures for Blaine to sit between his legs, which he does so obligingly.

“This is amazing” Thank you Bastian

“Who says I did this for you?” Sebastian teases as he runs his hand down Blaine’s stomach and onto his thigh.

“Behave” 

“I can tell you don’t want me to” Sebastian says as he runs a finger down the length of Blaine’s half hard cock. “Just relax B”  
Blaine lets his head flop back onto his boyfriend’s shoulder and enjoys the long, firm strokes he’s receiving up and down his length. “Bastian” he says breathily after sometime of enjoying Sebastian’s hands, getting close.

“Let go for me, come for me B”

With a heavy breath Blaine comes hard, arching into Sebastian’s fist.

“So fucking beautiful” Sebastian mutters and captures Blaine in a heated kiss over his shoulder.  
Blaine is the first to break the kiss and climbs out of the bath and heads over to the shower, turning it on and stepping into the spray. He makes sure to keep his back to Sebastian at all times, knowing how much his boyfriend would be leering at his ass and running his eyes up and down the length of his body as the water cascades down. When Sebastian doesn’t join him, Blaine looks over to his boyfriend to see a slightly dumfounded expression on his face, and raises an eyebrow “Aren’t you going to join me?” 

“I was just enjoying the view” Sebastian stands, exposing his fully erect cock and joins Blaine in the shower. After receiving quite possibly the best blow job ever, though he thought all of them from Blaine were, Sebastian went out into the living area, just in time to hear a knock at the door. He’d ordered room service for breakfast, knowing everyone, but particularly Blaine, would need to eat before they went. He’d asked for some of everything and for them to include coffee, camomile tea for Rachel, and fruit juices as well so they didn’t have to worry about anything. 

Sam and Thad, who were already awake help Sebastian set everything up and get the others. When they look back to the sofas, which had been separated again, they see Blaine and Rachel sat next to each other tucked up under the blanket, her head resting on his shoulder while they talk. Blaine had been a rock for Rachel throughout the aftermath of Finn dying. He was there at the end of the phone or on Skype no matter what time, listening to her and not judging how she was feeling in anyway, providing a true outlet where she didn’t feel the need to hold back.

“Killer what do you want? We’ve got some of everything”

“Coffee”

“I know that idiot I was meaning to eat” Sebastian responds playfully

“I was about to tell you but I was rudely interrupted by this asshole” Blaine plays back, “Can I have some French toast with bacon and some fruit salad? Oh and some apple juice please?”

“Jeez you don’t want much do you? Rachel what can we get you?”

“Oh just some fruit salad and camomile tea please”

Sebastian and Sam carry their food and drinks over and place them on the coffee table in front of the sofa. Everyone squeezes onto the sofas to eat and the lively conversation stops Blaine’s nerves from bubbling up too much, particularly Jeff and Nick arguing about who was snoring which had everyone in stitches.  
They left dead on 9 and made it to the auditorium where the auditions were being held in plenty of time. When they got there they had to separate, Blaine being registered and shown back stage and the others joining the audience. There was a small break in the auditions and Sebastian could feel his own nerves start to swell as he knew Blaine was next. His phone lights up with a call from his boyfriend so he steps outside the room.

“Hey B, are you okay?”

“Not completely. Are you really sure about my audition piece?”

“Utterly and completely sure. You were too if you remember. Remember how you felt when I questioned it before you played it for me.”

“I can do that”

“And breathe killer, don’t over think it. Once you get behind that piano they’ll be no stopping you and everyone will fall in love with you for sure.”

A call goes for everyone to return to their seats.

“I’ve got to go. Sing to me B. I love you”

“I love you too Bastian”

When Sebastian gets back to his seat he sees Sam anxiously looking at him, “he’ll be fine Sam”

“I didn’t realise Blaine got nervous” Rachel observes

“He always has done, though not this bad” Thad replies

“Why? He’s genuinely talented”

“Not everyone’s like you and me Berry” Santana comments

They have to stop talking when the lights go down.

Blaine walks on the stage and stood in front of the piano. “Name?” The head of the department asks. There was also another professor, but he sat in front of the desk and seemed to be in the audience rather than directly judging. Sebastian couldn’t work out if he would influence the decisions at all.

“Blaine Anderson” he answers with nerves clearly in his voice.

“Okay Blaine, if you could perform your piece for us and then we may ask you some questions”

Blaine nods and sits behind the piano; he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. When he opens them they lock with Sebastian’s. With that Blaine smiles and nods slightly, the piano starting to come to life under his nimble fingers. Everyone looks a little surprised when a modified version of ‘Fur Elise’ fills the room, but then Blaine did something nobody expected, he blended it with ‘Hit me baby one more time’. It shouldn’t have worked but yet it did, perfectly at that. Sebastian couldn’t help the feeling of pride that swelled in his chest. Blaine was breath taking and everyone seemed to be mesmerised. 

When he finished the whole room burst into applause, Blaine stood and bowed slightly, waiting to see if he was going to be asked any questions.

“Thank you Mr Anderson. That was an interesting choice. Where did you find that arrangement? It’s one I’ve certainly never heard before.”

“Erm…actually I wrote it, well arranged it”

“That was a brave move. What inspired you to do that?”

“Well the letter said our audition piece should demonstrate what we would normally do, so I chose to do the type of thing I normally would in my own time”

“And that’s the sort of thing you do? Rearrange songs?” Blaine nods in response. “And what does music mean to you? Why chose to major in music in addition to languages?”

Blaine takes a deep breath before answering, “I actually think the two go hand in hand in a way. There are phrasings and traits from classical that you can find in jazz and rock, the same way there are patterns in French and Italian.” Blaine got completely lost in his head and continued, “I love music; to me its power is limitless. It can literally help people heal; it can make you forget about your broken bones.” At that Sebastian, Sam and Santana all took in a breath. “Did you know that during World War One there was a truce on the first Christmas? The German and British troops stopped fighting and met in no man’s land. They played soccer and cards but they also sang. They sang Silent Night together, the German and English versions blending perfectly together, well according to various poems written by the soldiers. That’s what music can do; it can unite people who should be enemies, who should kill each other on site” Blaine shrugged, “It can unite people, tear them apart and help them heal, and I don’t know anything more powerful or moving than that”. Blaine, who had been looking down as he spoke looks up and makes eye contact with the Professor in charge of the auditions. 

She smiles softly at him and nods at the other professor when he turns round to look at her, “Thank you Mr Anderson, you’ll be hearing from us very soon”  
Blaine nods then exited the stage. His friends quietly slipped out of the auditorium and waited for him out front. As soon as Blaine appeared he was swept into his boyfriend’s arms and then each one of his friends.

“You were amazing killer”

“How the hell did you write that arrangement? How did you even think of it?” Jeff asks

“That was pretty damn awesome” Santana supplies

“I knew you were talented Blaine, but that was something special” Rachel adds

“Definitely the voice of a dream” Dani winks

“Knew you had it in you bro” Sam beams

“Absolutely brilliant”, Nick congratulates

With each compliment Blaine’s blush grows and he hides his face in Sebastian’s chest the way he tended to when he gets embarrassed and shy. 

“So what’s the plan now?” Thad enquires. Blaine hadn’t wanted to make any plans for after his audition, not knowing how he would be feeling.

“It’s a beautiful day, we could grab some food and make a picnic of it in the park and just relax” Rachel suggests.

“That actually sounds pretty good” Blaine replies and the others all agree, so that was set.

They stop at this small café to pick up food and drinks to go. While there they bump into a friend of the girls, Elliot, who they readily told all about Blaine’s audition. Somehow the conversation got onto his version of ‘Teenage dream’ and he ended up playing it on the keyboard in the corner before he was allowed to continue to the park for lunch. Unbeknown to them though Kurt had been in the bathroom and had seen Blaine’s performance from where he stood with the door ajar.

The group continue to the park, Santana choosing a secluded spot well away from the fountain where she knew the big glee gay breakup had happened. It was an unusually warm spring day so the group used their coats to make a blanket to sit on. They break off into various conversations and Blaine leans against Sebastian while eating his flatbread. After taking a mouthful of water he looks at his boyfriend. “What do you think she meant when she said I’d hear very soon?”

Sebastian raises his eyebrow, “That you’d be hearing from them very soon killer” he teases

Blaine rolls his eyes fondly, “Shut up. I mean do you think she meant it in a good way, or in a ‘well you’re definitely not in so we’re going to put you out of your misery’ kind of way?”

“Definitely in a good way”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because of the way she looked when you performed, and when you explained what music means to you. Plus the other Professor sat in front of her turned and nodded and she reciprocated before telling you you’d be hearing soon.”

That relaxes Blaine slightly as he knows Sebastian wouldn’t lie to him or give him false hope. He finishes his flat bread then leans further into Sebastian, eventually ending up with is head resting on his boyfriends lap, enjoying the sensation of a gentle hand carding through his curls while he closes his eyes and listens to the birds and chatter of his friends. 

Santana and Rachel loved seeing him so care free, content and genuinely happy. Neither of them had ever seen him like that when he was with Kurt, who was always so strict with forms of touching and behaviour when in public. Then again Kurt never cared for Blaine in the way Sebastian did, that much was obvious to the both of them. No, Kurt seemed to love the idea of Blaine, of who he thought Blaine should be more than the actual boy.

“Well isn’t this sweet” the sharp voice snaps them all from their reveres.

“What do you want?” Santana asks shortly while Blaine doesn’t move at all and keeps his eyes closed.

“I was just strolling through the park when I stumbled on this disgusting display” Kurt sneers, gesturing at Blaine and Sebastian.

“And how exactly is it disgusting?”

“It’s completely inappropriate”

“Why they’re boyfriends? It’s not as if Blaine is blowing him and even if he was, although I’m only into lady parts I bet it would be hot.” Santana smirks

“You’re disgusting; Rachel why didn’t you come home last night?”

“I spent the night with my friends” Rachel looks down under Kurt’s harsh glare.

“Anyone I know?”

“Yeah, the people you’re currently disturbing” Sam but in.

“Why do you have to keep getting involved?” Blaine still hasn’t moved, “And when are you going to stop this charade Blaine?”

“What charade exactly am I meant to be doing now?” he mumbles from his position on Sebastian’s lap, eyes remaining closed.

“I heard you sing”

“I sing a lot” he replies without a hint of emotion

“You know what I mean. You sang that song, our song in the café. You can’t tell me you don’t love me anymore and then do that, arrange our song like that.”

“What even made it your song anyway?” Santana cuts in

“Kurt chose it” Blaine answers, still without any emotion, though his hand laced together with Sebastian’s tightens slightly.

“It was the song he was singing when we first met” Kurt chides

“And why does that make it your song?” Santana challenges

Kurt scoffs, “I wouldn’t expect you to understand something like that.”

“I think Santana’s point is that couple’s songs aren’t normally chosen by one member of the party simply because it was playing or being sung when they first met, normally it would have a deeper and more personal meaning” Jeff explains

“My point exactly; damn you prep boys really are smart” she winks.

Kurt tries again, “Blaine tell me you weren’t thinking about me”

Blaine opens his eyes, groans and sits up to look up at Kurt and shrugs his shoulders, “I wasn’t thinking about you”

“I don’t believe you”

“Then what’s the point? I can tell you till I’m blue in the face that I wasn’t thinking about you when I arranged it or during the times I’ve sung it, but if you don’t believe me then I’m wasting my time.”

“I can’t believe you Blaine, that’s not like you, you wouldn’t not be thinking about me when you arranged it or sang it”, Kurt says causing Sebastian to scoff. At that moment   
Santana bursts into laughter causing Kurt to turn to her, “And what exactly is so funny?”

“I just realised, if your theory that a couple’s song should be whatever was being played or sung when they met, mine and Dani’s should be another one bites the dust! Though I guess some people would think that’s pretty accurate.” The boys all laugh, apart from Kurt. “Damn Hummel that could make for some interesting songs”.

Kurt turns back to Blaine, “I still don’t believe you. You must have been thinking about me.”

Sam stands up, “Actually Kurt he wasn’t when he arranged it”

“And how do you know?” 

“Because he was thinking about me” Everyone goes bug eyed apart from Blaine, who blushes, and Sebastian, who’d talked through everything with his boyfriend and Sam. 

“You happy now Hummel?” Sebastian asks, smiling evilly.

“I don’t see why you are, you’ve just been told your boyfriend is lusting after his best friend. I thought they were too close. You realise Blaine’s probably cheating on you”

“But that would make for an amazing threesome don’t you think?” Sebastian replies turning into first-class bastard mode and stands next to Sam.

“You make me sick” Kurt spits

“For a gay guy you seem to have real issues with the idea of men being together”

“You’re disgusting!” 

“And you’re delusional; I always said Blaine’s too good for you”

“Oh and I suppose you’re good enough? Please”

Blaine stands up next to his boyfriend, causing the rest of the group to also stand behind them, “Actually he is. You see he actually loves me; me Kurt, not some idea of me.” 

Blaine turns to his boyfriend, “Come on Bas”. 

Sebastian starts to turn to go with Blaine but is punched in the jaw when he was sideways on to Kurt. Blaine springs forward in between his boyfriend and ex, his arms going backwards around Sebastian in a protective way. “Don’t you ever touch him again!” he growls. “That was a cheap fucking shot and you know it, what kind of coward are you to hit someone when they’re turning away. It’s as bad as if they’ve got their back to you.” Sebastian, Sam and Santana knew this would be particularly maddening to Blaine after what happened to him, “Do not come near him or me ever again Kurt. I mean it; I want nothing to do with you.”

Blaine turns around to look at Sebastian and make sure he’s okay.

“Please Blaine” Kurt tries again

“No Kurt. Please just respect that I need space from you.” Blaine takes Sebastian’s hand and walks away.

Everyone gathers their things and they head back to the hotel. Rachel and Santana stayed with the guys again that evening. They only had one more day in New York, which would be spent looking round Columbia and for Sam his interview, before catching a late plane back. 

After eating they decided to make the most of the TV in the suite and watch some films. Part way through the girls’ choice Sam leans over to Blaine, “Dude can I talk to you?” 

Blaine gives Sebastian a kiss on the cheek then heads to their room with Sam. “I don’t want to go to Pratt.”

Blaine sat on the bed and patted to the side of him for Sam to do the same, “Okay, is this a ‘you don’t think you’re smart enough for college’ thing or that you genuinely don’t want to go?”

“I know I should want to, but I don’t. There’s one thing I can think of that I want to do and college isn’t it.”

“What is it?”

“Promise you won’t laugh at me or think I’m dumb?”

Blaine smiles softly at his friend, “When have I ever done either of those things?”

“When I got stuck in the ropes you used for the Mr Schue vs Finn boyband-off dance”

“Okay one I didn’t think you were dumb and two in my defence that was freaking funny. But that’s different from laughing at someone because of what they think or their dreams. I’d never do that.”

“I know dude”

“So?”

“I want to model.”

Blaine nods and thinks for a moment, “Okay...I actually think that suits you.”

Sam smiles, “Really?”

“Well yeah. It would let you be artistic but show off what you’re proud of, what you’re most comfortable with. But you know models careers aren’t exactly long lived right?”

Sam is more than happy with Blaine’s answer, “Exactly! My dream is to model some underwear or something and for my poster to be on the side of a bus, and some guy sat next to me on a bench or whatever would look at me and say ‘your junk looks huge’. Oh and for the not long career stuff I was thinking I could always get an apprenticeship. Like in painting or at a comic place, I’ve seen some that actually exist. It would be way less school as I’d learn on the job.”

“Then go for it! It sounds like you’ve got it all sorted, I’m proud of you Sammy” Blaine smiles as Sam hugs him tight. “So I’m guessing you won’t be going to your interview then?”

“Nah I thought I’d call them in the morning and cancel. I wouldn’t want to waste their time when I’ve already made up my mind, so I thought I’d just come hang around Columbia with you. So how long do you think we can hide in here? That film is awful”

Blaine chuckles, “I say we stay as long as we can”

At that point Sebastian sneaks into the room, “Were you two seriously trying to ditch me? If I have to suffer through that poor excuse of a movie then so do you”

“How come the other guys are putting up with it?” Blaine asks

“Oh please; they’re drooling over the girls; they have no idea what they’re even watching”

Blaine smiles then yawns, his audition and yet again more drama suddenly catching up with him. 

Sam chuckles and ruffles his hair, “Cos I’m such a great friend I’ll go and sit through the rest of that movie so you can get your beauty sleep.”

Blaine swats his hand away, “Oh please, you can sleep through anything, I bet you’ll be asleep before it even finishes”

“5 extra Star Wars fanfiction readings?” Sam puts his hand out, which Blaine shakes and replies, “Done”

Sam leaves Blaine and Sebastian who both stripped down and got into bed, lying chest to chest. “I’m going to miss this when we’re in Lima” Blaine says from where he hugged against Sebastian’s naked body.

“We’ll still get to do it”

“Yeah but not every night” Blaine traces the faint brush on Sebastian’s jaw line, “I’m sorry Bastian.”

“You need to stop apologising B”

“Sorry” 

With that Sebastian playfully slaps Blaine’s ass, causing him to arch into his body into his own. “It’s not your fault”

“He shouldn’t have hit you. You were turning away from him. You should never attack someone who isn’t in the position to defend themselves” Blaine is slightly riled by the time he finishes speaking.

“Shh B I know. I know. I can take a pathetic punch from Hummel; I’m more worried about you though.”

“I’m fine, but today just confirmed I really don’t want anything to do with him, not for a long time. But I hate that I’ve caused issues for Santana and Rachel; they still have to live   
with him and he’s going to make things really difficult now. He will have seen them as choosing my side, which is ridiculous; there shouldn’t be any sides to choose.”

“Santana can handle him”

“I know she can, but what about Rachel? She already feels bad enough”

Sebastian frowns, “What do you mean B?”

“Any time a guy tries to talk to her she feels bad; as though if she moved on it would mean her love for Finn would be meaningless. I told her that it’s not true; that she shouldn’t listen, but he’s her best friend. Of course she listens to him; I just don’t get why he’s trying to stop her moving on and being happy. I’m not saying she should jump at every guy that talks to her, that shows interest, but she shouldn’t be made to feel bad for wanting happiness again, for hoping there’s someone else who’ll be able to make her feel that way again. I can only imagine what he’s going to say now she’s stayed with us and the guys.”

“Please don’t tell me gayface has been making her feel bad”  
Blaine realises he’s just let slip something he hadn’t told his boyfriend, not because he was trying to keep secrets from him but because it wasn’t his to tell. That and he didn’t want to make Sebastian even angrier with Kurt. Feeling slightly ashamed Blaine tries to roll away but Sebastian tightens his grip.

“I take it he has been then. Why didn’t you tell me B?”

Blaine gulps then looks up at his boyfriend shyly, “Because it wasn’t my secret to tell”

“I respect that B, but you know you don’t have to handle everything on your own. Why does Rachel feel like it has to be a secret?”

“Because she thought she was imagining it, but it’s exactly the same as what happened when I got Tony, only this is obviously much worse.”

“The other night when you were sleeping she said she couldn’t believe how he has been acting, but it was more than how he was treating you, do you think that’s got something to do with it?”

“Probably; she’s finding the idea of losing her best friend hard, she doesn’t want to but she’s afraid that’s what it’s going to come to. This is the least confident I’ve ever seen her;   
it sucks, I’m sure Finn would have wanted her to be happy. That’s why he pushed her to go to New York in the first place, to live her life.”

Sebastian nuzzles his nose into Blaine’s curls, “Is there anything I can do”

“You being here and not leaving though you have every right to is more than enough”

“I’ll always be here for you B”

“I know”

“One thing though killer…are you completely sure you don’t want to do theatre studies?”

Blaine is a little unsure where this question came from, “Why?” he asks cautiously 

“Because of the way you perform when you’re on stage…and when you were in Grease and West Side…you’re an amazing actor and you can’t deny you love it.”

“I know because I truly do…but I also love languages.”

“But do you honestly have the same passion for them?”

Blaine frowns, “I…I don’t know”

“Hey it’s okay…I just didn’t want you to be hiding from theatre studies if you’re fear of not being good enough is the cause…You’ve got plenty of time to think about it killer so don’t worry. I just wanted to make sure you know how amazing you are and that you’re not holding yourself back from something you truly want to do.”

Blaine kisses Sebastian deeply, full of passion and love. Sebastian still couldn’t sometimes believe that he’d become this boy, so in love and committed to another, but all it took   
was to look at Blaine, to think of him and he knew he was gone forever, that nobody would be able to make him feel the same way as his Blaine.

Sebastian breaks the kiss, “Do you think you can keep quiet B?” 

Blaine looks at Sebastian with mischievous, lust filled eyes, “Hmm, that could take quite a lot of effort, how will I know it would be worth it?”

Sebastian growls then pins Blaine beneath him, “For that I’m going to make sure you’re screaming my name”

“You’re rather full of yourself” Blaine teases

“I know what you’re going to be full of” Sebastian says while kissing the sensitive spots on Blaine’s neck while he moved a hand down, fingers tracing lightly over Blaine’s skin. Sebastian reaches across to the night stand and grabs the lube, coating his fingers thoroughly; he slowly prepped Blaine, making him writhe beneath him, before pushing in even slower. When he sensed Blaine’s orgasm pending he pulled out of his boyfriend, smirking at the moan that left him at the feeling of being empty.

“Bastian please”

“Please what B?”

“I need you”

“Is it worth it?”

“Oh my god it’s so worth it, please Bastian I need you inside me, nothing feels like you.”

Sebastian flips Blaine over so he’s lying with his stomach against the mattress before slowly pushing in, covering Blaine’s body with his own. Sebastian kisses the birth mark on the knob at the bottom of Blaine’s neck. He keeps his thrusts long and deep; it takes a lot of self-control but tonight was all about the slow build. “Do you think you can come like this; with me filling you up and only the friction of the sheets?” Sebastian growls into Blaine’s ear.

Blaine is wrecked, “y-yes, god Bas” Sebastian changes the angle of his thrusts slightly, hitting Blaine’s prostate with every move. Blaine’s muscles clamp tightly around Sebastian as he finds his release and moans loudly, “Bastian!” After a few quick thrusts Sebastian finds his own release, filling Blaine and moaning. Both feel like jelly after the strength of their orgasms but Sebastian is all too aware that Blaine would be lying in a wet patch. Staying inside of Blaine he leans across to the night stand where he’d put some wet wipes. Carefully he rolls them so they were on their sides and cleans Blaine up, still staying inside him.

Sebastian nuzzles Blaine’s neck, “I wanna stay here B” and traces the globes of Blaine’s ass with his hand. “I’ve dreamt about what it would be like to go to sleep like this and wake up still inside you”

Blaine hums with contentment, “Me too Bastian” and pressed back further into his boyfriend’s body, “Have you…have you ever thought what it would feel like the other way round?” Blaine asks shyly.

“You mean me going to sleep with you inside me and waking up with you still there” Sebastian kisses Blaine’s neck when he nods in response, “Of course I have B, I told you I want to experience everything with you. I meant it when I said there’s not top or bottom with us, anything I do to you I want to have done to me too.”  
Blaine smiles, completely sated, “I know” and tilts his head back to give Sebastian a kiss before his eyes flutter closed.

“Go to sleep B; I’ll be here when you wake up”

“I love you Bastian”

“I love you too sap”

Out in the living area Nick asks nobody in particular, “Did you guys here that?” when he heard a moan.

“I didn’t hear anything” Santana replied

Another moan went, “What about that?”

“I still don’t know what you’re talking about; I really think you’re hearing things” she said with slightly gritted teeth, knowing how embarrassed Blaine would get if the guys went on about it.

“Take the hint Duval” Thad says as he playfully slapped the back of Nick’s head.

Jeff turned to Sam and realised he had his headphones in and gestured for Sam to take one out, “What are you listening to?”

“Erm…Star Wars fanfiction, it’s a really good one”

“Wait you read fanfiction?”

“Yeah, well Blaine reads it to me. It sort of became our thing when I couldn’t sleep. He records some for me too so I can listen to it if he’s not around or something.”

“Can I listen too?”

“Wait seriously?”

“Yeah, I’ve read some before. Some of it was weird but others were actually pretty good”

“Plug in dude” Sam smiles as he hands Jeff a headphone and presses play. The two are asleep by the time the movie enda where they are stretch out on the floor. Thad goes   
into room with Nick and Rachel and Santana take the other room after covering the boys with blankets.

XXXXXXX  
Blaine wakes up slowly the next morning, he goes to move then remembers Sebastian is still inside him, and now fully erect, when he feels a bolt of pleasure go through his body. The next thing he knows he's receiving small bites to the back of his neck as Sebastian starts running his hand up and down Blaine’s body, playing close attention to spots he knows drive his boyfriend wild. “That’s the best wakeup I’ve ever had” he growls.

Blaine looks over his shoulder at Sebastian with lust filled eyes, “Morning”

Sebastian chuckles, “Morning B, how did you sleep?”

“Amazingly, you?”

“Amazingly, this is better though. Wait until I tell you about some of my dreams later”

Sebastian claims Blaine’s mouth in a heated kiss and starts thrusting, building up speed. When he's getting close he takes hold of Blaine’s cock and starts stroking him in time with the thrusts. It only takes a moment until both boys are spilling over.

After getting his breath back Sebastian slowly pulled out of Blaine, causing him to groan.

“Mmm come on, shower time B” Blaine nods and gets in the shower with Sebastian, “How are you feeling?”

“I slept really well so kind of refreshed, but I ache a little bit”

Sebastian wraps his arms around Blaine and kisses his temple, “I’m sorry”

“Don’t be sorry, it was amazing, something we definitely have to do again”

Sebastian laughs gently at Blaine’s enthusiasm, “Well you won’t get any complaints from me killer; let me take care of you today though, okay?”

“You always take care of me”

“Well then I’ll take extra special care of you” 

Sebastian gently washes Blaine’s body and hair. After he was dressed and had packed their things he left Blaine to finish getting ready so he could order them some breakfast, knowing it was going to be another packed day and wanted to be sure Blaine ate something. It wasn’t that he thought Blaine had a problem with food; it was more that when he got engrossed with something he’d sometimes forget to eat; it was part of his losing track of time trait.

Everyone is already in the living area; “Morning all” Sebastian smiles at them.

“Well someone’s certainly chipper today” Nick smirks

“Erm Sebastian can I go and use your bathroom?” Rachel asks hurriedly.

“Sure thing Rach, but just knock on the door before you go into our room, B was still getting dressed” With that Rachel scuttles away and quickly enters Blaine and Sebastian’s room after knocking.

“I’m surprised you’ve got so much energy after last night” Thad teases

“Guys let it go” Santana tells them

Sebastian rolls his eyes “So you guys heard us had sex and want to make a big deal out of it?” He challenges

“More like have some fun” Nick replies, grinning

“Well trust me; you won’t have anywhere near as much fun as I had last night. And seriously, you can’t be shocked, did you think we were going to abstain while we were here?”

“Oh no we weren’t shocked, but if you guys can’t keep it quiet you’ve got to expect to get it” Thad grins mischievously.

Sebastian’s eyes narrow and he snaps into protective mode, “Look you two, tease me as much as you want, but be warned I have a very long memory and will get you back ten times worse, but leave B out of this. He has enough shit going on at the moment. I know you don’t mean it in a nasty way, but he would feel really awkward and bad if he knew you heard. If I get any hint you’ve made him feel like that, you will pay, got it?”

“Jeez man calm down, we were only messing around” Nick placates, not having experienced this side of Sebastian for some time.

Santana speaks up, “The point is guys you can mess around with Sebastian, though that would be like playing with fire. I’m with him though; leave Blaine out of this. We all know he’s not innocent and they’re going at it, you don’t need to highlight that fact to him.”

“I feel like we’re missing something here, Blaine’s not a prude, we know that, damn he used to join in on stuff, so what’s going on?” Thad questions

“When I stayed at Blaine’s after Sebastian’s birthday party I was not surprised to hear them having what sounded like mind blowing sex” with that Sebastian smirks and nods at the memory, “but in the morning when Blaine asked if I slept well I teased and told him I did after all the noise died down. He felt really bad as he thought they’d made me feel uncomfortable. That’s the point. It’s not about Blaine being a prude or ashamed of sex, it’s about not making him feel bad when he’s already got so much going on, particularly as he already feels guilty because he thinks he’s dragged everyone into the drama with Hummel.” Santana explains.

Sebastian continues, “Exactly. You’re all right, he’s not a prude in any shape or form, but at the moment he takes that sort of thing pretty personally because of everything else happening. I’m not saying you guys won’t ever be able to play around, just now isn’t a good time to start.”

“That makes complete sense. It’s such a Blaine reaction when you think of it, of course he’d immediately worry about making people uncomfortable and chastise himself for it.” Thad comments and Nick nods in agreement.

Jeff gets curious, “Do you and Blaine ever talk about sex and stuff?” he asks Sam, who’s just taken a bite of an apple.

Sam swallows then answers shrugging his shoulders, “Yeah we do. We talk about all kinds of stuff. The guys are right, Blaine’s not got a problem with talking about sex, he’s not got a problem with anything to do with it, straight, gay, whatever, but you should know that when he’s got a lot going round his head he reads more into stuff and takes things more seriously. Though he can definitely give as good as he gets.” Jeff nods in understanding. 

The Dalton boys had seen Blaine transform from a shy almost mute boy in to the Warbler legend, but who he is now sometimes seemed so different from the boy who left Dalton, he didn’t have anywhere near as much confidence and he seemed older than he should. They were starting to get snippets of his and Kurt’s relationship and first year at McKinley and it wasn’t painting a pretty picture. Though they all agreed that since he’d started dating Sebastian and with Sam and others proving to be a permanent fixture in his life, he was starting to return to who he was.

“Trouty, don’t ever call me a guy again, or dude or bro, it’s just weird and completely wrong. I’m a girl”

“Oh I know” Sam grins and waggles his eyebrows  
“What are we missing?” Nick asks

“We used to date” Sam replies

“Wait, what?” Jeff queries

“Calm down, I wasn’t always out, or completely sure if I was gay or not so I dated around”

Sam coughs, “Slept”

Santana narrows her eyes, “It’s a good job I like you”

Jeff felt like he wanted to clear the air though as since talk of Blaine came up things didn’t seem as relaxed, “Seriously though we didn’t mean anything against Blaine. For us three” he says gesturing to himself, Nick and Thad, “we watched him turn from this small, nervous almost mute boy who was cripplingly shy and scared, into the Warbler legend, that’s the Blaine we all got to know and love. He was always up for practical jokes and teasing and partying. And we know he’s still the same guy, but at the same time he’s lost so much confidence since he left Dalton. I don’t mean this against anyone in McKinley but he really has” Jeff shrugs his shoulders, “It’s like he’s older than he should be now or something and I guess we just forget that he’s not in the same place he was when we used to mess around with him. Particularly as slowly he seems to be coming back to the person he was, the legend of Dalton and Six Flags.”

Everyone nods and reflects, Sebastian is the first to speak, “Well you’re right he is still the same person inside……he’s just……been through a lot, more than most people would ever have to. Don’t treat him differently; he wouldn’t want that, hell he’d hate the fact we’ve had this conversation, it was more of a warning to pick your timing better.”

Room service knock on the door delivering them breakfast once again. Sebastian gets the food and turns to see Thad going towards his bedroom door, “Where do you think you’re going Harwood?”

“To tell Blaine and Rachel breakfast has arrived Smythe”

“Sit, I’ll go” Sebastian orders

“I don’t get what the problem is” Thad huffs

“They’ve been in there a long time” Jeff comments while Sebastian knocks gently then slips in the bedroom. “What do you think is going on?” he asks the group.

Santana narrows her eyes looking at the door, “I don’t know for sure but I’ve got a feeling” then turns to the boys, “and no I’m not going to say anything until I know for certain, but if I’m right things could get rocky.”

“And they’ve been smooth already?” Nick raises an eyebrow

“Rockier then…happy?" 

It's a few moments before anyone came back out of that room and when they did Sebastian was holding Blaine’s hand, who had Rachel attached to his other one, both of them with pink, tear stained eyes. The Dalton boys were starting to get a real sense they only had the tiniest hint of what was going on. Blaine and Rachel sit next to Sam, who whispers something into Blaine’s ear, causing him to smile slightly and whisper something back. Sam squeezes Blaine’s shoulder then helps himself and Blaine to cereal.

“So Sam are you nervous for your interview?” Jeff asks trying to bring conversation back into the room.

“Huh, what interview?”

Thad furrows his brows in confusion, “The one at Pratt”

“Oh yeah. Nah I’m not going. College isn’t for me you know. I don’t want to go so what’s the point of wasting their time and mine.”

“What are you going to do then Trouty, please don’t tell me you’re going to stay in lamo Lima.”

“Nope I’m coming to New York, right bro?” Sam looks at Blaine who answers, “Right”

“To do what?” Nick enquires

“Model, that’s my dream so what’s the point of going after something I know won’t make me happy. I figured you only get one shot right? So I’ve got to live it for me and not what people want from me.” At that Blaine pulls Rachel closer to his side which doesn’t go unnoticed by anyone around the table, though they all choose to ignore it, knowing better than to push.

“So what are you going to do today then Sam?” Santana asks

Sam shrugs, “Figured I’d go wander around Columbia with these guys, Blaine was going to go anyway when I was at my interview so while they’re in talks I thought we could just hang out, that way we can all head back to the airport together.”

For the first time Rachel speaks up, “I wish you guys weren’t going” she says very quietly.

“We’ll be back before you know it Rach” Blaine kisses the top of her head, “Plus you’ll come and visit for graduation right?”  
“Of course we will” Santana answers

“So what have you two got planned for the day?” Blaine asks the girls

“Unfortunately we’ve got shifts at the diner, but that’s not until later so we can accompany your fine asses and make sure you don’t get lost before we have to love you and leave you.”

“Aww Santana you always say the nicest things” Blaine teases while clutching his heart.

“And that’s why you’re my favourite twink” she winks at him, “So lurch I take it you have talks and things with prospective professors then.”

“I do”

“Well you’ve got to let me cover that up then,” She says pointing to his bruise, “I can’t imagine jaw line bruises are a good look for a future lawyer.”

“I don’t know…”  
“Trust her” Blaine tells his boyfriend, “and if you don’t like it then you can always wash it off”

Sebastian relents with a huff, “Fine…let’s get this show on the road”

Sebastian had to admit Santana did a good job. You couldn’t tell he was wearing any makeup but the bruise was covered perfectly.

It was a lovely day so they left with plenty of time meaning they could walk most of the way rather than taking the subway. Blaine split his walk between Sebastian and Rachel. At one point Blaine and Sebastian are leading the way, completely engrossed in each other, laughing and chatting. Santana turns round to the rest of the party, “Have the rest of you noticed that Sebastian is touching Blaine’s ass most of the time they’re together?”

“Huh, I’ve never noticed that and I probably see them together the most” Sam replies

“Seriously Trouty? What about the rest of you?” All the boys shake their heads, causing Santana to roll her eyes, “Come on guys, he’s got a hand on Blaine’s ass right now”

The boys look and realise she's right, the couple are walking close together and instead of holding hands, which was the usual occurrence when they were walking, Blaine had an arm around Sebastian’s waist while he had one around Blaine’s, his hand hanging low and slipping into Blaine’s back pocket, cupping a globe of his ass.

Sam reflects for a moment, “I don’t know if it’s that he’s touching Blaine’s ass most of the time or the fact that they’re basically always touching each other when they’re together. They don’t actually even notice that they’re doing it. It’s great though, Blaine’s really tactile so it’s nice to see him with someone who’s the same. Hugs and things mean more to him you know.”

The girls say goodbye to the guys, Rachel and Santana giving Blaine particularly lingering hugs. “Remember Blainers, Auntie Tana is only a phone call away” Santana says as she and Rachel start to walk away.

“How come Santana’s so much nicer to Blaine than anyone else?” Jeff questions

“It’s not just Blaine; she’s like it with Brittany too. I guess it’s because of how they are; you know heart of gold and too forgiving for their own good, sensitive to people around them. Plus Blaine didn’t give up on her when she treated him like crap after she was outted. It was actually a really difficult time for her and he made sure to make it as painless as possible. I suppose she’s now returning the favour or something. Plus he’s done a lot for Brittany. I guess the combination means a lot to her. Not forgetting the puppy eyes of doom of course. They get to everyone.”

“That we do know” Thad chirps in.

When they get to Columbia the boys initially look around together before splitting off. Thad and Sebastian heading to the law school, Nick to the medical one and Jeff to the history department; he had already set his mind on NYU but thought he better look around while he was there. That left Blaine and Sam, who decided they’d continue to wonder the campus and check out the café they had spotted. 

As they are sat in the café Blaine spota someone he never thought he would see again. He and Sam slip out and Blaine decides he has a phone call to make.

“Hey Blaine; what can I do for you?” Wes answers

“Hi Wes, I was hoping you’d be able to get some information for me. Then when we get back to Lima I’m hoping we can have a proper catch up.”

“Of course we can. I hope you liked NYU as much as you thought you would and you know I’ll find out what I can for you.”

“I actually loved it more. I think my audition went okay, well from what everyone else said it did. We’re at Columbia at the moment. Sam and I are just wondering around while the rest of the guys are at their sessions, but we’ve just seen Hunter, how can he be here given everything?”

Wes could hear the anxiety in Blaine’s voice, “Don’t worry Blaine. Let me call my dad; I’m sure he’ll be able to let me know what’s going on, then I’ll give you a call back okay?”

“Thanks Wes”

“No problem”

Wes ended the call and rang his dad, who was the head of the board of Dalton’s governors and had more influence than Hunter’s family. Patrick Montgomery was able to explain that Hunter was being allowed to complete high school remotely and was on course to graduate from Dalton. This was because of his conduct after he was arrested. Hunter was quick to admit the steroids were on him, that he had fallen onto the wrong path but also gave the names of the Warblers who had nothing to do with the steroids, therefore indirectly giving the other two up.

The Warblers had only been tested as the other two involved counteracted Hunter’s story, implicating the other boys. When it was found out they had been lying in addition to taking the drugs they were expelled. Hunter asked to go to rehab and to be able to complete his studies remotely, being able to graduate if he stayed clean. The steroids were something that started when he was at military school and grieving for the loss of his little sister, he’d actually never meant for it to get out of hand.

Sam and Blaine were both stunned when Wes relayed this account to them and quickly went to meet the other boys, who should all by now be waiting for them by the fountain in the main court yard. The two then told the Dalton boys everything. They were all shocked to say the least. The fact that the account came from Wes’ dad let them know the whole story was absolutely true. They made ready to leave when they all bumped into Hunter.

“Well well what do we have here?” Hunter greets them

 

“A group of guys checking out colleges, the same as you” Sebastian replies flatly, tightening his hold on Blaine. Hunter may have actually acted honourably but Blaine still punched him and he wasn’t sure if there was going to be any backlash.

“Look I’m not here to cause problems. I actually owe you all an apology, particularly you two,” Hunter gestures to Blaine and Sam, “and to thank you for stopping me from doing something really stupid in Starbucks.”

“Thank you. We erm…we know you acted honourably, so thank you for that. I’m glad everything is working out for you.” Blaine says sincerely and Hunter smiles in return.

“Maybe one day, when we’re all settled in New York, as I take it you’re all coming here, I can take you all out to dinner as a ‘no hard feelings’ and thank you sort of thing.”  
Sebastian looks round his group of friends who all seemed to agree, “We’d like that”

“Good” Hunter shakes all their hands, “Well not meaning to cut our heart-warming reunion short, but I’ve got a plane to catch”

“Actually so do we”

After finding out they're catching the same plane Hunter travels with the rest of them. They all get along well; Hunter fits into the group seamlessly and with such ease   
they all soon forget the drama that had happened before. The boys let it go; knowing that grief can make you lash out and react in different ways. They saw this as a fresh start and weren’t surprised that he was going to be joining Thad and Sebastian as an undergrad and then law school at Columbia if everything went to plan.

Blaine receives a message from Santana as they are waiting at the gate for their plane and buries his face in his hands, which is immediately noticed by them all.

“What’s going on killer?” Sebastian rubs his back comfortingly, only to have Blaine to show him his phone in return. “That little bitch!”

Sam wasn’t liking where this was going, “What’s going on?”

“It’s a message from Santana asking Blaine to call Rachel as gayface is trying to make her feel bad for her spending a couple of nights with us. Apparently she shouldn’t be friends with any of us as we aren’t on his side and aren’t supporting him in getting B back and has tried to accuse her of not loving Finn. Santana can’t calm her down so is hoping B can” Another message comes through, “And apparently he’s now done a dramatic walk out complete with door slams.”

“What?!” Sam is enraged

“Sam please don’t” Blaine stands and takes his phone back, “You might as well fill him in” Blaine points to Hunter.

“You don’t have to fill me in on anything” Hunter replies

Blaine takes a deep breath, “Actually it’s probably for the best if you do know, then you can decide if you want out now before you get dragged into all of this too” Blaine walks a few paces away to call Rachel in private.

Sebastian looks at Hunter, “Something tells me you’re going to want a piece of this Clarington”

“Would that be because I’m twisted like you?”

Sebastian grins in return, “How did you know? First things first, this is gayface” Sebastian showed Hunter a picture of Kurt on Facebook. “Also known as Kurt Hummel, Blaine’s ex”

“The one who cheated on him?” Sebastian raises an eyebrow, “Look I might have been smacked up on steroids while I was at Dalton but I was aware of what was going on”

“Yeah that’s the one” They all then went on to explain to Hunter everything that had happened from the beginning from the Chandler texts to the summer Blaine and Sebastian reunited, Eli and how Blaine spiralled in complete disgust with himself. They then went on to all the slaps and the insults, the mind games and attempted blackmail. 

“You’re right I do want a piece of this” Hunter smirks. “I know I don’t know him like the rest of you but Blaine’s obviously a good guy who doesn’t deserve any of this.”

“He’s the best” Sam interrupts

Hunter smiles and nods in understanding; he’d witness how close Sam and Blaine are and there was obviously reason why. “One thing though,” Hunter continues, “Hummel is lucky Blaine has never lost it and punched him, he nearly had me on the floor with one swing and I’d transformed myself into a hulk like being by that point. He’d probably break his glass jaw.” 

The boys laugh, at one time or another they’d all seen Blaine go to town on a heavy bag and knew what Hunter said was true. At that point Blaine returns to the group and flops down, hugging tightly to Sebastian and hiding his face in the crook of the taller boy’s neck.

“Obviously a stupid question but are you okay B?”

Blaine shakes his head, keeping his face hidden. The rest of them all look at each other. Hunter also notices the strain the situation seemed to be placing on Sebastian and vowed to himself that he would be there for both boys. Yes they’d all only just gotten together again that afternoon but the fact that they’d all welcomed him into their group despite what he’d put them through spoke volumes. Plus he seemed to have a natural, close affinity with Sebastian and Thad. It took a certain type of person to chase after a career in law, so that no doubt had a big part of that.

They boarded their plane and Blaine quietly told Sebastian about his phone call with Rachel, trying hard not to get too upset or angry. Rachel had been really upset at the way Kurt reacted to her spending time with Blaine and the rest of the boys. He did as predicted try to play the ‘you obviously never really loved Finn’ card and told her that she should only be talking to Blaine if it was to help unite him and Kurt. Rachel had tried to tell Kurt that if he really cared about Blaine that he’d leave him alone but that resulted into more yelling and accusations. With the combination of working, NYADA and the final round of Funny Girl auditions Rachel was exhausted and it meant she had a much thinner skin than normal. It was a time when she needed her best friend most, not to be treated as a traitor and her life made difficult in such a horrible way. 

Blaine knew all he could do was be there for Rachel as much as possible, but he really did hate the drama he felt as though he’d inflicted on her life, and others who he cared about.


	36. Things that go bump in the night

A couple of weeks after returning from New York Blaine receives his letter from NYU confirming his place on the music programme. In celebration a guys’ film night at Blaine’s is organised with the New Directions and senior Warblers. Hunter is shocked to get an invitation but promises to be there, wanting to get to know the guys better, particularly those who will be in New York. Blaine and Sam fill the New Directions guys in on the Hunter situation and they all promise to be open minded and give him a chance. Horror films are chosen as the genre of the night, even though they definitely aren’t Blaine or Sam’s favourites. Just before the second film is about to be put on Blaine mutters to himself, “I’m cold,” but it was loud enough for everyone to hear.

“Me too man” Sam replies, “Get me a hoodie when you get one for yourself”

“And what makes you think I’m going to get one?” Blaine retorts

“Well it would make sense as you’re cold and you’ve already got the blanket wrapped around you” Sam said with a large amount of 'duh' in his voice.

“Why don’t you go and get them?”

“Cos you’ll need to get up to pee in like twenty minutes anyway so you might as well kill two birds with one stone, though I suppose in this case it would be three”

“Okay the fact you can predict when Blaine will need to pee is weird, possibly bordering on creepy” Ryder muses, receiving many nods in agreement

Sam scoffs, “Please, we live together and have many movie nights; he’s had two cans of soda; it’s getting on to peeing time”

“Do we really have to keep talking about my bladder?” Blaine groans getting a little embarrassed

“I’ll stop as soon as you go to get me a hoodie” Sam smiles cheekily

“Just both go, I want to get on to the next film and that’s not going to happen while you keep bickering” Artie reprimands them

Both boys huff then walk upstairs. Hunter chuckles, “Are these nights always like this?”

“Yes” everyone choruses.

“And to think they’re our glorious leaders” Artie says playfully

Meanwhile upstairs Blaine had just stepped out of his en suite after emptying his bladder and jumps when he sees a hooded figure in the corner of his room sat in his desk chair, facing the window.

“Haha Sam very funny” Blaine says sarcastically

“Did you say something dude?” Sam pops his head round Blaine’s bedroom door, behind where he’s standing

Blaine goes wide eyed, “But if you’re here then who’s that?” Blaine asks and tilts his head in the direction of the figure. The person in the chair starts to turn and both boys scream, immediately running for the stairs.

The guys waiting downstairs laughed when they heard Blaine jump, thinking Sam was playing a trick on him. “What are they doing?” Jeff asked in amusement when they hear them both scream and start stampeding their way back to the living room. The amusement is soon cut short though when a female scream starts and an extra set of footsteps follows the two boys. Sam and Blaine burst back into the living room, quickly followed by the hooded figure, Hunter jumps forward and wraps his arms around the person, who screams harder before starting to talk, “Let me go!” A muffled voice comes through from where the hood is pulled tightly by drawstrings, covering their face.

“Brittany?” Blaine and Sam both ask in confusion

Hunter lets the figure go and manages to untie the drawstrings that had gotten tangled and lowers the hood. There stands Brittany, smiling sheepishly in front of them all.

“And you two call yourselves superheroes” Jake teases Blaine and Sam

“Okay dude we’re totally not in our superhero costumes so that doesn’t count. Plus we thought she was paranormal. Everyone knows you don’t just fight the paranormal, otherwise I’d have set my little ninja on her.” Sam chides and throws his arm around Blaine’s shoulder.

“Little ninja?” Blaine eyes go wide with annoyance and he playfully shoves Sam away, “What are you doing here Britt? You’re meant to be at MIT…and how did you get in?”

Brittany looks sad for a moment, “I didn’t like it so I ran away” then gets a full smile on her face, “So I decided the best place to run away to was here…and I still have my key”

Hunter sidles up to Sebastian, “Okay I’m a little lost. She’s a member of New Directions right?”

“Well she was. Brittany got ridiculously high scores on the SAT so MIT offered her early admission. She should have graduated last year but didn’t get the grades. Blaine had been tutoring her and she was set to this year but couldn’t miss the opportunity MIT were offering. She was Sam’s girlfriend and on the Cheerios with B, the three used to spend a lot of time together. Oh and if you hear any stories about Lord Tubbington just go along with it.”

“Who’s Lord Tubbington?”

“Her cat, you’ll see what I mean”

“It’s great to see you Britt but why didn’t you go home?” Blaine questions the girl

“Lord Tubbington reasoned they might look for me there”

“Won’t you’re mum and dad worry if they think you’ve run away?”

“Oh Lady Tubbington said she’d take care of that”

“So are you going to come back to McKinley?” Artie asks

“I don’t know if I’ll be allowed”

“Would you want to?”

Brittany nods excitedly

“Then come in with us on Monday and we can see Sue” Blaine tells her and Brittany jumps at him for a cuddle.

“I missed you narwhal”

“I missed you too Britt”

“And I missed you Sam”

Sam chuckled, “I missed you too” Brittany then pulls Sam into the hug too and takes out her phone to capture a picture of the three of them and tags it ‘couldn’t be happier…back with my boys again’. At that moment she spots Hunter and looks at him for a moment. “Narwhal, has he changed his feathers too?”

Blaine grins, “Yes Britt he’s changed his feathers”

Brittany looks to Hunter, “You’re much prettier with your new feathers. Not as pretty as pretty bird but much prettier than before.”

Sebastian smirks and Hunter looks completely confused, “Pretty bird?”

“Yes pretty bird, he changed his feathers and became pretty bird. Pretty bird’s still the prettiest bird but you’re nicer now too” she gives Sebastian a peck on the cheek

“So Sebastian is pretty bird?” Hunter questions to make sure he was following correctly

“Yes, but only Brittany is allowed to call me that; got it?” Sebastian threatens

“Fine whatever…and Blaine is Narwhal?”

Brittany looks at him again, “Of course he is, he’s a dolphin who’s magical so he’s a narwhal. I’m a dolphnicorn as I’m only half dolphin but am also magic and pretty bird is a dolphin.” Brittany looks to Blaine, “He’s a shark isn’t he?” 

“That he is Britt”

Hunter looks completely confused and everyone else laughs around him. Brittany smiles at him and explains, “Everyone knows dolphins are gay sharks” and rolls her eyes as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

The film night is then forgotten and everyone enjoys catching up with Brittany and explaining everything to Hunter, after all they’d all been there at some point too. At Brittany’s encouragement Blaine caves and makes a big vat of hot chocolate, which they all thoroughly enjoy before crashing for the night.

XXXXXXX  
Brittany is allowed to return to McKinley but cannot compete in the Cheerios as she has been out of the squad too long and joined the one at MIT, although be it briefly. The glee club of course welcome her back with open arms. Mr Schue still hasn’t come back so Sam and Blaine continue to lead the club, including preparations from prom, for which everyone has agreed to do Beatles songs.

Tina films Blaine dancing one day after school, completely in his own little world while he tidied the room thinking everyone else had left school for the day. When he arrives at glee the next day though Tina is part way through showing everyone the video and he is completely embarrassed. Sam and Blaine introduce the theme as twerk for the week, which Sue then tries to ban from the school. 

Mr Schuester comes back coincidentally and appeals to the school board to have the ruling over turned, which it is. He then takes the glee club back over and introduces Katie vs Gaga week to encourage the students out of their normal limits. No one is enamoured with how he comes back and assumes leadership again, or with his theme. However he did manage to stop them all from being suspended for twerking so go along with it.

Brittany tells Sebastian to make sure he’s at McKinley for glee club on Friday after school as it’s a performance he’ll definitely want to see. He and Jeff had already been planning on heading over so they could head to the Lima Mall with Sam and Blaine for new suits for the prom so say they’ll get there early and agree to hiding at the back of the auditorium so they aren’t spotted.

When they arrive at McKinley however they stumble upon Mr Schue and the student body performing ‘Blurred lines’ Sebastian can’t resist making his presence known when he sees Blaine lying on a table thrusting so he and Jeff join in with the dancing. At the end of the performance everyone starts clearing out as the bell for the end of the day sounds.

“What are you doing here Bas?” Blaine kisses his boyfriend

“We’re going out for suits remember?”

“Yeah but I’ve still got glee”

“We could always stick around” Jeff suggests

“Erm…actually this was going to be a closed off session” Blaine lies and peaks Sebastian’s interest given what Brittany had said to him.

The plucky bond at that point jumps over, “Don’t be silly narwhal, let them watch”

Kitty and Tina then join in with their comments, “They’ve driven all this way and you’re going to throw them out?” and “Let them watch, it could definitely work in your favour” 

Kitty winks and they all drag Blaine away leaving a confused pair of Warblers.

After the stage is set the New Directions run out in their costumes as soon as the song starts and Sebastian immediately sees why Brittany told him to be there and why Blaine was being so cagey.

“Not a word to B Jeff, got it?”

The blonde quickly nods in agreement but was far too mesmerized with the girls to really take any notice of what Sebastian said. When the performance finished Blaine and Sam quickly got changed then met Sebastian and Jeff in the parking lot so they could head off to the mall. Sam went in Jeff’s car so Sebastian could have some time with Blaine.

“Why didn’t you want me to see you perform killer?”

“Are you kidding? The loin cloth wasn’t exactly my favourite costume”

“And here was me hoping you’d brought it home with you”

“Really?” Blaine’s insecurities were starting to come out again, which now only really happened when he was stressed about other things, and Sebastian didn’t like it.

“Why wouldn’t I?”

Blaine shrugs, “You saw the other guys, and I don’t look like them”

Sebastian frowns, “No you look better”

“Oh come on, I don’t have Sam’s abs or Jake’s legs or Ryder’s chest. The girls couldn’t stop talking about them and then there’s me. You can’t tell me you didn’t notice.” Blaine snaps.

“You know I only look at you so stop your prissy fit and except that I find you hot, you’re still sex on a stick to me. It’s like you want me to look at and go after other guys sometimes.”

That shocks Blaine and his voice immediately becomes much softer, “What…no? Do…do you want to?”

Sebastian softens his demeanour, “Of course not B, but take a complement sometimes. I know you’ve got a lot buzzing round that head of yours and you don’t mean to, but stop trying to push me away. You’re the best looking guy I’ve ever seen, you’re smart, modest, talented and are the kindest person I’ve ever met. Why would I ever want someone else?”

Blaine parks the car and turns in his seat to face Sebastian, “I just sometimes worry you’re going to wake up and realise you could have someone in your league and forget about me.”

“You’re in my league killer; in fact you’re above it. There’s no way I’m letting you go. You’re the one who’s perfect for me. I used to think you’d soon find someone better than me and sometimes I still do if I’m feeling down. But then I look at you or speak to you and know I’m safe.” Sebastian leans across and captures Blaine in a heated kiss; he knew his boyfriend had some body insecurities that tended to expand and blow up into other things.

“I love you”

“I love you too sap”

Blaine leans across the centre console to whisper in Sebastian’s ear, “Oh and for the record, the loin cloth is in my bag” then quickly gets out of the car.

Sebastian smirks, he loved that Blaine was as sexual as him.

The boys get their suits sorted, well Sebastian, Jeff and Blaine got measured for theirs and Sam got one off the rack that Blaine said he or Kitty would be able to alter slightly for him so it fit better. The weather had been getting warmer and Blaine wanted some summer clothes more in line with his new style so continued shopping with Sebastian as Jeff said he’d drop Sam, who was now bored, back at Blaine’s on his way to Dalton.

Sebastian loves Blaine’s taste, it suited him so well. Yes it was still quite preppy, but far more relaxed. In one shop they both pick up some items to try on so head to the changing rooms, being sure to be in cubicles opposite each other.

“Hey Bas what do you think of this?” Blaine opens his curtain to wait for his boyfriend’s response. Sebastian quickly opens his curtain but is only in his boxer briefs as he was just changing and immediately notices Blaine’s eyes go dark with lust. He saunters across to Blaine and pulls at the polo shirt he has on, “It looks great on you killer”.

Blaine gulps then pulls Sebastian inside his cubicle and quickly closes the curtain, before fiercely kissing the taller boy. Sebastian smirks when the kiss breaks “See something you like killer?” He is stopped short when Blaine drops to his knees and quickly frees Sebastian’s cock from his boxers and takes it all in his mouth, instantly making him hard before he deep throats him and bobs his head at a fast pace. 

When Blaine runs a finger down Sebastian’s crack and presses his entrance it’s enough to make him spill over. Sebastian bites his hand to muffle any moan that escapes his lips and pulls Blaine up to his feet once he’s swallowed every drop of come. 

Tasting himself inside Blaine’s mouth drives Sebastian crazy and he’s soon on his knees to return the act. Blaine doesn’t take long to come, being completely worked up from sucking on Sebastian’s cock. After swallowing everything down Sebastian kisses Blaine more tenderly, “What do you say we pay and get out of here?” Blaine can only nod in agreement.

They don’t say anything else until they are back in Blaine’s car and it is Sebastian who breaks the silence first, “Well that was the best shopping trip I’ve ever been on” and Blaine blushes causing Sebastian to chuckle deeply. “And there’s my bashful school boy. You know if anyone ever found out about that they would assume I was the one who initiated it.”

Blaine smirks wickedly, “I know”

“And people say you’re the innocent one”

“I am the innocent one”

“You’re forgetting I know better killer. Someone with your sex drive and thirst for trying new things cannot be called innocent. Do I need to remind you who bought the handcuffs?”

“You say it like it’s a bad thing”

“Oh no, I love that you’re as much of a sex maniac as me and there’s so much more we can try. But you’re bashful school boy thing does make you seem more innocent than you are and I fucking love that.”

“You love it don’t you? That you’re the first one I’ve tried and experienced most things with for the first time.”

Sebastian squeezes Blaine’s thigh and growles, “You have no idea”

“The fact I’m still underage must drive you completely wild then.”

Sebastian has to take a deep breath to calm himself if there was any hope of them getting back to Blaine’s, “You’re killing me”

By the time they pull up to Blaine’s house the sexual tension is crippling and both boys grab their bags and run into the house and straight upstairs to Blaine’s room. Sam who was sat in the living room with Jeff, Nick and Thad who had decided to come over, turns up the volume of Mario Karts and they all continue their game. The couple don't appear again that night.


	37. Prom time

The McKinley prom comes round quickly and the senior Warblers all attend. Sebastian is crying with laughter by the time Sue announces prom king and queen and as predicted stoner Brett won. Nobody however expected Tina to get covered in a giant slushie. The New Directions rallied round her with Kitty even giving Tina her dress for the rest of the evening. Determined not to let anyone ruin their night they all went back to enjoy dancing after Tina accepted her crown. 

Blaine wasn’t stupid; he knew Bree was behind the slushie even if Dotty was the one to pull the chord so went to have a word with Sue.

“Young Burt Reynolds, I’m not doing a recount even though everyone thought you were going to win...unfortunately it's a sign of the current society at this dump”

“That’s not why I’m here”

“Then what do you want?”

“To make sure the right person gets punished for the slushie. We both know Bree was behind it.”

“Yet pocket sized Asian pulled the chord.”

“Bree manipulated her. Look I know Tina has been acting like a…well quite frankly she’s been horrible throughout the campaign, particularly to Dotty, but she would never have done that without Bree pushing her to.”

“So what exactly are you after?”

“Bree’s after the captaincy of the Cheerios next year. I want to make sure it goes to Kitty; she earned it and has proven herself already as assistant captain. Plush let’s face it the slushie incident won’t go unnoticed by the governors; they’ll need to see that action was taken against the perpetrator to stop your chance at being made permanent Principal from being damaged. After all it doesn’t look good that it happened on your watch.”

Sue narrows her eyes, “Are you trying to manipulate me?”

“No. Just highlighting some facts; I’m not naïve enough to think you can be blackmailed or manipulated and I know Dotty will have to be punished but she shouldn’t take the entire blame. If she does then Bree will have managed to manipulate you. But I trust you to do the right thing.”

“And why is that exactly?”

“You’ve helped me this year, in more ways than one. People feel safer in this school than they ever did before. Bullying has basically been eliminated now there are proper punishments in place and the key people have been dealt with. I never ever would have thought I’d say this but you’re a good Principal, you’ve made McKinley a better school.”

“Right enough of your speeches get out of my sight.” Blaine turns to leave but Sue stops him, “Oh young Burt Reynolds, for the record you and lips are doing a good job at preparing that god forsaken glee club of yours for nationals. No matter what happens, you two should be proud; it’s not easy taking that kind of responsibility on in your senior year.”

Blaine nods in gratitude; he had actually got to a point where he could talk to Sue. She wasn’t stupid, she knew the two of them had taken over the club as Mr Schuester is absent 95% of the time trying to campaign for more money for arts in schools. She also knew they’d take it to heart if they didn’t win nationals and the New Directions got disbanded and didn’t actually want that to happen; they were both good kids and it was Will Scheuster she'd always had a problem with and some of the old members.

While Blaine was talking to Sue and Kitty was distracted talking to some of the cheerleaders Brittany gathers the New Directions and Warbler members.

“So how do you all fancy going to the cheerleading nationals?” she asks them all.

“We’ve been told not to go” Sam replies, “Heck even Sebastian has been”

“Oh please, from what I’ve seen of their routine already you are going to want to be there. There’s no way they’re not going to win.”

“What makes you so sure?” Trent asks

“Both Sue and Roz are coaching them. Do you seriously not want to support them?” Brittany gets a little upset at the idea

“Hey no Britt; I’d love to go, I just didn’t want to go behind B’s back”

“Pretty bird, this is one of the times you should. If you all want to go you can’t say anything to any of the Cheerios though. Blaine and Kitty only told you not to go so they don’t get even more nervous, which they won’t if they don’t know you’re there.”

“That’s actually really logical Brittany” Artie comments

Brittany smiles, “So are you all in?” Everyone replies in the affirmative, being exceptionally curious about the routines and Blaine’s gymnastic skills. Everyone knew Kitty was impressive, she showed off enough, but nobody had a clue about Blaine, including his boyfriend.


	38. Preparing for competition

As the Cheerios nationals got closer practices and fitness sessions got longer, more frequent and more gruelling. Sue had added yoga sessions during Wednesday and Friday lunchtimes to help keep the squad supple, but the extra fitness sessions and run throughs were starting to take their toll. One Friday two weeks before the competition Thad, Nick, Jeff, Trent and Sebastian are all at Blaine’s. Sam called Sebastian to let him know he, Blaine and Brittany, who had taken to staying at Blaine’s albeit now in the guest room, were going to be late as Cheerios practice had been extended so they were waiting for Blaine to finish and told him where to find the hidden key so they could let themselves in.

At 7 Sam calls again and tells the guys to order food if they want anything as they aren’t going to be back before 9. Finally at 9.25 Sam pulls into Blaine’s driveway with Brittany in the passenger seat and Blaine lying across the back seats, asleep from exhaustion. As Sam turns off the engine rain starts heavily pouring; Brittany grabs all their bags and runs to the front door so Sam can help Blaine. After hammering on the front door a few times Brittany is greeted by Sebastian who looks at her in confusion before he spots Sam carrying Blaine bridal style and running to the front door and is immediately flooded with concern.

Sam puts Blaine, who is now awake, onto his feet. Sebastian could tell just by looking at his boyfriend that he is completely exhausted and obviously in quite a lot of pain. The door goes again and the rest of the guys go running through all anxious for the Chinese food they’d ordered. After paying the delivery driver they all turn and noticed the state of Blaine as he stands leaning against Sebastian, who is holding him up while Sam helps him get his shoes off.

“Jesus Blaine, what happened to you?” Thad asks

“I’ve had 6 hours of Cheerios today. Add that to all the other practices and extra fitness sessions we’re required to go to at the moment and this week alone it’s been 30 hours, then add on another 5 if you’re going to count the flexibility and yoga sessions. Then I’ve still got everything else on top.” Blaine replies through several yawns completely in monotone.

“Yeah but how hard can cheerleading be?” Nick teases

“Say that again when I can move my arms” Blaine threatens

“Don’t be mean. I never had to train this hard coming up for nationals when I was on the squad. Having two coaches is evil.” Brittany retorts in protection of her narwhal.

“Come on killer let’s get you in the bath” Blaine just nods in response and doesn't flinch or try to protest when Sebastian scoopes him up and carries him upstairs.

After an hour the two return back downstairs with Blaine feeling slightly less stiff but still incredibly sore. Sam looks up, “We saved you both some food, we weren’t sure if you’d be hungry or not and I made sure the stuff on your plate Blaine fits with the diet all you cheerleaders are on.”

Blaine smiles in appreciation, “Thanks, Sam do you have some of that ibuprofen gel left?” and settles on the floor in front of where Sebastian sits on the sofa.

“Yeah hang on man, it’s in my bag” Sam quickly finds the gel and passes it to Blaine, who then passes it to Sebastian and lifts his top up for it to be applied to his shoulders. 

Blaine winces with pain as Sebastian applies the gel, even though he’s being gentle, it’s just that Blaine’s muscles have been completely abused and he’s feeling the effects.

Jeff notices Blaine’s reaction, “Were they trying to kill you today?”

“We’ve basically got one more week of intense training then a rest week running up to the competition, though we’ll still have run-throughs and yoga, the fitness sessions will be dropped and the run-throughs won’t be anything like todays.”

“I still can’t believe you didn’t throw up man!” Sam praises Blaine

“What?” Nick questions

“Oh Blaine was totally like the only one in the squad not to puke, even Kitty did at the end. One girl even fainted.”

“That really doesn’t sound healthy”

“Welcome to competition cheerleading” Blaine deadpans and smiles

“Right B that’s you all gelled up; do you want your food?”

“Actually yeah I’m starving”

“Blainey do you want me to help you stretch out?”

“That would be great thanks Britt”

Blaine shifts so he’s lying on his back on the living room floor and Sebastian jumps up to put their food in the microwave. While he’s waiting for it to heat through he goes back to the living room to sit with the guys.

“Didn’t you stretch with your cool down?” Thad questions Blaine

“Well yeah but it’s a different kind of work out and requires a few sessions of stretching afterwards if you don’t want to seize up” Blaine explains as Brittany starts lifting one of his legs and pressing it back to his body while he keeps it straight and his toes pointed. About three quarters of the way to Blaine’s normal full stretch he cries out it pain so Brittany pauses though doesn’t let up the pressure. Blaine takes a few deep breaths, “Okay, keep going Britt” Though the pain obviously gets worse he battles through. Sebastian gets up to check on the food, he knows Blaine needs to do this but he hates seeing his boyfriend in pain.

“Should you be doing that if it’s hurting that much?” Trent challenges

Sam answers on behalf of his best bro, “I know it looks brutal, but if they don’t do this now then he’ll be in a much worse state. Trust me dude, fitness and training are actually things I know about.”

Blaine’s leg is finally flat against his body so Brittany holds it in place and massages his muscles until the pain fades then gently and slowly releases it.

“You ready to eat killer?” Sebastian asks as he comes back with two plates

“Can you just put mine on the coffee table so Britt can do my other leg? Then I’ll only have some upper body stretches I need to do.”

Sebastian puts Blaine’s dinner down as asked and Brittany continues to help Blaine stretch out, which is again accompanied by wincing and ragged breathing as Blaine pushes through the pain. After Blaine eats his food Brittany helps stretch his arms, shoulders and back out which results in a few more cries of pain. When they’re finished stretching he’s feeling much better though but still exhausted so excuses himself to bed, after several apologies for being antisocial.

Before Sebastian heads up with him the group quickly confirm travel plans for the competition. Luckily it’s being held in an arena Brittany knows well from her competing days and is only a two hour drive away. Although Sebastian was only 5 minutes behind Blaine by the time he gets upstairs he finds his boyfriend crashed on his bed asleep. Sebastian strips off then tucks himself and Blaine underneath the blankets for the night.

The next couple of months were going to be crazy with nationals for Blaine, lacrosse for Sebastian and finals for them both. So Sebastian made the most of lying in bed completely at peace with his boyfriend wrapped safely in his arms. He was trying to think of a way to talk to Blaine about moving in together when they go to New York but wasn’t sure what if he was planning on living with Sam or not. With everything else going on they hadn’t really spoken about accommodation but Sebastian had inherited a significant sum of money from his granddad and wanted to invest it and had decided he wanted to buy a place in the city to live in and wanted Blaine with him.


	39. Hidden skills

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time for the Cheerios' nationals

The day of the competition finally arrives and the New Directions, Sebastian, Trent, Thad, Beat, Nick and Jeff are walking down the busy hallway at the performance centre for the Cheerios Nationals. As Brittany had been at MIT she couldn’t compete but wanted to watch and was leading the group since she had competed in the same building before. They were all excited their friends perform, particularly as they knew Kitty was going to be showing off her gymnastics skills, but other than Brittany, nobody knew what Blaine’s roll would be since he never mentioned anything about gymnastics skills, even to Sebastian. 

Brittany had purposefully brought her camera to get pictures of everyone’s reactions, particularly Sebastian’s. Finally they made it to the stadium, and Brittany ran ahead, ensuring they got front centre seats so they had the best view of the performances and so they could sit with Artie and sat herself between Sam and Sebastian, wanting to see their reactions most. None of the other’s had really appreciated how big an event the national championships really were until this point. Santana text to confirm her and Rachel were managing to stream the live coverage so they could watch from the loft – lucky for them Kurt was at class so they could watch it in peace.

Just as Brittany acknowledges Santana’s text the announcer’s voice comes booming over the speaker system, “And now, from Lima, Ohio! The current reigning champions, McKinley High’s Cheerios!” 

The Cheerios stream out into a V formation, getting the crowd riled up before taking their starting positions. The group all start looking for Blaine and Kitty but can’t see them. Suddenly the music starts, throughout the three routines Blaine and Kitty somehow manage to sing while performing flips and various stunts. During the first routine Blaine lifts Kitty upside down and holds her wrists while they both fall into the splits, never once wobbling his arms as he sinks to the floor. Blaine is still holding her as he manages somehow to bend his front led to stand back up, bends into a bridge and slides her between his legs, pulling her back up to face him. Brittany looks at Sebastian and her friends who all have varying degrees of shock on their faces. 

At the end of the first routine Blaine lifts Kitty high into a scorpion, holding her left foot with both hands while she bends her right leg round to touch the back of her head, holding it in place with her hands. Brittany explains to everyone that lift is very difficult to do as it requires lots of core strength from both people and a lot of upper body strength from the lifter. Blaine then drops Kitty on queue as the music ends so she is dipped in his arms, with his and the rest of the Cheerios heads down, the crowd gasping at the move.

To start the second routine, the cheerleaders form a circle around Blaine and Kitty, who stand back to back with their arms crossed against their chests. The Cheerios break out into a V and Blaine and Kitty break out into a series of handsprings. The singers end their handsprings in handstands with their legs out as for the splits. To everyone’s shock Blaine and Kitty weren’t close to being out of breath and they knew it was down to Sue’s and Roz’s intense workouts they’d been subjected to since Sue came back as principal and threatened Roz’s job unless they won. 

The final song confused everyone by starting off slower; all of the Cheerios forming a pyramid, with Blaine and Kitty stood on top, two people high, with their heads down and backs to the audience. They both back flip off the pyramid of Cheerios making the whole crowd collectively gasp and transition easily in sync with the other Cheerios into front walkovers then cartwheels before finishing the series with back handsprings, all of them criss-crossing over the floor leaving only centimetres between them.

They make front aerials look easy and somehow keep singing. Brittany makes an impressed noise at their dive rolls, explaining how most Cheerios hurt their necks attempting it, which makes Sebastian feel a little nervous, even though Blaine had pulled the move off safely. The Cheerios go into a series of standing back and forward handsprings, which make the entire stand cheer. The perfectly executed side aerials end their final routine and receives them a standing ovation. Blaine and Kitty are both beaming and Kitty jumps on Blaine in a hug, wrapping her legs around his waist and letting him support them both on their way out. They were the last team to compete so none of their friends felt bad for running off, Sebastian pushing Artie ahead of the others to go congratulate them.

As soon as Kitty sees their friends she moves off Blaine and adopts her icy exterior.

“You guys came?” Blaine asks but before anyone can answer Brittany drags the two into a hug. When Sebastian sees everyone else crowding round the duo he quickly pulls his boyfriend to the side to give him a kiss. They are interrupted by Kitty pulling Blaine back to the Cheerios to hear the results and so the group of supporters make their way back to the stands when it becomes apparent the Cheeries have been called to the floor once more so are in the top three.

When the Cheerios are announced National Champions once again, Becky, Kitty and Blaine go to collect the trophy, showing it off to their team. Once the others had the trophy, Blaine felt himself being swept into a hug by his tall Warbler boyfriend and the kiss that followed, he decided, was much better than any trophy.

XXXXXXX  
Sebastian, Thad, Nick, Jeff, Brittany, Sam, Kitty and Artie head back to Blaine’s that night, with Kitty and Blaine quickly falling asleep after Santana and Rachel’s phone call to offer their congratulations. It all of a sudden made perfect sense as to why the competition was always held on a Friday – to let its competitors recover over the weekend. By eleven on Saturday morning Kitty and Blaine are still sound asleep so the rest gather in the kitchen for breakfast, all agreeing they need to let the two Cheerios sleep for as long as they need to.

Sam approaches the topic of Blaine’s birthday as he and Brittany have been discussing that they needed to make a big deal out of it this year, not only because it’s his 18th but because of what happened the year before. “So I know this seems a little premature, but me and Britt kind of want to start planning for Blaine’s birthday. We don’t know what plans you’ve got in place Sebastian but we really want to organise, or at least help organise, a party for him he’ll never forget. He deserves an 18th like no other and we kind of want to make up for his birthday last year.”

Sebastian swallows his mouthful of toast, “Actually I was going to talk to you all about that, after what B did for my birthday I want to make sure his is just as spectacular. Any private celebrations I want to have with him will be able to fit around it. What do you mean about his birthday last year though?”

Sam suddenly feels nervous “He didn’t tell you?”

“Tell me what? We all know gayface left him three days before if that’s what you mean” Sam and Brittany look at each other, letting Sebastian know there was obviously something else. “Right you two spill, we didn’t reconnect until afterwards and I’m obviously missing something. Heck we all are apart from you two by the looks of it.”

Sam sighs, “Sorry dude, I know it happened before you two became friends again but I thought he would have said”

Sebastian snaps “What?” 

Brittany nods at Sam for him to continue, “Kurt didn’t just leave three days before Blaine’s birthday…he erm…he actually completely forgot it.”

Sebastian and the other Warblers see red, “What?!” 

“That’s even worse than the year before” Jeff scoffs

“What happened the year before?” Artie queries

“Kurt kept us out of Blaine’s birthday completely. We all thought he must have had something special planned but all he did was make Blaine sit through Hairspray again, which everyone knows Blaine doesn’t actually like, in fact he verges on hating the film, and showed him his moisturising routine so Blaine would be able to do it too, to help improve his skin or some other bullshit.” 

“Was Hummel just trying to make Blaine as gay as him or something? That sounds like torture. Who the hell would ever think Blaine would want to do that?!” Sebastian says, clearly pissed. 

“Obviously the same guy who used to put bronzer in his lotion” Sam adds

That gets all the Dalton boys attention so Artie explains, “We all noticed Blaine’s hands going kind of orange towards the end of last school year. It soon became apparent that Kurt had been adding tanning product to his lotion because he thought he would look better tanned.”

“Okay I’m actually starting to feel a little sick now” Thad comments

“You and me both Harwood” Sebastian sneers, though they all know his frustrations weren’t aimed at them.

“All of us Dalton boys always felt bad for never properly celebrating Blaine’s birthday with him because of when it is in the year. So let’s do something this year to make up for that and help erase the last couple of years’ disasters.” Nick says

“Agreed” everyone around the table chants

“How come you two know about what happened last year?” Sebastian asks Brittany and Sam as everyone starts clearing plates away.

“He didn’t actually tell us” Sam explains, “I was looking for a book in his room when I found a couple of unopened birthday cards and gifts. He’d put them away and forgotten about them. I confronted him and he said he’d basically done what he could to forget that day.”

All the boys sit back round the table, “Do you know what he did do?” Nick asks

Sam and Brittany both look sad and slowly nod, “He stayed here. It was the first day Kurt contacted him since he moved to New York but talked at him for 5 minutes about how   
amazing the city was and hung up without saying happy birthday or I love you. So Blaine ordered some Chinese and watched Star Wars.” Sam tells them

“Then why didn’t he call us? We all messaged him” Jeff says upset by what he’s heard

“I didn’t” Artie chastises himself, “I didn’t know when it was.”

“Artie don’t, Blainey wouldn’t want you to be sad” Brittany says firmly

“Yeah but how come we managed to celebrate every other member of New Direction’s birthdays apart from his.”

“Man I didn’t message him either; I didn’t know when his birthday was, but Brittany’s right he wouldn’t want you to feel bad, we’ve spoken about it. Plus Quinn and Mike at least knew and messaged him; Mike even gave him a cool Harry Potter book. It’s just a shame they were both leaving for college.” Sam turns to the Warblers, “As for the rest of you…he felt bad for how things worked out. He felt bad for leaving Dalton; Kurt was giving him major grief if he spoke to you guys let alone saw you. Then the whole MJ and slushie thing gave Kurt more ammo and Blaine was actually pretty angry too so went along with what Kurt wanted. So by the time it got to his birthday he thought he’d completely screwed everything up and lost you all. The fact that you messaged him should have made him realise he was being an idiot but by that point he’d already spoken to Kurt and hidden himself away. Plus you know what a stickler he is for self-punishment; he didn’t feel like he deserved you guys anymore.”

“So it’s all my fault” Sebastian almost whispers and everyone is a little surprised at the show of emotion.

“No dude that’s not what I’m saying, it’s not your fault. Yeah you were a jackass last year but you tried to make amends and actually the biggest jackass turned out to be Kurt. You kept Blaine going last summer and let’s face it dude everything turned out for the best.”

“Plus don’t worry pretty bird; we took Blaine to the zoo when we found out”

Brittany’s sincerity makes Sebastian smile, “You did?”

“Yes! And he loved it as much as me and I never thought I’d find anyone who did” Brittany beams and the guys all chuckle.

“She’s right. Taking Stacey and Stevie to the zoo was easier than those two” Sam laughs

Sebastian snaps out of his moment of regret, “Right then, we’ve got some planning to do”

They all start planning and get stuck into it, only stopping as they get hungry and then realise the time, “I can’t believe it’s already one” Jeff comments.

Sebastian turns to Artie, “I know we agreed to let them sleep for as long as they need, but I think we should wake them up, they must need some fluids by now and if they sleep any longer their body clocks will be completely screwed.”

“Completely agree man, hey could you and Sam get me up the stairs?”

“Sure thing”

Brittany goes up with Sam, Sebastian and Artie and can’t help but ‘awww’ at the site they find. At some point Kitty has left Brittany’s bed, where she had been sleeping and climbed in with Blaine, the two now cuddled up in the middle of his bed. Brittany snaps a picture.

“Well it’s a good thing he didn’t sleep nude last night” Sebastian smirks

Artie rolls his eyes, “Very funny”

“I’m actually being serious”

“Wait really?” Sebastian nods in conformation before he and Artie split to wake up their respective partners.

“Artie, how easy is she to wake up?” Sebastian whispers from where he stands at the edge of Blaine’s bed

“Actually pretty easy, why?”

“Do you think you can wake her up without disturbing B?”

“Yeah”

“You might want to wake her up and get her out of here first then, he’s not always the best at being woken up.”

Artie raises an eyebrow at Sebastian but Sam confirms, “Seriously dude, he’s either like the hulk in a bad mood or a zombie, get her up and me and Britt can get you back downstairs.”

Artie manages to wake Kitty up without disturbing Blaine; she sits on his lap as Brittany and Sam carry him back downstairs leaving Sebastian to sort Blaine out. Sebastian climbs onto Blaine’s bed and lies beside him, running one hand through his curls and another stroking up and down his arm. “Time to wake up beautiful” Sebastian says and kisses Blaine’s forehead. Blaine stirs slightly but buries himself further into the duvet. “Sorry killer but you need to wake up” Sebastian kisses him again and can tell Blaine’s coming round. “I’ll make it worth your while” That comment brings a sly smile to Blaine’s face and he slowly opens his eyes.

“And how do you plan on doing that?” Blaine smirks groggily

“Well come downstairs and get something to eat and drink; then I’ll blow you in the shower.”

“Can’t we do that first?”

“You’re going to need some energy for what I’ve got in mind B”

Sebastian and Blaine stumble downstairs, the latter still in his blue pyjama shorts and white vest with his hair completely wild. They find everyone else in the living room, Kitty who is still on Artie’s lap, also still wearing what she had to bed last night, looks at Blaine and laughs, causing him to look completely confused.

Brittany beams when she sees him, “Do you want to see the dinosaurs again?”

Blaine was normally very good at understanding Brittany but was still groggy with sleep so was completely lost, “I’m sorry Britt?”

“You’re dinosaur hair is back”

Blaine immediately understands what she meant and goes bug eyed and raises a hand to feel how tall and wild his hair had gotten. After a quick assessment he turns to run back upstairs but is stopped by Sebastian, “Too late killer, everyone has already seen it” Sebastian leans down to whisper into Blaine’s ear so nobody else can hear, “And before you ask, I didn’t tell you because I think it’s hot. It reminds me of when I pull on your hair when you’re down on your knees.”

Blaine has to supress a growl and collapses on a sofa with Sebastian.

“Have you eaten anything yet Kitty?” The curly haired boy asks

“No I was waiting for you to get down. We were all wondering what the plan for the day is.”

Blaine looks back to Sebastian who shrugs his shoulders, “We thought we’d leave that up to you two champions B, we weren’t sure what state you’d be in.”

“Well it’s a nice warm day, how about we just hang out by the pool? Sam do you feel like doing a grill?” Blaine replies

“Yes that sounds awesome!”

“One problem with that fuzzball” Kitty interrupts, “Apart from you and lips none of us will have our bathing suits and I’m not going all the way back to Lima and back again for mine.”

“Or mine” Artie agrees

“You can borrow a pair of mine Artie and we’ve got tons of floats if you wanted to go in…I think we’ve even got a chair float if you wanted it, like the one you used in the proposal.” Blaine offers

“Sounds good to me”

“And Kitty you can borrow one of mine” Brittany suggests

Jeff laughs, “Have you moved in as well Brittany?”

Brittany grins shyly, “Shhh”

“Fine, can I have a granola bar or something? If lips is doing a grill I don’t want much now, particularly if we’re swimming”

Blaine jumps up, “Of course, do you want juice or a powerade?”

“Definitely a powerade”

The Dalton boys head back to school to grab their swim shorts and another change of clothes as they agree to staying another night at Blaine’s. They all know the next week will   
be the start of the final build up so want to spend one last weekend stress free. In the meantime Blaine has Sam help him uncover the pool area which hadn’t been used for a year. Blaine also turns on the pump for the water slide, which Sam had thought was part of a rock arrangement by the side.

“Why have I not seen this before?” Sam gapes as he stands back and admires the area and races to get changed.

When the Dalton boys return the McKinley members are already enjoying the pool area. Artie is floating around on a pool chair, Sam is swimming leisurely lengths and Blaine is floating around on his back with his eyes closed. The girls then come down the slide giggling and splash into the deep end. The boys all strip their clothes off having already put their board shorts on underneath and Sebastian raises a finger to his lips to let everyone know to not say a word. Silently he slips into the pool and swims underwater, underneath Blaine and grabs his waist, quickly pulling him below the surface with an indignant yell. Everyone else bursts out in laughter when he comes back to the surface, including Sebastian, who is then quickly splashed in the face.

Sebastian grabs hold of Blaine’s wrists and pulls him close, “That wasn’t very nice killer” he smirks.

Blaine wraps his legs around Sebastian’s waist, “Yeah and neither was dragging me under like that”. 

“I’ll make it up to you”

“You better” Blaine pouts

“Get that pout of your face” Sebastian says and gives him a kiss, immediately replacing the pout with a smile.

The weekend passes too quickly for all of them. As predicted the Warblers are immediately submersed with school work as soon as classes on Monday start.


	40. Private celebration

Blaine’s laying on his bed one night talking to Sebastian, with various rehearsals, lacrosse practices and the extra studying for upcoming finals they haven’t been able to meet up as much but have made up for it with late night phone calls.

“I just can’t believe how quickly this year has gone. High school is almost over Bas.”

“I know B. But we’re moving on to bigger and brighter things.”

“I know it’s just…”

“Don’t go getting all sentimental on me now” Sebastian teases

“I wasn’t…”

“And don’t pout”

“Oh come on you cannot tell when I’m pouting over the phone.”

Sebastian smiles to himself, “I totally can. You’re still coming to the match tomorrow right?”

“And miss my gorgeous boyfriend lead the Dalton lacrosse team to another cup victory? Never” Blaine smirks

“I hope I get properly rewarded when we win tomorrow”

“Hmmm well that will all depend on your performance”

Sebastian chuckles, “Well then you better be prepared to give me one hell of a treat…As much as I don’t want to I better go B. I’ve got an early start in the morning.”

“It’s fine Bas I know. I love you”

“Love you too sap”.

Sebastian’s confidence wasn’t misplaced. The Dalton team were by far the better team and Sebastian outshone everyone else on the field. Blaine knew Sebastian was good, but   
he’d never seen him play quite like that before, it was completely mesmerising and, if he was honest, bit of a turn on.

After the initial rounds of congratulations and debrief from their coach the team split up to go and shower and get ready for a night of celebration in the senior common room. Sebastian practically drags Blaine back to his room ignoring any cat calls on route. With Sebastian still on the high from winning and adrenaline from the game Blaine soon finds himself naked and straddling his also naked boyfriend who is reclined on his bed, hands tracing patterns on Blaine’s hips.

“Put it on…it’ll be sexy” Sebastian orders seductively, grabbing his lacrosse jersey off the floor and holding it out to Blaine.

“Bas it’s disgusting” Blaine huffs and wrinkles his nose.

“You said I was going to get a treat killer” Sebastian smiles cheekily yet seductively.

Blaine raises an eyebrow, “And for that treat you’d rather have me in your filthy lacrosse jersey than naked?” 

“Just do it B” Sebastian says in the tone of voice he knows Blaine can’t say no too, an authoritative yet kind, low sexy command.

“Fine” Blaine huffs and grabs the jersey from Sebastian’s hand and winces as he puts it on, wrinkling his nose at the feel of cold sweat against his skin.

Sebastian laces his fingers behind his head and stares up at Blaine, mesmerized by the sight of him wearing his winning lacrosse jersey, his number and the school name clear on his chest and can’t help but think about his name across his boyfriend’s back. The bass of music from the common room starts thumping down the corridors as the celebration gets well underway, but Sebastian isn’t ready to join them yet, not when he has Blaine like this. 

Sebastian uses his jersey to pull Blaine down for a heated kiss before grabbing the bottle of lube from his side table next to his bed. “I want you to open yourself up for me” he says, using that tone of voice again and passes the bottle to Blaine before leaning back on his hands once again to watch. 

Blaine nods nervously and opens the lube to coat his fingers. The way he’s sat makes him feel very exposed and the angle is a little awkward but he manages to press a finger inside himself, not able to look at Sebastian at first as he tries to relax himself. When Blaine adds a second finger he looks at his boyfriend and can’t help but notice how undone he’s becoming, just from watching him open himself up, the sight turning Blaine on.

As Blaine’s inhibitions break down he gets more into it and starts to writhe on Sebastian’s lap, his boyfriend gripping his hips in response, needing to touch him. Sebastian can’t stop thinking about how perfect Blaine looks, on his lap, in his lacrosse jersey swamping his body, opening himself up for him to take. The moment is enough to short circuit Sebastian’s brain as his eyes stay fixed on his boyfriend.

Blaine gasps and shudders as Sebastian slides a finger in alongside his own, not even having noticed his boyfriend use the lube. Sebastian enjoys the feeling of his finger with Blaine’s stretching him for a moment before quickly scissoring to stretch his boyfriend and then removes his fingers to quickly lube up his cock. Blaine also removes his own fingers and positions himself over Sebastian’s erection before sinking down in one smooth motion, until he’s sat on his boyfriend’s lap, the angle letting Sebastian go deep inside him. Sebastian wraps his hands around Blaine’s hips and holds him tight as he lifts him up and then slams him back down. The force causes Blaine’s head to fall back and he cries out sharply as he starts to ride Sebastian’s rough thrusts. Blaine’s own sweat mixing with Sebastian’s in the material of the jersey, causing it to stick to Blaine, only making Sebastian get rougher and faster.

“Fuck B, you look so good on my lap like this. Especially while wearing my clothes…my jersey with my name on it…it’s like you’re letting everyone know who you belong to” Sebastian growls.

Blaine chuckles breathlessly, “There’s no one here to see me Bastian” he pants

“Doesn’t matter; I know you’re mine; it shows that you’re mine,” Sebastian punctuates with a series of thrusts, each growing with force and depth. Sebastian lets go of Blaine’s hips with one hand and wraps it around Blaine’s cock. Blaine continues to ride Sebastian as he thrusts his hips forward into his boyfriend’s fist, lasting only a few thrusts before coming hard with a loud moan, shaking with the force of his orgasm. Sebastian licks two of his fingers, tasting Blaine who is now moaning and whimpering softly as he continues his thrusts into his now overly sensitive boyfriend, but Blaine’s tightened muscles soon send him over the edge and Sebastian comes deep inside of his boyfriend.

Blaine collapses forward as soon as Sebastian goes lax and has finished riding out his orgasm. “I feel really gross now” Blaine complains softly, the jersey itchy against his skin as the sweat starts the dry.

“Come on…let’s get you in the shower” 

“I love you” Blaine smiles as he stands on wobbly legs and Sebastian holds him steady

“I know” 

“I know that means you love me too” Blaine says as he steps under the spray of the shower.

Sebastian cups his cheek gently, “Good, because I do” This time when they kiss it’s a lot less urgent, but just as passionate and full of love.

They don’t stay at the celebration for long that night with Sebastian wanting to make the most of his time with Blaine as possible. Everyone else was too into it to really notice or mind his absence. None of the team would mess with their captain anyway, they all knew better than to say anything and that if they did it would result in the celebration being ruined for everyone.

The next morning Sebastian wakes up and can’t help but smile at the sight of Blaine cuddling into his chest looking completely content. Sebastian’s not naïve; he knows college will be hard and will throw up challenges; he knows they’re both still young but he wants to be with Blaine every step of the way. He wants the mornings together and to cook dinner with each other, to sit studying side by side and of course, all the mind blowing sex they would no doubt have.

“You’re staring at me” Blaine’s sleep filled voice snaps Sebastian out of his revere.

“You’re my boyfriend; I stare at you a lot...I even stared at you before you were my boyfriend...so I'm definitely not going to stop now.”

A small smile tugs on Blaine’s lips and he slowly opens his eyes, blinking up at Sebastian through his thick eyelashes. Although his head is still thick with sleep he immediately notices there is something different about the way Sebastian is looking at him, “What is it Bas?”

“What?”

“You’re looking at me differently” Sebastian shifts slightly and all of a sudden looks nervous. 

A now worried Blaine lifts his head and rests it on his hand so he can look Sebastian in the eye, “What’s going on Bas? You’re worrying me. Is something wrong?” Panic clear in Blaine’s voice.

Sebastian smiles dopily, “There’s nothing wrong B”

Blaine furrows his brows in confusion, “Then what is it”

Sebastian takes a deep breath, “Have you thought about where you’re going to live next year?”

“Not really. I know I need to but there’s been so much going on.”

“I know what I want to do with the money grand-pere left me.”

Blaine’s again left a little confused by the sudden change of topic, “Oh…you do?”

“Yeah, I want to invest it. I want to buy a place in New York to live in” Sebastian looks down and takes a deep breath before making eye contact with Blaine again, “I want you to live with me…if you want to of course…I know it’s a lot to think about and that you probably want to live with Sam but will you at least think about it? But don’t feel like you have to.” Blaine’s giggle stops Sebastian mid ramble and makes him frown, “Why are you laughing at me?”

“You’re cute when you’re nervous” Blaine teases

Sebastian bites Blaine’s shoulder in retaliation, “I am not cute” then kisses him to supress the remaining giggle.

Blaine looks at him for a moment when the kiss breaks, “Are you sure?”

“Yes I’m definitely hot rather than cute” that comment earns Sebastian a playful shove onto his back and Blaine quickly straddles his hips, leaning down and bracketing his boyfriend’s head with his arms. Sebastian automatically moves his hands to Blaine’s hips, fingers curving round onto his ass, and starts drawing circles onto his skin with his thumbs.

“You know that’s not what I meant” Blaine glowers playfully then goes completely serious, “I think using the money in that way makes complete sense, but are you really sure you want me to live with you? It’s a big step Bas.”

“I know and I’ve been thinking about it for a long time…do you not want to?”

“That’s not it at all. I just don’t want you to regret asking me.”

“I won’t”

“How can you be so sure? I might drive you mad”

“I’m sure you will, and I’m sure I’ll annoy you at times too, but it’s not as if we’d be going into it blind. I know you’re annoyingly OCD about some things and you know I’m rubbish at remembering to do laundry.”

“And have a tendency to shrink things” Blaine quickly adds and thinks for a moment before continuing, “I want to help pay somehow though…Like I could pay you rent or something...I don’t want to just live off you…I want us to be equal.”

Sebastian beams, “Is that a yes then killer?”

Blaine chuckles, “It’s a yes…I’ve thought about it too…what it would be like living together…but I’m serious…if we do this I want us to be equal. I want to pay as much for the   
place as you…even if I have to do it in instalments.”

“You don’t have to. It would be both of ours anyway.”

“I know you’d make sure it was but this is important to me”

“It’s more than fine by me B…I respect that and we’re equals…it would match us” 

Blaine grins at Sebastian’s response, the fact they’re equal in their relationship means a lot to him, “Just can we keep this between us for now? We’ve got a lot to work out and I want to make sure Sam is taken care of…I don’t want him to think I’m dragging him to New York and abandoning him.”

“Of course”

“I think this calls for a celebration” Blaine growls as he nips at Sebastian’s ear lobe.

“Oh and what exactly did you have in mind?”

Blaine answers by running his finger down Sebastian’s crack and pressing against his entrance. Needless to say they miss breakfast that day. 

Blaine and Sebastian start narrowing down where they would like to live when they move to New York taking into account their commutes, budget and removing any particularly undesirable locations. With show choir nationals rapidly approaching Blaine still hasn’t thought of a way to approach things with Sam; he really doesn’t want to let him down or make him feel abandoned.


	41. The last of the fundraising

The New Directions had nearly reached their fundraising target, but time was also running out so they needed to make one final last push – and that meant the car wash. Everyone readily gives up their Saturday, agreeing that they would be stupid not to as they’d come so far and didn’t want to throw in the towel at this point.

They put various posters up around Lima and all set up early Saturday morning in the McKinley car park. Thanks to the early summer weather, queues of cars form and they have to work hard to keep the lines moving. Some people even gave them tips for the good job they’re doing, particularly given their cause. They were all wearing old shorts and t-shirts they didn’t care about throwing away and nobody judged them for it. It was clear they were all working hard, all being wet and dirty to some extent.

Blaine was just finishing drying one car when Jake comes up to him, “Hey man…there’s someone asking specifically for you to wash their car…I’ll finish up here for you.”

Blaine straightens from where he’d been bent over the bonnet and lifts his arms high above his head to stretch his back, “Fine…what kind of car is it?”

“Oh you’ll know which one it is” Jake grins, but Blaine’s too tired to catch on.

Blaine walks over to the cars waiting to be washed and immediately spots Sebastian leaning against his car and smiles tiredly.

“Jesus killer how long have you been at it for?” Sebastian greets him and kisses his lips gently.

Blaine chuckles, “I take I’m not looking my best then…What’s the time now?”

“Nearly three”

“Well Sam and I got here at 7 to open up” That makes Sebastian laugh. “Stop it we actually had keys!”

“Whatever you say killer” the taller grins cheekily 

Blaine rolls his eyes playfully, but they give away his tiredness, “Then the rest got here and we’ve been going since about 8…It feels like we’ve washed every car in Lima”

“So with you being you, let me take an educated guess that you’ve missed lunch so everyone else could break and because you got too caught up in everything going on.”  
Blaine groans, “Maybe” but instead of chastising him, Sebastian merely holds an apple up for him to take a bite of, Blaine's own hands being far too dirty to handle food. Blaine smiles gratefully then takes a bite, Sebastian turns the apple and Blaine takes another bite, the two repeating the process until it’s all gone. When Blaine looks up at Sebastian he can’t help but notice his eyes have turned a darker shade of green, or the naughty smirk that creeps across his own face in response.

“You have a dirty mind Blaine Anderson” Sebastian smirks as he holds up a bottle of water for his boyfriend to drink from. 

Blaine takes a big drink, not realising how thirsty he’d gotten, “I don’t know what you’re talking about Bas” he replies innocently.

“Right, that’s why you got that look across your face, the one you always get when you’re thinking about something naughty”

“Well if I was it was because of you”

Sebastian raises his eyebrows amusedly, “I’d hope so”

“Shut up…you know that’s not what I meant. I meant it was because of the look you had in your eyes…you know I only think of you” Blaine adds shyly, blushing slightly at his admittance, even though it wasn’t the first time he’d made that confession.

“And you know I only think of you” Sebastian says sincerely, the truth in his words clear in his eyes. “But now I’ve provided you with refreshment, I expect my car to be spotless.”

Blaine’s eyes widen with shock, “You cannot be serious” he laughs in a scandalised tone.

“Of course I am…I’ve paid good money to get my car washed…in fact I even paid extra just so I could have you do it” Sebastian tells him flatly, sounding slightly smug.

Blaine grits his teeth and narrows his eyes, “Then I suggest you move it to the washing station.” 

Sebastian moves his car and gets out, preferring to watch Blaine work from the outside. Blaine hoses the car down before shampooing it. “You’ve missed a spot” Sebastian goads good naturedly. Blaine glares darkly before continuing with his job. “You need to lift the wipers if you want to do it properly; I thought you knew about cars B.” he continues to tease.

“I haven’t got to that yet” Blaine replies as steadily as he can, knowing his boyfriend is purposefully trying to wind him up as pay back for only talking to him in a Jamaican accent after they watched the Little Mermaid. Sebastian continues to taunt Blaine as he shampoos the car.

Blaine starts to hose the car down when he finally snaps at Sebastian’s remarks and turns the hose on his boyfriend without even thinking about it. The New Directions who’d been watching the couple burst out laughing as Sebastian and Blaine both stand on the spot, clearly shocked.

Blaine’s the first to speak, “I’m so sorry…come on I’ll get you a towel”

“It’s okay killer” Sebastian says soothingly, “I pushed too much, though I was only messing around”

“I know Bastian…I’m sorry…It’s just been a long day”

“I know so I’m sorry too” Sebastian replies as he steps closer to Blaine.

“You don’t need to be”

“Actually B …I do” Sebastian says as he grabs the hose in Blaine’s hand and turns it on, soaking his boyfriend.

“You’re such an asshole” Blaine laughs heartily as he stands there dripping wet while Sebastian just smirks at him before turning to Ryder who’d just finished the car next to Sebastian’s. “Hey Ryder I’m sorry to ask but could you dry Bas’s car off for me so I can go dry off a bit?”

Ryder looks at Blaine for a moment before responding with a gulp, “Sure thing”.

Blaine leads Sebastian into the locker room, “So when do you think he’s going to come out?” Sebastian asks.

“Who?” Blaine asks confused.

“Ryder”

“Ryder’s straight” Blaine replies flatly.

“I’m going to have to disagree with you there killer…he’s at least bi with the way he was looking you up and down.”

“Don’t be ridiculous…you scare him…he was just nervous.”

“Well he should be scared”

“Yeah because you’re terrifying” Blaine replies sarcastically as he passes his boyfriend a towel.

“We both know I can be”

“But you’re forgetting that I also know you’re secretly a teddy bear underneath it all” Blaine grins

Sebastian narrows his eyes and steps closer to Blaine, “Only for you…and it better stay that way” he says mock threateningly.

“I told you I like that it’s our secret…and that you’re only that way for me”

“So don’t be annoyed if I scare him some more or let him know to back off then”

“Seriously Bas…you’re reading far too much into this” It’s then that Blaine actually stops for a moment as he dries himself off and can’t help but stare at the way Sebastian’s wet t-shirt is clinging to his skin, showing the outline of his toned abs.

“Like what you see killer?” Sebastian smirks

“You know I do” Blaine answers huskily

“Well then be glad I’m staying over tonight”

“You are?” Blaine asks, eyes full of hope

“I am…I’ve got my books in my car so if you give me your key I’ll head back now and get some studying done while you finish up here…then if you play your cards right there might be a massage in it for you later.”

“That would be amazing…thank you” Blaine places a tender kiss on Sebastian’s lips

“Any time…can’t have you seizing up on me” he winks, making a faint blush creep onto Blaine’s cheeks. 

Blaine gives Sebastian his key so the taller boy heads back to the Anderson house while Blaine and the team finish up for the day. When Blaine, Sam and Brittany all get back to the house they head straight for their showers, feeling dirty and cold from their day of car washing.

When Blaine steps back into his room he finds Sebastian has moved upstairs from where he’d been studying in the dining room and has turned his comforter down and put a towel on the sheets.

“Time for that massage B” Blaine just nods and does exactly what Sebastian tells him to, lying face down on the bed and nearly falling to sleep at one point with as relaxed as he is. Sebastian leans forward to whisper lowly into his ear as he massages his lower back, “How does that feel?”

“Amazing” Blaine practically moans, completely unaware of what else his boyfriend had been getting up to.

A now naked Sebastian rolls up the towel covering Blaine’s ass, but Blaine is too blissed out to notice. “And how does that feel?” Sebastian asks again, as he slowly pushes into Blaine, meeting very little resistance with as relaxed as his body is.

“Bastian” Blaine moans breathlessly. Sebastian peppers kisses all over Blaine’s back and neck, sucking slightly on his birth mark as he starts to roll his hips. When Blaine reaches back with his hands, Sebastian takes them in one of his own and holds them above Blaine’s head as he continues to thrust into him. With his other hand, he encourages Blaine’s hips to lift slightly off the mattress, changing the angle and ensuring he’s hitting his prostate with each stroke. “Bas…please” Blaine gasps.

“Tell me what you need”

“More” Sebastian bites down hard on Blaine’s shoulder and increases the speed and intensity of his thrusts, making his boyfriend growl a string of profanities. “So close” Blaine stutters just before he goes over the edge, his orgasm marked by a loud moan he muffles in a pillow. The clenching of Blaine’s muscles causes Sebastian to come deep inside of him. When Sebastian’s fully spent he collapses on top of Blaine, completely blanketing his body and just stays there for a while, Blaine loving how protected he felt in that moment, even in the vulnerable position he’s in.

A while later the couple head downstairs and have dinner with the other two before they all head to bed early, exhausted from the day. However, the New Directions made more than enough money, so they could get four rooms for them to share, two rooms for the guys and two for the girls, rather than everyone having to cram into two rooms, so as far as they all were concerned, it had been well worth it.


	42. Final preparations

Mr Schue returns to McKinley two weeks before the competition in LA and starts trying to come up with songs and routines. However the group are prepared, with fundraising and sponsorships from local businesses they’ve managed to get plenty of funding for the whole trip to even include most food for them while they’re out there. All they need Mr Schue to do is organise the chaperones. In truth the teacher is shocked by how well they’ve handled everything, and with a small bubble of disappointment in his chest at not really being needed but a lot of pride, sets to it. The set list is sorted, a tribute to Finn featuring his favourite songs, ‘More than a feeling, ‘America’ and ‘Still haven’t found what I’m looking for’. The choreography and costumes were also ready and everyone knew the routine well. 

In fact everyone knows the routine almost too well. On Monday Blaine spots the performance is starting to look a little flat, a little too rehearsed so after talking with Sam they devise a plan to encourage the group to push themselves passed their normal boundaries to find their individual sparks back. Kitty challenges them to put their money where their mouths are and, along with the rest of the group, demands a performance that Wednesday after school. Blaine has an idea and asks Sam, Ryder and Jake to help out.  
Tuesday evening Blaine is at home and Brittany has been helping him with his outfit for the performance the next day. He just goes into his bathroom to start changing when his Skype starts calling, as Brittany sees it’s Sebastian she answers.

“Hello pretty bird!”

“Hello Britt, is Blaine around?”

“He’s just getting changed; I was helping him with his outfit for the guys’ performance tomorrow after school. Oh you should come! He looks totally hot. And bring the other Warblers!”

“What performance is this, I thought you guys were just doing final bits for Nationals?”

“We are but we know the routine so well we can do it in our sleep, so some people are starting too. Blainey and Sam said people need to push themselves to find our sparks again to make the performance special. So Kitty, and well everyone, challenged them to lead by example.”

“So why do you want the Warblers there?”

“Well if you’re going to sparkle you need people to see it right? Otherwise it might not be there. It’s why we’ll never know if trees make a sound if nobody is there to hear them.”

Sebastian can’t help but smile at Brittany’s comparison, “Well I can’t disagree there”

“And you definitely want to be there as he looks really really hot”

“Well then how can I say no?”

Brittany squeals with delight as Blaine comes out of his bathroom, shirtless but still in his black leather pants from when they performed ‘Diva’. “Britt how do I get this makeup off? I’ve washed my face but it’s made it worse.”

Brittany tuts, “You boys are so silly, wait there” and skips out to go and find her makeup wipes for Blaine.

It’s only when she moves that Blaine sees his boyfriend’s face on his laptop and blushes fiercely. 

“What do we have here killer? Must say those leather pants look spectacular and I always love you shirtless. I’m not so sure about the panda eyes look though.” Sebastian smirks. 

Blaine rolls his eyes fondly and takes the leather pants off. “Though I definitely prefer that look”.

Blaine smiles mischievously, “I know” then pulls on some sweats and a t shirt before sitting on his bed with his laptop and chuckles when he hears the huff of disappointment through his speakers.

Brittany skips back in, “Here you go narwhal” but instead of handing Blaine the wipes she takes the makeup off for him. “Night” and gives him a kiss on the cheek before turning to leave.

“Night Britt and thanks for your help” she smiles in return and closes the door behind her.

Sebastian’s voice comes through the speakers, “So what was I interrupting?”

“Oh nothing really, Brittany was just helping me try something for tomorrow’s performance. We’re taking a break from our National’s pieces this week then will just do final run-throughs next week before we jump on the plane Wednesday night. Sugar’s managed to get us a rehearsal space Thursday so we can do a dress run-through before competition Friday.”

“That’s a good idea killer. I know you all need to be on point but you don’t want to be over rehearsed.”

Blaine’s smile is all the reward Sebastian needs, “Exactly!”

“So what are you performing tomorrow?”

“Oh that’s a surprise, but I’ll get Artie to send you the video.”

Sebastian decides that he’ll surprise Blaine in return, “I count on it”

“How’s everything going? Did you get that assignment back?”

“I did” Sebastian smiles cockily

“And?”

“I got a 96”

Blaine feels a swell of pride, “That’s amazing Bas! I honestly don’t know how you do it”

“You say that as if you struggle at school killer”

“I know I don’t, but McKinley is easier, and you’re in a league of your own Bas, I could never get the results you do.”

Sebastian sighs playfully, “No, but no one else ever can” and then the cocky smile returns to his face causing Blaine to laugh. “So how are you doing? I’m sorry I’ve had to miss some of our calls recently.” Sebastian says guiltily, not wanting Blaine to think he’s being forgotten by another person.

“It’s okay Bastian. I know what Dalton gets like round finals. I saw how stressed Wes got in his senior year and it’s not like you haven’t been messaging me when you can. School’s fine…just going through the motions really. Most teachers have given up on lessons with exams round the corner and have told us we are and I quote, ‘responsible for our own learning’ and ultimately how we do. I know they’re right to a point but they could at least put on some revision sessions or something instead of just leaving everyone high and dry. There’s a reason why they don’t get paid as much as those in private schools.”

Sebastian’s eyes go wide with surprise at Blaine’s last comment, “Never thought I’d hear those words come out of your mouth killer; not that I don’t completely agree.”

“What can I say you’re rubbing off on me?” Blaine smiles shyly.

“If me rubbing off on you means you say what’s on your mind more, I’m all for it. And what about your final act as class president, how’s that going?” Blaine’s smile in that instant was anything but innocent, instead rather cocky with a hint of mischief. “From the look on your face I take it it’s all going to plan.”

“Better. The JBI network is down. No more blogs full of lies to try and cause trouble or graduation tickets being sold for $500. I know he’ll be graduating too this year but we really wanted to close him down before so he can’t like hand it over or something.”

“So Blam succeeded then”

“Well technically Nightbird and the Blonde Chameleon succeeded.”

“You are such a nerd” Sebastian says flatly but with hint of warmth.

Blaine flutters his eyelashes, “But you love me?” 

Sebastian chuckles in confirmation and rolls his eyes fondly, “Yes…I love you”

“Will I get to see you this weekend? Seeing as we aren’t flying back from LA until next Sunday; it will be nice to spend some time out there after the competition but we’re all going to be exhausted on Monday, but these flights were so much cheaper we didn’t have a choice. I can’t believe the week after that is finals week.”

“I know me neither. And yes you’ll see me this weekend…I’m taking you on a date Saturday”

“Oh are you now? And what if I’m busy?” Blaine asks cheekily

“The only thing you’ll be busy doing is sucking my cock with your hands tied behind your back if you carry on like that” Sebastian growls at Blaine causing him to breathlessly laugh. Tiredness takes over Blaine in that moment and he can’t help the big yawn that escapes. It’s then that Sebastian notices that it’s not traces of makeup left under Blaine’s eyes but dark circles, a clear sign that he’s more tired than he’s letting on. “You need to go to sleep killer”

“I’d rather talk to you” Blaine pouts

“I know, but you need to sleep, I’ll be seeing you Saturday and I need you in top condition”

Blaine smiles, “I love you”

“I love you too sap, now sleep”

As soon as the call ends Blaine drifts into a deep sleep.

XXXXXXX  
The next day Brittany has just finished helping Blaine and the other three boys with their outfits and, in Blaine’s case, makeup for their performance when her phone goes off with a message from Sebastian, ‘We’re here’ and she quickly types out a response, ‘Come to the auditorium’. The Warblers join the New Directions in the seats ready to see what Blaine and the guys have come up with.

Back stage Blaine peaks through a gap in the curtains and sees the Warblers sat amongst his glee club. He then spots Sebastian with his blazer undone and tie off settled next to Brittany and gulps. Sam comes up behind him, “Are you ready dude?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think I can do this today”

“Why?” Sam then follows Blaine’s sight line, “Oh…but you don’t have to be nervous; they’ll love it. Hey it’s all about impressing an audience right and now you have a bigger one that will be impressed.”

Jake and Ryder join them and they can tell Blaine seems nervous. “Come on man, you totally rocked it earlier, just do what you did then but now it will look even better as you have the costume to match” Jake tries

Blaine’s caught off guard slightly, he and Sam had been getting closer with Jake and Ryder but he never thought he’d get a complement that sounded sincere from either one of them, “You really think so?”

“Yeah, I wouldn’t put myself up there with you if I didn’t” and Blaine can believe that

“And you look hot” Ryder adds, causing the other three to look at him a little shocked.

“Erm thanks” Blaine replies

Matt, the band’s guitarist comes up behind them, “Hi guys, sorry I’m late”

“That’s okay” Blaine reassures him, “You still good to hand me your guitar?”

“Yeah, for the same point right?”

“Right” Blaine confirms

Sam messages Artie, who is doing the lighting for them that they’re ready.

The lights go out and all the guys find their places on the stage. Ryder’s playing the drums, which Blaine has been teaching him have been put centre stage, Jake on the bass, Sam and Matt on guitar and Blaine just in front of them. Blaine stands just in front of Ryder and the drum kit with his back to the audience with a wired microphone on a stand between him and them. Artie raises the lights to a dim when Jake starts the unmistakable rift of ‘I believe in a thing called love’. Blaine keeps his back to the audience until Ryder kicks in with the drums and Artie raises the lights, keeping the stage lit but everything else dark, including the edges of the stage, to give a slightly grungy feel. At that moment Blaine kicks out and turns to the audience, stalks up to the mic and grabs it with such control and ownership.

As soon as Sebastian sees what Blaine is wearing his mouth goes dry and his eyes boggle. Blaine’s wearing his black leather pants with a silver grey dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows and the buttons undone to just above his belly button, causing a deep plunging v. He’s got a long leather necklace round his neck, which disappears into the shirt and his eyes have been emphasised by eyeliner and a little mascara. His hair is also more ruffled than it would normally look, but in a completely sexy way. All of the girls are practically drooling as they watch him move around the stage domination and charge; at points taking the microphone off the stand and using its wire to his advantage as he moves.

A few stragglers from the school day wander into the auditorium to see what’s going on and soon there is a reasonable crowd consisting of many Cheerios, the general school body and even some teachers. Becky comes in and wanders down to stand right at the front of the stage, the performance doing nothing for her obsession with Blaine. He might be oblivious but even he’d picked up on Becky’s crush and he actually found her pursuit a little creepy.

When Blaine hits the high note in the middle of the song, the crowd are stunned. On queue Matt passes Blaine his guitar for the final guitar solo and disappears to the edge of the stage. When they finish everyone jumps to their feet and applause wildly. Blaine couldn’t be happier with how it went but when he notices all the extra audience members some of his bashfulness takes over. The boys on stage, including Matt exchange high fives before heading backstage. Blaine texts Brittany and Sebastian to tell them to get everyone in their glee clubs back to the choir room to finish up seeing as they had some extra audience members, that and he didn’t want to see Becky with the way she’d been looking at him.

On their way down Jake grabs hold of Ryder to have a private conversation with him, “What was with you telling Blaine he looks hot?”

“Well he does”

“I didn’t know you liked guys in that way”

“Come on even you can admit he looks good like that”

“Yeah I guess…okay fine he looks good…but there was something more about the way you said it.”

Ryder takes a deep breath then snaps, “Fine, I like girls and guys, happy?”

“Hey man come on, you know I don’t care about stuff like that. Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“I just didn’t want to be treated differently”

“Well you won’t be…and I won’t say anything to anyone okay…it’s up to you if and when you want to come out, but you should know none of us would ever judge you.”

“It’s not you guys I’m worried about”

“I get that but McKinley isn’t how is used to be…isn’t that what Blaine says? Like he doesn’t get any crap for being gay.” Jake notices the small smile that tugs at Ryder’s mouth at   
the mention of Blaine, “You actually like him don’t you? Like, you know like him.”

Ryder blushes slightly, “Yeah I do…he’s just been so great you know. He’s been helping me with my dyslexia like he does for Sam and Britt, and it actually works! No teacher’s been able to help me before. Then you know when I said I wanted to learn drums but couldn’t afford lessons so he offered to give them tos me and took me to a music shop he knows where they sell second hand instruments so I could actually afford my own. But I know he’s taken and he’ll be graduating soon anyway…it sucks.”

“Yeah it does, but think of it this way; you now have twice as many possibilities” Ryder rolls his eyes fondly and gives Jake a shove as they enter the choir room where everyone else has now congregated.

Blaine raises his eyebrows at the two, “Glad you could finally join us. Okay what did everybody think?”

“You guys rocked it…but particularly you Blaine” Tina blushes. Although she knew nothing was going to come of it she still had a crush on Blaine. It wasn’t as big but she’d reasoned he was always going to be that boy to her.

“Thanks Tay-Tay…Anyone else?”

“I didn’t know you could sing that high” Sugar comments

“Thanks…I think.” Blaine turns to Kitty, “What about you Kitty cat? Point proven?”

“Oh please you know it was so you can stop looking so smug. If we all bring it we should win so that’s exactly what we’ll do.”

At that point they are cut off by Becky’s voice piercing through, “GAY BLAINE!”

Blaine grabs Sam’s hoodie he’s holding and shrugs it on over his shirt. Sebastian notices the way his boyfriend grimaces before turning around with his show smile on, “Oh hi Becky”

Becky saunters up to Blaine, “Next time don’t run away from me” grabs his face and plants a kiss on his lips before turning around and walking back to the door, before she leaves she looks at Blaine again, “Call me hot stuff”.

Blaine visibly shudders before addressing everyone. “And on that note I think we should all go home.”

“Wait Blaine she’s still in the corridor” Marley tells him

Blaine sighs then looks to his boyfriend, “Meet me by my car?” and climbs out the window.

Sebastian looks to everyone else, “Okay what the hell was that?!” he demands

“Becky’s kind of obsessed with Blaine” Marley explains

“No kind of” Kitty scoffs

“That was really creepy” Thad comments

“Why hasn’t anyone done anything about it?” Jeff asks, “That was completely inappropriate.”

Tina shrugs her shoulders, “Becky’s Sue’s favourite, Blaine might be her second but not even he comes close to Becky. Basically she’s untouchable.”

“But she called him gay Blaine…so she knows he’s gay” Nick adds

Jake snorts, “Everyone knows Blaine’s gay but that doesn’t stop the girls from hoping they’ll be the one he might wake up and realise he’s actually straight for” he says as he clutches his heart mockingly.

“That’s true” Kitty muses, “Not that he has a clue”

“And on that note I’m going to see my boyfriend” Sebastian saunters out of the room quickly followed by Sam and Brittany. “What is it with you and having people obsess about   
you killer?” he teases as he approaches Blaine. Sam and Brittany slip into the backseat to give the couple a little privacy.

“It’s not funny Bas”

“No you’re right it’s not…she got a kiss before me” Blaine shudders again, “You’re too irresistible for your own good B” Sebastian then gives Blaine a kiss to wipe away any memory of Becky’s.

“I’m sorry”

“There’s no need for you to be sorry, but just because she’s Sue’s favourite doesn’t mean she should get away with forcing herself on you.”

“I know”

“Good. And for the record, you were amazing. I’ve never heard you sing like that before and I hope I get to see you in this outfit again, though in a more private setting” he growls.

Blaine puts his arms round Sebastian’s neck. “Hmmm I think I can arrange that”

“You better” Sebastian sighs, “I hate to do this but I’ve got a study group I’ve got to get back for.”

“Seriously Bas it’s fine. It was a nice surprise seeing you today.” Blaine gives him a kiss, “Oh…what should I wear Saturday?”

“Just dress casual and that’s all you’re getting no matter how much you pout at me.”

Blaine huffed then gave his boyfriend one last kiss before climbing into his car and driving home.


	43. The drive in

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This was inspired by quite possibly my all time favourite short Seblaine fanfic 'The Drive-In' by the amazing civillove.
> 
> If you haven't read it go and do so now! The link is below. I'd also like to say thank you one more time to civillove for letting me take and modify your fanfic to fit my story. I hope you approve of the final product! :)
> 
> http://archiveofourown.org/works/884582

It was probably one of the things Blaine loved most about dating Sebastian, walking out of his front door to see him leaning against his car with a small smile, one reserved only for him.

“Evening handsome” Blaine calls out as he walks towards his boyfriend.

“Evening killer,” Sebastian chuckles in reply, leaning down to give his boyfriend a kiss.

“So are you going to tell me where we’re going yet?” Blaine asks as Sebastian drives, but he just shakes his head, a grin fixed to his face. 

The sun was dipping just past the trees as Sebastian pulled his car into the park. Blaine hummed appreciatively at the crowd of people and cars alike as Sebastian tried to find the best spot to park, muttering about how he didn’t mind if he hit a few children who kept running in front of his car. Blaine could only smile, looking forward to cuddling up with Sebastian and watching old films, the gentle breeze giving him a sense of calm.

Sebastian turns off the engine and hears a baby gurgle, making him roll his eyes, “Who brings a baby to a drive in?”

“People with kids?” Blaine asks and unbuckles his seat belt to turn on his side to face his boyfriend. “I know it’s a hard concept for you to understand but parents like to go out and enjoy themselves every now and then too.”

A hint of a smile tugs on Sebastian’s face as he undoes he seatbelt and stretches, “Smartass”. Sebastian then pops the trunk to dig out blankets and a few random pillows, glancing around to make sure he set them up in a good spot. He looks up to see Blaine softly bouncing on the balls of his feet with excitement causing amusement to dance in his eyes.

They settle on the pile of pillows and blankets just in time to see the credits start to roll. “I love this movie” Blaine enthuses.

Sebastian pulls him tight to his chest and throws another blanket over the top of them, “I know you do”. Blaine makes a noise of contentment as he snuggles into Sebastian. An hour later the sun has fully set. Sebastian frowns as he sees Blaine tugging at the sleeves of his hoodie and putting the hood up, “You’re the only person I know who gets cold in sixty-five degree weather.”

Blaine huffs, “It is a little bit chilly” and wraps himself a little tighter in the blanket.

Sebastian smiles softly; his eyes shining from the bit of light coming off the screen’s intermission break commercials. “Want me to warm you up?”

His hands slip under the covers and slide between Blaine’s thighs, which close tightly round his wrist so he can’t go any further. “You’re the worst, there are children literally a foot away” Blaine warns him.

Sebastian rolls his eyes and lets out a breath through his nose, yanking his hand out before kissing the corner of Blaine’s mouth, “And here I thought exhibitionism was one of your kinks”.

Blaine feels his face light up in a brilliant red flush that spreads to the tips of his ears, “You’re the worst” he repeats grumbling.

“Don’t I know it” Sebastian grins proudly.

“Think you can behave for ten minutes while I go to the concession stand to see if they have coffee?”

Sebastian leans over and nips along the shell of Blaine’s right ear, “Want me to get it?” he rubs his forearm with his fingertips as he keeps kissing his jaw.

Blaine smiles into the kisses, “No, it’s okay, I’ll get it” and turns his head so that one of Sebastian’s kisses lands square on his mouth.

“Trickster” Sebastian glares playfully

Blaine points at his chest, “Behave yourself”

Sebastian shrugs, a glint in his eyes that causes something warm to pool in Blaine’s belly and shoot lower, “I make no promises. You better hurry up before I get myself into trouble.”

Blaine rolls his eyes and goes to stand, a squeak of protest leaving his mouth as Sebastian reaches up in one smooth motion to wrap his arms around his waist and tugs him onto his lap. Sebastian kisses him, causing a small whimper to leave his lips when the taller starts to pull back, Blaine’s mouth trying to follow, making Sebastian chuckle, “Easy killer…Just a little motivation.”

Blaine sighs, cheeks flushing, “Motivation for what exactly?”

Sebastian hums, playing with the strings on Blaine’s hoodie, “For you to get back here in a timely fashion.”

Blaine laughs then steps over the taller boy to start his walk to the concession stand. The line was mostly dead by the time he gets there, “Do you have coffee?” he asks when he can’t see it on the menu.

The cashier shakes his head, “No but we have hot chocolate”

Blaine smiles politely at the boy behind the register, “One hot chocolate then please”

The guy, Robert, according to his name tag, goes to type in Blaine’s request when a bell signals that an order’s ready. He smiles at Blaine and tells him to hold on for a moment before turning around to grab a tray of hot dogs and bags of popcorn.

Blaine notices it before Robert does, the corner of the tray is going to hit the cash register and most likely knock everything onto the floor. Robert seems too preoccupied with balancing the tray than paying attention to where his body is in terms of other objects he might bump into. Blaine’s hand shoots out as the corner of the tray nicks into the cash register, Robert making a small panicked noise as the contents of the tray would have ended up on the floor if Blaine hadn't grabbed the other end to stabilize everything.

Robert lets out a breath and looks over at Blaine, who is blushing and smiling sheepishly before pulling his hand back. "Wow, thank you so much…I'm really clumsy, that would have been my third drop this week." Robert calls out to a woman waiting, smiling as she picks up the tray before turning back to Blaine.

"Oh," Blaine realizes he hadn't said anything to Robert's comment, "No problem…really."

"You have fast hands," Robert chuckles, "You play ball?"

Blaine shakes his head. "No, I used to be on a little league team when I was seven but it never stuck. My brother kind of took the thrill out of it by harassing me that my stance was always wrong."

Robert smirks and bites his lower lip, eyes dipping down to follow the shape of Blaine's form. "That's too bad...you'd probably be a good catcher." His blue eyes flicker up to hazel ones and the curly haired boy swallows as he realizes the conversation has just taken a turn into something else.

Blaine tries to stop the flush from spreading across his cheeks and onto the tips of his ears and clears his throat, deciding to give Robert the benefit of the doubt. "Umm, well...I was actually a pretty a good batter too, but I sucked at outfield and running the bases so my coach told me I would probably serve the team best as a catcher." He sounded like such an idiot, stuttering and trying to avoid conversation but only digging himself even deeper into it making Robert's eyes sparkling with amusement at Blaine stumbling over himself.

"Yeah, I bet." Robert replies and moves to the cash register once again, "So one hot chocolate?"

Blaine nods and goes to put his money into Robert's hand but the boy shakes his head and digs out money from his own wallet, feeding it into the mouth of the cash register. "It's on me; consider it payment for saving my job."

"I can't let you..."

"You can, it's already done." Robert closes the register with his hip, turning around to grab a cup and fill it with hot chocolate. Blaine glances behind him towards the field where Sebastian's waiting, probably driving himself crazy with boredom.

Blaine hears Robert clear his throat and turns back to look at him, the boy leaning on the counter with his elbows with the cup of hot chocolate in one of his hands. "Thank you." Blaine goes to take the cup but Robert pulls it back at the last moment, leaving Blaine's palm open, cool breeze kissing the skin as it blew around them, rustling trees and clothing.

Robert smiles, "Can I get your name? Seems only fair since mine is plastered on my shirt and I'm paying for your hot chocolate."

Blaine sighs, starting to get a little annoyed, he’d just wanted a hot drink to help warm him up, maybe he should have taken Sebastian up on his offer, though in his car, "It's Blaine."

Robert hums and pushes the cup across the counter into Blaine's hand, his fingers ghosting over the soft skin on the back and tracing one of his knuckles. "You're cute when you blush, Blaine." His name sounds wrong coming out of Robert’s lips, his heart aching in his chest to go straight to his boyfriend. Blaine can only blush darker in response, his body's natural reaction to compliments.

Robert just laughs and moves back from him, Blaine's fingers curling around the cup and squeezing so hard that he thought the liquid might spill over and burn his hand. "Must be my lucky day, I love a guy who's modest." Robert says as his eyes roam over Blaine’s body once again.

"Yeah, his boyfriend does too." Blaine's back straightens as he feels an arm wrap around his lower waist, tugging him into his side as if his presence and tone of voice wasn't enough. "It's probably the main reason why Blaine hasn't told you to fuck off yet."

Blaine’s eyes widen. "Sebastian" he scolds but can't stop a little thrill of a flutter from passing through his heart or a smile from tugging at the corners of his lips.

"Your boyfriend" Robert stands up and adjusts his shirt, his voice forming around the words that aren't posed as a question.

Sebastian hums in response, his fingers dipping along Blaine's side and rubbing at the skin there, making him relax at his touch.

Robert glances at Blaine before scoffing, crossing his arms over his chest. "Well, maybe you should tell your boyfriend that he shouldn't be flirting like he's easy."

Blaine's mouth falls open, a sharp noise leaving his chest at the accusation. He goes to defend himself but Sebastian beats him to it, anger emulating from the taller beside him as he leans forward to encroach on Robert's space.

"Go head and say my boyfriend is a tease one more time and see what happens."

Blaine turns and pulls on Sebastian's arm, leaving the hot chocolate on the counter; he really didn’t feel like drinking it anymore anyway. "Come on, let's go." He says softly, trying to catch his boyfriend's attention before something happened...like Sebastian knocking Robert on his ass.

"Knowing Blaine," Sebastian continues, shaking Blaine off of him. "He probably was just being polite so you didn't come across as such an asshole, which obviously didn't work."

He lets Blaine pull him away then, but not before snagging a bag of popcorn near the cash register and eating a handful, telling him 'you'll have to fill up another bag there, Abercrombie'. Blaine felt a smile tug on the ends of his mouth, his hand lacing the fingers of Sebastian's that weren't holding a bag of half eaten popcorn and covered in butter. When they make it back to their car, Sebastian doesn’t sit back down on the blankets. Instead he lets go of Blaine's hand to climb into the backseat, the car door slamming with a deafening sound.

Blaine stands there a moment, shifting on the balls of his feet, not sure whether Sebastian wants his company or not but then decides he doesn’t care and opens the other car door, sliding in next to him and closing the door with a much softer sound. It was silent except for Sebastian's breathing and the soft muffled noises of the movie that played outside. Everything sort of smelled like a combination of popcorn and the distinguished cologne Sebastian wears, Blaine's fingers itching to touch him as they rested on his lap. The popcorn Sebastian had stolen was long abandoned on the console between the two front seats, the taller leaning back into the cushions and avoiding his boyfriend's gaze.  
"You're mad at me." It wasn't a question and he wasn't exactly sure but he didn't want to sound like he couldn't tell Sebastian was upset.

Sebastian scoffs, running his fingers through his hair. "For a douchebag realizing you're hot and hitting on you?" He finally looks at him, the colour of his eyes muted by the darkness of the car, soft white and grey lights dancing between them from the jumbo screen. "Why would that mean I'm mad at you?"

Blaine shrugs, he doesn’t know, but takes the opportunity to move closer to him. "But you are mad."

Sebastian makes a noise that sounds like a hum and a smirk at the same time. "Let's just say that you might not be into violence, anymore" he adds teasingly before continuing, "but I have no problem with it, and nothing quite delivers a message more than a punch to the face."

"Sebastian." Blaine scolds playfully and can't help but smile and shake his head, settling his chin on the other's shoulder.

It takes a moment but Sebastian moves, shifting so that his arm is around Blaine's back and pulling him closer. Blaine joins his boyfriend on the one side of the car, moving his legs so that they are laced and pressed into his Sebastian’s, one arm settles around his stomach, nose pressing into the soft skin of his neck.

Sebastian sighs, his hand moving up Blaine's back to lace his fingers through his curls, stroking them lightly, gently tugging them as his boyfriend's breath tickles his neck. He swallows, opening his mouth to speak and Blaine pulls back a little so he can look up at him. 

"I just...I caught the tail end of it. I knew you were uncomfortable, your back was so tense I could practically see the muscles strain under your hoodie from where our car was..." He's quiet for a moment, muffled noises from the film and Sebastian's breathing mixing with Blaine's. "But I also saw you blush and his fingers on your hand, tracing your skin and I..."

Sebastian stops there, which is fine, he didn't have to continue. Blaine knew. "You were jealous" he says softly.

"No," Sebastian counters maybe a bit too fast, which makes his reaction obvious. He rolls his eyes when he realizes his mistake. "Alright, maybe a little..." He finally admits, sighing as he runs a hand over his face. 

Blaine lifts his head and smiles softly, kissing along his jaw and letting his lips linger on his skin. "Sebastian, you were jeaaaalous" he sing-songs, making the taller grunt before a breathy laugh falls from his lips.

"Shut up."

"Jelly belly, Bas" Blaine teases, poking Sebastian’s stomach.

He doesn't get to say it again as Sebastian turns on him, his fingers digging into Blaine's sides to tickle him mercilessly. Blaine laughs loudly, trying to squirm away from Sebastian in the small confines of the car, the melodic sound filling the space and bouncing around.

Sebastian doesn't stop until Blaine begs him; the taller boy now straddling his boyfriend’s waist, having to duck his head so it doesn’t hit the car roof.

Blaine pants, his hands resting on Sebastian's hips, thumbs pressing into the bones through the fabric of his clothes. Sebastian leans down and kisses along his throat, making a soft moan echo in Blaine’s chest. The shorter huffs softly, squeezing his boyfriend’s hips to tell him to stop before they start something they can't help but finish.

"I just don't like guys touching things that aren't theirs." Sebastian says simply, flipping them over so Blaine is straddling him, his legs bent at the knees and acting as a backrest for his boyfriend.

"I am, you know." 

"Hmm?" Sebastian asks, his hands holding Blaine’s hips with his thumbs creeping under his clothes, stroking the soft skin below.

Blaine smiles and leans down kissing Sebastian gently, "Yours" He replies softly against his lips.

Sebastian rolls his eyes fondly as he kisses Blaine's forehead and opens the door behind him a crack for a little fresh air as one hand finds his boyfriend’s curls and starts playing with them, twisting them around his fingers. Neither can see the movie anymore but they don’t care, Blaine feels completely peaceful resting on Sebastian’s body with one of his hands hand in his hair and the other travelling up and down his back. 

Half an hour later and the park staff switch on the fairy lights in the trees for the audience, a hushed murmur spreading across the crowd. The light wakes Blaine from where he was dozing on Sebastian’s chest, body still bent over. He knew the movie well enough that it didn’t matter if he missed a bit and the steady thump of Sebastian’s heartbeat next to his ear combined with the warmth of his body was so incredibly soothing.

“Hey sleepyhead,” Sebastian whispers as Blaine lifts his head a little when the lights go on. Blaine hums softly in response, blinking a few times before turning to look at Sebastian, their noses bumping softly, their warm breath fanning across each other’s lips. Blaine closes the gap and they kiss slowly, Sebastian gripping on the back of Blaine’s neck tightly, his fingers tangling in the curls at the nape.

They were both a little breathless when they pulled back a few moments later, their eyes sparkling in the dim light. “Remember when you said you’d be terrible at doing all the little boyfriend things?” Blaine whispers; gazing at Sebastian fondly who nods in response, “Well I think you’re doing great” Blaine grins leaning in for another kiss before continuing, “And I think you should drive us somewhere.”

Sebastian raises an eyebrow, “Oh really? And what kind of somewhere am I driving us to?”

Blaine shrugs and blushes slightly, “Somewhere quiet…maybe to the lake?”

“And why would we go there?” Sebastian smirks

“I know you can feel why” Blaine grumbles embarrassedly into Sebastian’s neck

“So you’re going to let me finally have my wicked way with you in the back of my car?” Sebastian teases excitedly.

“Not if you carry on like that” Blaine grumps and sits up, but Sebastian forces him back down and kisses him passionately.

“But what if I carry on like that?” Sebastian asks as he breaks the kiss

“It’s a start” Blaine grins mischievously 

“Then what are we waiting for killer? Come on” Sebastian shifts so Blaine’s no longer on top of him and gets out the car to gather all the blankets and cushions, throwing them in the trunk before Blaine can even get into the passenger’s seat. When Sebastian settles in the driver’s seat and fastens his belt he looks at his boyfriend, “I love you”.

The sincerity in his eyes makes Blaine heart a little and he can’t help but lean over and give Sebastian a chaste kiss, “I love you too Bastian.” Sebastian smiles softly then starts the car, carefully driving out of the park before opening up once they get on the freeway, heading back to a spot he knew would most likely be deserted at the lake in the park he’d taken Blaine to the day they shared their first time together. Blaine smiles when he realises where they are, “I always knew you were a romantic at heart” he teases as he climbs into the back seat.

“Shut-up” Sebastian says as he follows and pinches Blaine’s hip and starts removing their clothes, mouths crashing together as they revel at the feeling of skin on skin. Sebastian leans forward and grabs a new bottle of lube and a condom from his centre console.

“Planning this much?” Blaine smirks

“You know I always like to be prepared B…I’m your boy scout remember?” Sebastian lifts Blaine’s legs and throws them over his shoulders. “God I love how flexible you are” he growls and leans down to kiss Blaine as he coats his fingers, pushing two in at once, making Blaine moan with a mixture of pleasure and pain. “Sorry” Sebastian says as he sucks at the sensitive spot below Blaine’s ear.

“No you’re not” Blaine laughs breathily as he tilts his head to give his boyfriend better access. 

“Maybe I am a little bit” Sebastian adds a third finger, scissoring to stretch his boyfriend before hooking his fingers, stroking Blaine’s prostate and making his back arch highly. “You ready killer?” Sebastian asks, knowing he’s been quicker than normal with the prep. 

“Fuck yes…hurry up” Blaine moans then looks questioningly at Sebastian as he rolls a condom on.

“Didn’t think you’d want to be sat in a wet patch for the drive home…plus I don’t want to ruin the leather.” Sebastian winks.

Blaine’s eyes widen and he laughs with shock, “You’re such an asshole”.

Sebastian leans down to kiss him, the tip of his cock brushing against Blaine’s hole, “You love my asshole”, then pushes in fully with one smooth movement, “But…maybe not as much as I love yours.” 

Blaine frowns, “I hate you”  
Sebastian chuckles as he starts thrusting still leaning down so Blaine’s legs are against his chest, “No you don’t…in fact…you’re quite…fond of me.” He stutters between thrusts, then kisses Blaine messily before leaning back and lifting Blaine’s hips to change the angle, so he’s hitting his prostate with every stroke and picks up the pace.

It's not long until Blaine moans loudly, his eyes rolling to the back of his head, “Bastian!”

“Close killer…stroke yourself for me”. Blaine spits on his palm then reaches down and starts pumping his cock in time with Sebastian’s thrusts, twisting on the downwards strokes and flicking over the head on the up. Sebastian can see and feel that Blaine’s on the edge, “Come on B…come for me.” Blaine lets go and bites on his own bicep to muffle his moan. The tightening of his muscles sends Sebastian over the edge and he bites the inside of Blaine’s thigh hard, making him cry out a little with pain before collapsing on top of him.

“You’re heavy” Blaine huffs when his boyfriend hasn’t moved 5 minutes later.

“And you’re a rubbish pillow…stop moving”

“I know you think I’m a good pillow” Blaine kisses the top of Sebastian’s head and rubs his back. 

Sebastian practically purrs with contentment before lifting off Blaine and slowly pulling out, wrinkling his nose as he takes the condom off, “Why did we use this again?” he looks at it disgruntledly.

Blaine coughs out a scandalised laugh, “Because you didn’t want to ruin your leather?!”

Sebastian smiles, “Oh yeah…if I go to use one next time tell me to stop being such an idiot.”

“Who says there will be a next time?”

“You make it sound like you didn’t enjoy yourself.”

“I more than enjoyed myself”

“I know” Sebastian waggles his eyebrows before grabbing some tissues to clean their bodies up.

“Did you though?” Blaine asks a little nervously…”I mean…you didn’t look too happy just now” and bites his lower lip.

Sebastian smiles then leans down to kiss Blaine, slotting between his legs, “It was unbelievable killer…you take my breath away every time…I was just frustrated I couldn’t stay where I was for longer.”

Blaine hums happily, “Do you want to stay over tonight? I know you’ve got to be at Dalton tomorrow to study but you’ll be cutting close to curfew to get back now.”

“Of course I want to stay” Sebastian nuzzles at Blaine’s neck and notices him shiver with a chill. “Come on killer…the quicker we get back to yours the quicker we can have proper naked cuddles…oh and I’m sorry in advance for your thigh…I bit you.”

“Yeah I kind of noticed” Blaine chuckles, “But why are you sorry?”

“Wait till you see the mark” Sebastian smirks and Blaine looks down to see teeth marks clearly carved in his skin, a deep purple bruise already forming.

“My gym shorts better cover that on Monday”

“I’m kind of hoping they won’t”

“You would!” Blaine playfully swats his boyfriend before they both get dressed then head back to Blaine’s for the night.


	44. Don't mess with him

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bit nervous about this one, not sure why, i just am!

“Hey dude, don’t worry, everything is going to be fine” Sam reassures Blaine as they head to the locker room for gym class on Monday, knowing that Blaine, who usually deals with whatever scenario is thrown at him, is actually getting stressed.

“That would be much easier to believe if you weren’t stressing out too Sam” Blaine sighs, “It’s just we fly out for Nationals in two days! I don’t get how it’s come around so fast and I’m really starting to freak out that my arrangements aren’t good enough for us.”

“Musically they’re harder than last years” Sam tries to reassure as they both start getting changed

“I know it’s just…”

“I get it man, I do…this year, despite what everyone is saying, it feels like it’s all on us, and in some ways it kind of is.”

“Exactly” Sam gives Blaine a hug when they’re both changed, needing the comfort himself too.

“So is that your work Evans?” Jamie, one of the Hockey players in their class sneers

“What do you want Jamie?” Sam says tiredly 

“To know if that’s your work” he says gesturing to Blaine’s thigh this time

Blaine closes his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose, he’s stressed and tired so has a seriously low tolerance and the last thing he needs to do is lash out and be suspended for fighting. 

“Oi Evans, I asked you a question” Jamie sneers again when Sam and Blaine both ignore him.

Blaine slams his locker closed and turns to face Jamie, “For someone who does what he can to come across as a completely homophobic asshole, you’re taking a lot of interest as to how I got that bruise. Are you sure you’re not the one who wants to share something?”

“Watch it Anderson” Jamie threatens, stepping forward to tower over Blaine

Blaine smiles in anything but a friendly way, “You’re forgetting one crucial piece of information”

“What?”

“I’m not scared of you…you should also know, the bigger they are, the harder they fall”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean”

“I’ll leave it to you to figure out”

Blaine then turns to head out to the field with Sam.

“You okay man?” Sam asks when they’re alone again, “You don’t normally react to him when he plays up.”

“I know I shouldn’t have then…it’s just with everything else…” Blaine trails off and sighs

“Hey, I know you’re a little ninja at heart and would never use your powers for bad, but even ninjas have days where their fuses are short dude…don’t worry about it.” Sam throws his arm over Blaine’s shoulder.

“You boys okay?” Coach Bieste asks telling something is off

“Yeah…just tired and worrying about Nationals” Blaine replies and Sam nods in agreement

For the rest of gym class Blaine has to put up with some of the guys making comments. Some of the girls make their own as they run passed but theirs are more focused on how they think it looks hot and that they wish they could leave a mark like that on him. 

They’ve just got back into the changing rooms when Jamie starts again, “You think you’re something real special don’t you Anderson?”

“No” Blaine replies flatly as he opens his locker

“Sure you do, all the girls are after you even though you’re a queer”

Blaine sighs, “Whatever”

Jake and Ryder enter the changing rooms, having gym class next and immediately both notice the tense situation, Blaine purposefully ignoring Jamie, Sam ready to jump in at any moment, so make their way over.

“What’s the problem?” Jake asks

“Anderson thinks he’s something special here because all the girls want a go at leaving their own mark on him.” Blaine just rolls his eyes in response this time as Jake and Ryder both notice the mark on his thigh, the bruise making something knot in Ryder’s stomach, particularly as he now knows it was Blaine all the girls were talking about like that down the corridor.

Blaine gently closes his locker then turns around, “Look, there’s a reason why none of the other guys are backing you up” he says to Jamie, gesturing round the locker room where not even Jamie’s friends are supporting his behaviour. “All you’re proving is that unfortunately there are still small minded bigots around. Maybe you should consider that that’s the reason why none of the girls will even give you a second look rather than trying to blame it on me.”

“Just back off…you’re not proving anything” Ryder says as he sees Blaine getting increasingly frustrated and had also picked up on the fact he was starting to stress out with Nationals and finals coming up, plus the look of anger that dances in Jamie’s eyes, clearly wanting a fight. 

“Oooo maybe it was you who left the mark” Jamie teases

Jake quickly steps in knowing Ryder isn’t quite ready to come out yet and that this shouldn’t be the way for it to happen, “Or it could have been me right? No doubt you’ve already accused Sam. Just because we’re friends with someone who’s gay doesn’t mean we are too, you do realise people of differing sexual orientations can be friends.”

“I think the real issue here is that Blaine’s the most popular guy in school, is likely to get valedictorian and could date pretty much anyone he wanted so let me take a not so wild guess…you think if you put on some display and prove yourself against Blaine then all that attention would go to you. Actually it would make the student body turn against you even more. Like Blaine said, there’s a reason why nobody else is backing you up.” Sam says as he steps forward. 

Blaine turns his back to Jamie again, completely bored of the situation, but it means he doesn’t see the punch that’s coming towards him. The first thing he knows about it is when Ryder jumps in front of him and goes clattering down. Blaine immediately leaps into action, stopping Jake or Sam from getting into a fight and twists Jamie’s arms behind his back so he has no control and marches him down the corridor to Sue’s office, humiliating Jamie in front of the student body.

“What do you have for me here young Burt Reynolds?” Sue says nonchalantly though she can tell Blaine’s angry, something she’d never really seen from him before.

“Jamie just punched Ryder to the ground in the changing rooms”

“You can let go of his arms now” Sue tells Blaine, so he slowly releases them, “Is this true ugly hockey player number three?”

“Yes but it’s not my fault he got in the way, I didn’t mean to hit him” Jamie replies as if that somehow makes it okay.

“Then who did you mean to hit?”

“Blaine” Jamie blurts out, not even thinking

Sue’s eyes darken and narrow, “young Burt Reynolds, I want you to go and make sure Ryder has been taken to the nurse…who else was with you?”

“Jake and Sam…there were other guys in the locker rooms too.”

Sue writes a note, “Take this to Coach Bieste, I need a statement from all of you, but only ask for Ryder’s after he’s been to the nurse…now go and get changed.”

Blaine just nods then backs out the room, he can tell Sue’s got a plan and knew better than to hang around or question her when she got that look in her eyes.

When he gets back to the changing room Coach Bieste has got everyone sat down on the benches as Ryder holds some ice to his face. Blaine passes her the note, as instructed she sends Ryder to the nurse with Blaine accompanying him before getting statements from everyone else’s.

“How are you doing man?” Blaine asks as they sit in the nurse’s office.

“I’m okay”

“Are you sure, you took a pretty big hit, though I guess it looks like it grazed off your jaw” Blaine says as he looks closely at the sight of impact, making Ryder’s breath hitch slightly.

“Yeah he didn’t make good contact…how could you tell?”

“I didn’t only used to box with a punch bag” Blaine smiles

“Oh cool”

“Thank you though…for you know stepping in. I didn’t see it coming at all.”

“Well you wouldn’t…I can’t believe he actually went to hit you when you had your back turned…that’s just cowardly and weak.”

“Tell me about it” Blaine smiles sadly, Ryder not understanding the implications for the shorter boy. “But still, you didn’t have to step in and put yourself at risk for me, so thank you.”

“Anytime, you’ve done so much for me this year Blaine, you mean a lot to me” Ryder admits carefully, but of course Blaine is oblivious.

“You’re a really good friend to me too Ryder” Blaine says sincerely, not having a clue as to what Ryder was actually trying to say.

“Oh yeah” Ryder says a little disappointed before gathering himself, “School’s going to be so much harder again next year.”

“Well it doesn’t have to be, one of the main things is having your work sheets put on that pale blue paper, and you know if you do struggle I’ll still try and do what I can to help, it will just be remotely.”

“Thanks Blaine” Ryder smiles at the impossibly beautiful and oblivious boy sat in front of him. “Are you okay though? It was quite a nasty bruise on your leg; you’re not in any trouble are you?” Ryder asks, though deep down he already knows what kind of mark it was.

Blaine blushes a little and fidgets, “Yeah…umm…I’m okay, it was nothing bad…just…yeah” he squirms and that’s all Ryder needs for the suspicions to be confirmed.

The nurse comes in and hands an ice pack to Ryder, “You’re lucky the blow obviously grazed off your jaw, keep the ice on until it melts to help any bruising, but you should be fine by the time it gets to your competition.”

“Thank you” Ryder replies and stands up

“Come on…we need to go see Sue” Blaine tells him and guides him out of the office by the elbow, the contact making Ryder’s heart race a little.

Between all the statements agreeing that Jamie was after Blaine and would have attacked him while his back was turned if it wasn’t for Ryder, Sue of course found a way to get him out of the school, even though no real damage had been done. Long gone were the days were bullies were given benefit of the doubt though, particularly when it came to her favourites. 

“Do I even want to know how you managed to get him out of here so quickly? I know you’d have done it in a way his family won’t be able to appeal to the board of governors.”  
Blaine asks Sue after Ryder’s been dismissed from her office and told to get to class, though he’d be benched for the rest of gym.

“Some things you’re better off not knowing” she says as she leans back in her chair

Blaine smiles, “I thought as much”

“Though I have to ask where you learned to disable someone as quickly and as effectively as you did.”

“Some things you’re better off not knowing” Blaine smirks slightly, parroting Sue’s words from a moment earlier.

She smiles and nods a little in approval, “Very well…now get out of my sight”

That evening Sam, Brittany and Blaine order takeout. None of them can be bothered to cook, all having plenty of studying to do and going over the details again for their trip to LA, making sure nothing has been forgotten about or missed.

“Is the copy of our entry form there Britt?” Blaine asks as he’s going over the paper work.

“Check” Brittany replies

When the door goes Blaine grabs the money from the side and goes to answer, but instead of a delivery driver, it’s his boyfriend who’s holding the bags of food.

“Bas? What are you doing here? And where’s the delivery driver?”

“I paid him…and I’m here because I want to talk to you about today”

“I don’t really have time…and it’s not as if you do either. I know what Dalton’s work load is like at this point in the year” Blaine says as he takes the food and heads back to the kitchen.

“Wow, that’s a lot of paperwork” Sebastian comments as he enters the room and sees Brittany and Sam sat at the large table.

“Now you know why I don’t have time to do this tonight” Blaine snaps making Sam and Brittany share a glance before looking at Sebastian and letting him know it’s not him.

Blaine grabs cutlery and hands out the food, “Do you want some Bastian?”

“No thanks; I ate before I came over” the taller then sits at the table with the other three.

“Okay, Britt, do you have the insurance documents there?” Blaine asks after having a mouthful of food.

“Are these the ones?” the blonde says as she passes him a pile of papers

“Yep” Blaine then sits and checks off everyone’s name after making sure there’s an insurance document for each person, he then passes them to Sam after making sure they’re in alphabetical order. “Sam can you put those behind the blue divider”

“No problem man” Sam puts the paper work into the folder behind the divider and goes to write on the contents page, “How do you spell insurance?”

“Tell me how you think” Blaine replies

“In…so I, N”

“Yep”

“Surance…so S, U, R”

“Yep”

“E?”

“Nope…there’s no e like there is in ‘sure’, though it doesn sound the same so it would make sense…the rest of the word is spelt like it sounds though, if you think of it like dance”

“So rance…R, A, N, then C like in dance, not an S, and E”

“Perfect” Blaine smiles and Sam smiles at his best friend once again helping him without making him feel like an idiot and writes the rest of the word down.

“So are you going to ignore me?” Sebastian asks, “Or are you going to let me help so you’re done quicker”

Blaine relents, his stubbornness grows when he’s tired but he’s knows his boyfriend is right, “Can you check everyone in online for our flight? Our details are just there” he says gesturing to his laptop and a piece of paper with the relevant information on.

Sebastian gets to it as the other three continue to eat and sort through paperwork. “Do you want me to print the boarding passes off killer?”

“Please” so Sebastian goes to the office. By the time he’s returned the other three have finished eating and have compiled the colour coordinated folder.

“Here you go B” 

“Thanks” Blaine replies and slips the boarding passes into a plastic wallet behind a red divider at the front. “Shit, was there any allergy or medical stuff we needed to put in” Blaine says and goes to the section with their permission slips, his of course with a forged signature. “Man I’m an idiot; we need to formally make a note of Sugar’s Asperger’s and Ryder’s penicillin allergy.” Blaine grabs his laptop and starts frantically typing, creating an official template as he pulls the document together. When he’s finished he doesn’t say anything but just stands up and goes to the office to print it out. When he comes back he silently glues the sheet into the back of the folder, adding tape to the corners to help keep it secure, before standing back and rubbing his eyes. 

“Why are you three doing this?” Sebastian asks, “Surely Mr Schuester should be the one to sort it all out as he is the teacher on this trip”

“Who knows jack shit about anything since they’ve changed the entry forms since last year and barely knows any of us, so won’t know about allergies and would probably forget to do everything else. The only thing he has to do is double check the booking with the hotel as they insist on having a teacher do it for students staying for the competition, and he wouldn’t give us his registered teacher’s number to do it.” Blaine replies shortly

“I think you need to take a break killer” Sebastian says firmly but fairly, knowing Blaine’s not been sleeping well and is getting stressed with nationals and the impending finals.

“No what I need is to do my math homework that’s due tomorrow” With that Blaine heads upstairs, taking the folder with him.

“It’s not you pretty bird, he’s just got a lot on” Brittany reassures

“And he’s not sleeping” Sam adds

“I know…now do either of you have any more insight as to what happened today with Jamie?” Sebastian asks

“Ah man who told you about that?” Sam asks

“Kitty let it slip when I called her about something; she obviously thought he’d told me”

Sam then went into everything that happened and that was said to Blaine that he heard, both by the guys and girls, how Ryder stepped in and how Blaine took Jamie to Sue, who somehow managed to get rid of him and everything in between. 

“Okay…thanks Sam” Sebastian then heads upstairs and finds Blaine frowning at his text book, looking close to snapping the pencil in his hand if he tightened his grip any further, his knuckles turning white. “Can I help?”

“I don’t know. The teacher didn’t even know how to do this stupid thing.” Sebastian walks over to his boyfriend and places his hands on his shoulders and reads the question then looks at what Blaine has done so far, “You’re nearly there B, you’re one more step away from getting the answer, see you’ve already balanced the equation, you just need to swap these two factors around to find the value of the one you’re looking for.”

Blaine looks at the paper for a moment, “Oh yeah…thank you” and writes the answer down. It doesn’t take him long to work through the rest of the questions, Sebastian helping him on the two harder ones at the end, having actually been taught how to do such things and, of course, a weirdly natural affinity for the subject.

When Blaine’s finished Sebastian pulls his chair back and spins him around before pulling him up and to the bed where they both sit down, Blaine cuddling into his boyfriend’s body, “So are you going to talk to me about what happened today?”

“It sounds like you already know what happened”

“But I’d like to hear it from you” Sebastian says and kisses the top of Blaine’s head.

Blaine then goes on to recount everything from his point of view, “So you see it was nothing really, it just got to me more because of the pressure of everything else…if Ryder hadn’t stepped in it could have been a lot worse though.”

“Of course he’d step in” Sebastian scoffs

“Bas don’t…he’s just a friend”

“Who’s into you”

“He’s straight, and even if he’s not then surely it doesn’t matter if he's into me or not, I’m with you! I love you! Do you not trust me to be able to resist any guy who gives me attention or something?”

“Hey…that’s not fair…you know I trust you” Sebastian says firmly, leaving no doubt.

Blaine groans and rubs his eyes again, “You’re right…I’m sorry. I just feel exhausted and I kind of get a short fuse when I feel like this”

“I hadn’t noticed” Sebastian deadpans sarcastically

“Very funny” Blaine scowls playfully before moving to straddle his boyfriend’s lap, “You should be glad he stepped in though, even if it is because he has a crush or something, because if he didn’t there’s a good chance he’d have hit me right on the back of my head considering where his punch landed on Ryder.”

“I’ll be sure to thank him then…while reminding him that you’re all mine” Sebastian leans forward and kisses Blaine, “I didn’t think you’d been having any problems though B”

Blaine shrugs, “I haven’t…it was just Jamie trying to be big man on campus, but it back fired massively. There are now posters with his face on up saying, ‘Don’t go the way of ugly hockey player number 3…graduate instead', up all over the school”

Sebastian laughs, “Sue?”

“Of course”

“I’m sorry though that what I did gave you so much grief.”

“You mean biting me that hard in a place that can’t always be covered?” Blaine raises an eyebrow.

“Maybe…the thought that people could see it still turns me on, particularly given some of the things that people were saying about you killer, knowing they want you but that you’re all mine does something for me.”

“I can tell” Blaine smirks

“But, the thought that it made you a target, that I don’t like…and I am sorry for.”

“I appreciate that Bastian, but it would have been something else if it hadn’t been the mark. He’s just a bigot who couldn’t get over the fact that being gay or a member of the glee club doesn’t make you the number one target anymore, or that there isn’t a jock dominated hierarchy as much since Sue took over and has actually really done something about bullying, even if her methods are questionable, they work and she actually gets rid of the right people.”

“So…if I were to leave another mark like that you wouldn’t mind?” Sebastian asks wiggling his eyebrows.

Blaine laughs, “Maybe wait until after Nationals”

“That I can do, but considering I came all this way to make sure you’re okay, and have helped get your paperwork organised and helped with your maths homework, do I get a reward?”

Blaine moves off Sebastian’s lap before leaning in close to whisper, “Lock the door” and laughs at how quickly Sebastian crosses his room to do just that.

Later, Blaine’s just got out the shower and has changed for bed when there’s a knock on his half open door, he turns and smiles, “Hey Britt…are you okay?”

“Yeah…are you feeling better?”

“I am…I’m sorry if I was short at you earlier, I didn’t mean to be” 

“I know” she smiles, “Can I sleep in here with you tonight?”

“Of course…actually I could really do with some cuddles”

“Sebastian would have stayed if he could”

“I know…but you’re cuddles are pretty damn awesome too” he winks and climbs into bed, a giggling Brittany joining him.

“Oh man, are we having a sleepover night?” Sam asks as he walks past Blaine’s room

“We are! Blainey needs cuddles”

“What, didn’t you get enough earlier dude? I’ll have to have words with that boyfriend of yours.” Sam teases as he climbs in, him and Brittany on either side of Blaine, “Though I know what you mean…I could do with some cuddles too.” Sam reaches over and turns the light off before continuing, “Wait a minute, have you changed your sheets?”

“Oh shut up” Blaine laughs

“It’s hot” Brittany smiles

“I’ll take your word for it Britt…the problem is now I can’t get the image of them two of them doing it out of my head”

“Have you seen it Sam?” Brittany asks excitedly

“Once or twice”

“Sam! You said you wouldn’t say anything!”

“It’s only Brittany”

“Yeah and I won’t say anything…don’t worry narwhal, I promise I won’t…but I know it would have looked hot”

“They’re both good looking guys so if that’s your thing…then I guess.”

“Please can we stop talking about me and Bas having sex…and for the record no I didn’t change the sheets as I didn’t realise I’d be having company tonight, but if you’d prefer it I can.”

“Nah you know it doesn’t bother me dude…I was only messing” Sam says as he throws an arm around Blaine’s waist

“I still think it’s hot” Brittany giggles and also cuddles into Blaine.

In the morning, Blaine has to admit it’s the best he’s slept recently when not with Sebastian and feels much better for it. So Tuesday night, the three sleep in exactly the same way, all nervous for the upcoming competition, well after Sebastian’s stopped laughing down the phone of course when Blaine relays the conversation from the night before when the other two joined him in bed.


	45. All or nothing

On Wednesday at the end of the school day the New Directions meet in the choir room. Their flight isn’t until late, but they had all decided it would be easier to go to the airport after school rather than going home and travelling there separately, as this way Coach Beiste could give them all a lift in the bus. Mr Schue is a little late but comes in with two of the chaperones, Burt and Carole. 

When they get to the airport they go through check-in then all go to grab something to eat. Unfortunately their flight gets delayed so they grab the available seats in the waiting area knowing they’re going to be there for a while. Blaine uses the opportunity to call Sebastian.

“Hey killer, shouldn’t you be in the air by now?”

“Our flight got delayed…problems with the plane or something…I wish you could come Bas”

“I know, so do I…I’m really sorry”

“Don’t be…I know it’s not your fault”

“Still…but you know you can call me at any time right? Don’t let those nerves get to you.”

“I know Bastian and thank you. It’s just there’s so much pressure this year. The future of the glee club is on this…and Mr Schue’s job.”

“I know killer, you’ve all given so much, particularly you and Sam. I know you guys can do it, but if not then it won’t be your fault and as for Mr Schue’s job I don’t really see how the outcome affects it anymore. He hasn’t been around.”

“Sebastian” Blaine reproaches

“You’ve said it yourself killer”

“I know. Sorry I don’t exactly enjoy sitting round airports…what’s that noise? Are you driving?”

“I’ve just pulled in actually, thought I’d see Hunter tonight as I didn’t think I’d get to speak to you.”

“I’ll let you go then. Say hi to him for me.”

“Will do. I love you killer. Let me know when you should be flying and when you land safely.”

“I will and I love you too”

Unbeknown to Blaine, Sebastian wasn’t driving but was in Nick’s dad’s SUV with him, Jeff, Thad, Trent, Beat. They had however just pulled up at Hunter’s house, who chucks his bag in the back before getting in next to Sebastian.

“So guys” Sebastian starts, “Their flight has been delayed. I’ve asked B to let me know when they should be departing but we’re going to have to be careful if they’re still there by the time we get to the airport so they don’t spot us. Oh and Hunter, B says hi.”

“How come he didn’t say hi to the rest of us?” Jeff sulks

Sebastian clips him round the back of his head, “Because he doesn’t know I’m with you does he? None of them have a clue we’re going dumbass.”

“Are you sure it’s okay for me to come?” Hunter asks as he puts his seatbelt on

“Yeah…why wouldn’t it be? You’re their friend too, well at least Sam and B’s. Unless you think you’re going to get the urge to use again when you’re surrounded by all those show choirs.” Sebastian teases

“Funnily enough I think I’ll manage” Hunter snarls back, albeit with a playful edge.

At that moment Sebastian’s phone goes off. “Great they’ve been told they will be in the air in an hour so they should be gone by the time we get there.”

Half an hour later Sebastian’s phone goes again but this time with a message from Brittany, ‘We’re looking after him like we promised pretty bird, there weren’t enough seats but we wouldn’t let him sit on the floor’ followed by a picture of Blaine asleep on Sam’s lap, who is also asleep. Another fifteen minutes and Sebastian’s phone goes again but this time it’s Blaine, ‘just got on the plane, love you’.

“Okay guys they’re on the plane, I’ve checked our flight and we’ll be going as scheduled so we should only land an hour after them. Depending how long it takes to get all their gear we’ll probably get to the hotel just after them.”

By the time they got to the hotel the New Directions are exhausted and know they are only going to be able to put their bags in their rooms and quickly freshen up before going to the rehearsal space Sugar had organised for them thanks to their delayed flight.

Mr Schue claps his hands, “Right guys if you wait here I’ll go and check us in and our third chaperone will be here any minute.” 

At that moment Mercedes comes through the doors, “Mercedes!” everyone greets her with smiles and hugs.

“Oh man, are you our third chaperone? This is awesome!” Sam beams

“No I’m not, sorry to disappoint you guys but I just wanted to come and say hello. I’ve got some appointments I couldn’t rearrange this afternoon but I thought I’d come and see if you needed anything this morning.”

“Aww I’ve missed you” Tina coos

A voice comes beaming through the foyer, “Squirt!” and Cooper comes running over. 

Blaine is anything but impressed by seeing his brother who has been ignoring him for weeks and weeks now. Sam isn’t happy about it either and hopes it won’t have a detrimental effect on Blaine this close to performing. “What are you doing here Cooper?” Blaine says a little bitterly.

“I’m your chaperone”

Blaine scoffs, “Well you’re not mine”

“Come on buddy don’t be like that”

“You’ve ignored me for weeks Cooper…months! And what? Now you can be bothered you think you can just come waltzing in and everything will be fine.”

“Well your teacher called and told me you were going to be in LA for Nationals and asked if I could chaperone so I thought I could surprise you. And I’m sorry I’ve missed a couple of calls but things got busy.”

“It’s been more than a couple. And you’ve obviously been deleting messages without reading or listening to them or you’d know that I told you about Nationals over a month ago…when I asked you to chaperone” Blaine can feel himself getting worked up so takes a deep breath, “Look we’ve had a rubbish flight and we’ve got a lot to do, I don’t want to get into this now. Just please give me some space.”

Blaine then moves away from his brother to the other side of the lobby, the rest of the New Directions following him. At that they are approached by another show choir, headed by someone Blaine recognises as Jean-Baptiste. 

“Can we help you?” Blaine asks as Kitty, Unique and Tina come to stand by him with the rest of the group crowding behind.

“New Directions I just wanted to tell you to expect no mercy from Throat Explosion. We will crush you” Jean-Baptiste turns to Blaine, “You won’t beat me this time”

“I’m sorry?” Blaine asks completely confused.

“Freshman year, you won Nationals with the Warblers and last year with the New Directions. Well this year it is Throat Explosion who will rule and there is nothing you can do about it.”

Blaine rolls his eyes, “Whatever, now if you don’t mind we’d really like to get to our hotel rooms.”

The New Directions go to leave when Throat Explosion start throwing insults at them in French. Blaine sees red and turns back to face them, “Excuse me?” The Throat Explosion members then start to giggle until Blaine launches into them in French, catching everyone by surprise. While he’s arguing with two of their members, the ones who started it in the first place, Sebastian and the Dalton guys turn up and quickly make their way up to the New Directions to help out. In perfect French Sebastian calmly but firmly tells Throat Explosion that if they continue they will be thrown out of the competition for misconduct with such authority that it sends them all scuttling.

Blaine whips round to look at his boyfriend and automatically beams his Sebastian smile and hugs him, “I didn’t think you could come”

“Well maybe I wanted to surprise you and now you can say hi to Hunter yourself” Sebastian smirks and greets Blaine with a kiss.

Blaine pulls back and greets his other friends, “I can’t believe you all came! Thank you!”

The two groups quickly start to chatter and Sam takes the opportunity to talk to Sebastian, “Hey man, so just a quick heads up but Cooper’s here. Apparently he’s a chaperone and Blaine’s definitely not happy about it, not that I can blame him.”

Mr Schue comes back over, “Right guys listen up, we’ve got a room for the girls and a room for the guys, nominate someone to look after your room key.”

Blaine cuts in, “Hang on Mr Schue there should be four rooms for us, two for the girls and two for the guys”

“I had to change the booking last week…sorry guys but there’s no way the school could afford that.”

“But…”

“Not now Blaine” Mr Schuester quickly dismisses Blaine and hands the packs out, giving Artie the boys.

“Hang on y’all…this is a single room. I know us guys all get on but we can’t share a single bed.”

Blaine has to force himself to take another deep breath, “Mr Schue by any chance when you decided to change the booking without talking to any of us, did you downgrade the room too?” he asks snarkily.

“I did, but I didn’t realise it was a single and I’m not really appreciating your tone Blaine.”

Sugar then speaks up, “Well you deserve it!” Mr Schuester goes to reprimand her but she cuts him off, “Sorry Asperger’s. But the point is we’ve worked really hard with fundraising and getting sponsorships this year because the school isn’t funding us anymore and you used all of April’s money. We could afford those rooms.” Sugar then proceeds to pull out her book she’d been keeping track of all the money in to prove her point.

Mr Schue looks a little dumfounded, “Sorry guys…I didn’t know.”

Kitty takes her turn, “Well you wouldn’t. You ditched us. If it wasn’t for Blaine and Sam this club would have gone under.”

“I’ll go and see if they have any rooms left then” Mr Schuester goes back to the desk, but not without Sugar who, as treasurer of the club, wanted to be there to supervise. Everyone knew the answer by the look on Sugar’s face. “Sorry guys there aren’t any rooms left.”

“Blaine could share with me” Cooper tries

“I am not sharing with you” Blaine says aghast that his brother had even suggested it given their conversion not even 20 minutes ago.

“Now Blaine that’s just being petty; if you and Sam have been leading this club I would expect you to act with more maturity than that” Mr Schue reprimands him.

Before Blaine can retaliate Sam puts his hand over his mouth firmly. “Sorry bro but I’m doing this for your own good” and then turns to his teacher, his hand remaining over Blaine’s mouth, “Mr Schue I really think you should stop talking. No offense or anything but you haven’t been around and you don’t know what’s going on. You should know that if Blaine doesn’t want to share a room with someone it would be for a good reason.”

Mr Schuester sighs again in defeat, “You’re right Sam; I’m sorry Blaine.”

Sebastian steps in, “Not meaning to but in but we’ve booked the two suites at the top of the hotel and asked them to open them up into one. Why don’t the guys come in with us then the girls can have the single as well so they aren’t just squashed into one double...actually Cooper could take the single and give the girls his room” Sebastian says, eyes glaring at the older Anderson.

The Dalton boys all agree.

“I’m sorry Sebastian but I can’t allow Blaine to share with you on a school trip.”

Burt steps in at this point, “Come on Will. I think you can trust them. I can go up with them and check it out if you want but seriously I think Blaine’s got more pressing matters and he’s a good kid.”

“And as one of his guardian’s I don’t have a problem with it”, Cooper adds, “And I’ll swap my room for the single" and glances at his brother, but Blaine's not even looking in his direction.

Sensing defeat again Will gives the boys permission to room with the Dalton crew.

Sam addresses the New Directions, “Right guys get your rooms sorted and freshen up and meet back here in 30.”

Blaine takes over, “It would be easier if everyone changed into their rehearsal gear now so we don’t have to mess around when we get to the venue. Can everyone make sure they bring the shoes they will be wearing for the performance? Great let’s go.”

Burt chuckles and clasps Mr Schue’s shoulder, “You know what? I think they’ve got it”

On the way up to the suite the boys start chatting; “Thanks for sharing your room with us” Ryder says to no one in particular.

Nick smiles, “That’s okay, there’s no way you could all crowd in a single room and be fit to perform tomorrow.”

“Plus we’ve got more than enough room” Jeff adds

“Why did you guys book so much space? Not that I’m not grateful for it, but you couldn’t have been planning for us to stay with you.” Blaine asks

“Easy. Nick snores too loud so nobody wanted to share with him and Sebastian and Hunter wanted their own space. We decided it would just be easier to go all out.” Thad replies  
Blaine shrugs his shoulders, “Makes sense to me”

They arrive at the suite and the New Directioner’s eyes boggle, “This is bigger than my whole apartment” Jake comments

“It’s bigger than my house” Ryder agrees

“Guys there are more bedrooms than you even needed to have one each” Blaine remarks

“So not to seem rude but can we sort out sleeping arrangements so we can all get sorted?” Sam questions

“But of course Sam I Am” Sebastian grins, “Artie what would be best for you?”

“I’m easy. As long as there’s space to put my chair next to the bed I’m good.”

“Why don’t you take that room” Sebastian points, “Hunter where do you want to go?” To which Hunter saunters off into the room he wants to claim. Trent, Jeff and Thad run in to another. “Right B and I are taking this one” Sebastian gestures, “There are three rooms left, Beat you sleep like the dead anyway so can you cope with sharing with Nick so Sam, Jake, Ryder and Joe can have a proper bed?”

“Fine by me…looks like you’ve got company after all Nicky” Beat teases and he and Nick move their bags into one of the rooms.

“Thanks…but we would’ve been fine on the couches” Jake says to Sebastian

“Speak for yourself!” Sam jokes

Sebastian turns back to Jake, “Don’t mention it and they can cope with sharing. You’re the ones competing.”

“Joe, if you’re a light sleeper get some head phones…Sam has a habit of snorting randomly” Blaine tells him, quickly dodging Sam and heading to his and Sebastian’s room.

Sebastian then saunters off to go and find Blaine; “If I didn’t know any better I’d think you set this whole thing up” Blaine smirks flirtatiously.

“Sometimes things just work out for the best” 

“When are you guys flying back?”

“We’re on the same flight as you on Sunday”

“Now that’s more than convenient”

Sebastian shrugs his shoulders in reply. “So what have you got planned today then?”

“Sugar’s sorted out a rehearsal space for us at one of the small local theatres” Blaine replies as he changes into his rehearsal gear and finds his shoes. “What are you guys going to get up to?”

“Ah yes I remember you saying. I have no idea what they all want to do.”

“What do you want to do?”

“I would like to spend all day in this room with you but that’s not going to happen and I know we won’t be able to come to rehearsals with you so I was thinking of just checking out some of the sights. What time will you break for lunch?”

“Given that none of us have really eaten I’d say noon”

“Well we’ll bring you all something to eat and drink so you don’t have to worry about that.”

“You don’t have to do that Bas”

“But I want to”

Blaine simply replies with a kiss as Sam walks through their door, which had been left open. “Can be trusted my ass” He teases. “Blaine you ready to go?”

“Oh yeah sure”

“You two are a little keen aren’t you?”

“Oh no we’re going to pace out the stage in the auditorium so we know how our rehearsal space compares” Blaine explains then turns to Sam, “Have you told the others what   
we’re doing?”

“Yeah they know. Are we still doing that thing tonight?”

“We are so we need to let everyone know when we see them later, but not Mr Schue or any other form of chaperone.”

“What are you up to now?” Sebastian asks with a raised eyebrow

“Keeping up tradition” Blaine replies cheekily, “We’re going to sneak into the auditorium tonight. We’re also using the time to reflect about Finn as a group.”

“It’s nice to know you kept up with some of the Warbler traditions B. Now you better get going. I’ll see you at noon.”

Blaine grabs his bag then he and Sam jog out and make their way to the auditorium, “Why are you seeing him at noon?”

“The guys are going to bring us all lunch.”

“Sweet!”

Even though they are all extremely tired the morning’s run-throughs go very well. Everyone was comfortable in their shoes and there were no timing or placing issues and vocally everyone was sounding strong. They all agree that after lunch they’d have a final run then would break for the day so they could all recuperate from travelling overnight and the very little sleep they got as a result. They’d then meet for dinner in the dining room at 7 before going back to their rooms for the night. The New Directions were all going to meet outside the auditorium at 10, but nobody else needed to know that.

As promised at 12 the Dalton boys turn up with plenty of food and drink for everyone, which is gratefully received by all. Kitty approaches Blaine, “I know we said we were going to do one more run-through, but even Unique is down. Can we just call it a day? It’s not like we haven’t nailed it.” 

Blaine looks around at all his friends and nods, “Yeah, you’re right I think we should, can you spread the word?”

Kitty smiles, “I knew there had to be a limit to your narcissistic ways” and skips off leaving Blaine shouting at her, “I am not narcissistic!”

“But you are extremely competitive” Nick laughs, earning a strong glare.

Blaine tells everyone they’re calling it a day and advises they should all get some rest before dinner. Cooper doesn’t want to lose another chance to talk to his brother so approaches, “Blaine can I talk to you?”

“Not right now”

“Oh come on”

“No…I’ve got too much going on right now to hear you make more promises you’ll break.”

Ryder comes to talk to Blaine, not realising he’s interrupting anything, “Blaine can you just go through that move with me one more time? I’m scared I’ll screw it up.”

“Yeah no problem man, but you’ve honestly got it.”

Cooper tries again, “Blaine please”

“Sorry Cooper but this is actually more important, if you knew what hangs on the competition tomorrow you’d understand, but I guess you didn’t bother reading that message either.”

“Come on I really am sorry. Why can’t we sing it out like we did before?”

Blaine scoffs, “Yeah cause that really worked”

“Come on squirt just one song”

“Don’t call me that”

“Please”

The combination of being exhausted and annoyed with Mr Schue and at his brother causes Blaine to bubble up like a volcano and snap “Fine you want to sing? Then we’ll sing.” He attaches his iPod to the music system and the backing track for ‘Somebody I used to know’ comes on and the brother’s share an emotionally charged performance with Blaine showing his anger and Cooper his upset. 

At the end of the song Blaine storms off the stage, grabs his bag and leaves with Sebastian close behind. Cooper goes to follow but Sam stops him, “You need to let him cool off man. You know how stubborn he is; if you push he’ll close up more.”

Blaine goes straight back to the hotel room with Sebastian and jumps in the shower. When he gets out he sees towels spread out on the bed. “What’s going on Bas?”

“I’m giving you a massage; you need to relax B. Lie down on your front for me.”

Blaine complies and by the time Sebastian’s finished he feels completely relaxed. Blaine jumps back in the shower to wash the oil off him, but is this time joined by Sebastian, who takes both their cocks in hand and pumps until they’re both spilling over. When they go back into the living area the rest of the guys have gathered.

Blaine approaches Ryder where he’s stood with Jake and Beat. “Sorry about earlier, which move did you want help with?”

“It’s okay I went over it with him” Jake cuts in before Ryder can say anything, “Didn’t I Ryder” he says through his teeth.

“Oh yeah he did. Thanks Blaine…I hope you’re feeling better now though”

Blaine smiles, “Much better thank you” then crashes on the couch next to Sebastian.

There’s a knock at the door and Thad answers, “I’m not sure you should be here now.”

At hearing his brother’s voice Blaine immediately jumps up and heads to his and Sebastian’s room, Cooper spots him and pushes passed Thad. Blaine slams the door and locks it.

“Blaine just talk to me” Cooper pleads

“I’ve got nothing to say”

“Then fine, just let me in so I can talk”

“You don’t need to be in here to talk”

Cooper slumps against the door, “Fine then just listen please; I know I don’t have the right to ask anything of you but just listen.” The rest of the guys in the room stay fixed to the spot all watching the scene before them unfold. Cooper pulls out a piece of paper from his jacket. “I just want you to know I really am sorry Blaine. I know I’ve said it before but honestly I hadn’t thought everything through. I’ve been a rubbish big brother to you. In fact I’ve never been a good one. This is more than me just ignoring you and leaving you behind again; I get that now.” 

Cooper takes a deep breath then starts to read from his list, “I’m sorry for all the times I woke you up dressed as different horror characters to scare you. I’m sorry for sending you to the park when you were four and telling you not to come down from the climbing frame until I told you it was safe, by making up the tree monster story so I could have the house to myself when Stacey Parker came over. I’m sorry for leaving you up there in the rain when I forgot to come get you after she left. I’m sorry for lying to mum and dad about you sneaking out of the house afterwards so I wouldn’t get into trouble and you did and that you got sick. I’m sorry about locking you in a cupboard each party I had. I’m sorry for the time some of my friends found you and got you drunk for fun. I’m sorry for the things you saw that you never should have seen so young.” 

Cooper pauses when he hears Blaine shuffle behind the door, not noticing that with each apology the guys in the room are sharing looks with each other. When Blaine doesn’t move again Cooper continues, “I’m sorry for every time I was too hard on you and told you that you weren’t talented or good enough. The truth is you are Blaine. You’re the most talented person I’ve met and I was always jealous of you. I’m sorry for taking your pocket money away from you and telling you the number of presents you got at Christmas was determined by how well you performed in front of everyone. I’m sorry for making you sing and dance in front of everyone at those stupid family events when you didn’t want to. I’m sorry for never standing up for you. I’m sorry that I wasn’t there for you after…when you needed me. But most of all I’m sorry for being too self-centred and thinking I could just pick you up and drop you and everything would be okay. I’m so sorry I threw away the second chance you gave me. I know I was lucky to get one and I blew it. I still want to be your brother. I still want to be your friend and I promise if you give me another chance I won’t mess it up. Because I know that if I do I’ll lose you forever and I couldn’t bear that. It would break my heart. I’ll wait for as long as it takes for you to talk to me again. Just know that I’m so proud of you; everything you’ve done and are. I love you little brother.” Cooper has tears flowing down his cheeks by this point. 

When the door to the bedroom gets unlocked Cooper jumps up and wipes some of the tears off his face. Blaine opens the door ajar and looks at him, “You’re right. If you screw up again that will be it. I can’t keep having people do that to me Cooper. It hurts too much. It actually hurt more the second time you did it because I thought we’d turned a corner and that I might actually have meant something to you more than like some kind of pet you never wanted but had to put up with. So this is your last chance.”  
“You’re giving me another chance?” Cooper asks full of hope.

Blaine nods in response and the next thing he knows is being hugged tightly by Cooper.

Jeff looks to Sebastian, “Well I guess we know why Blaine hates horror movies and gets such bad nerves now.” Everyone hums and nods in agreement.

Cooper lets Blaine go, “Well I guess I’ll see you at dinner later on then”

“You could stay if you want to Coop”

“You sure?” 

Blaine nods, “But there are two people you need to talk to”

Cooper turns around to see Sam and Sebastian looking at him in anything but a friendly way. After both giving him their own warnings the guys start a Mario Kart tournament to kill time before dinner. At 9.55 the New Directions boys head down to the auditorium. When all the girls arrive they sneak in and form a circle on the stage.  
Sam starts, “So guys we just wanted to take a minute to thank you for this year.”

“You’ve all made our senior years really special” Blaine finishes

Sam continues, “We know it’s been a difficult year, but we’ve all come through it together, stronger.”

“Finn would be proud of all of you.” Blaine adds

“He’d be proud of you too. Of both of you for keeping New Directions going, no matter what happens tomorrow.” Artie supplies and everyone nods in agreement.

“I wish he was here” Tina says tearfully

“He is” Sam reveals the plaque, “As long as we all remember him, which I know we will, then he’s here.”

Throat Explosion then burst into the auditorium; “Sorry but we’ve booked this space” Jean-Baptiste belts at them

“Can you just give us a minute?” Sam asks but the opposing glee club get into formation around them.

Jean-Baptise pauses when he sees the plaque. “Look I’m sorry. I know you’re that glee club, but tomorrow it’s competition time and we can’t hold back. But good luck.”  
The New Directions then filter out to the room they’ve been assigned backstage, for which Blaine has the key. They slip in and finish their time for Finn and hang the picture in the room so Finn can watch over them as they prepare for competition. They lock the door, checking it several times and then all go back to bed. Sebastian is already in bed when Blaine returns and quickly cuddles up to him when he climbs in. As always, Blaine has a peaceful night’s sleep in Sebastian’s arms.

XXXXXXX  
The next day the hotel is buzzing with nerves and show choirs getting ready. As last year’s champions the New Directions are billed to go last so find their seats in the audience. There are 30 choirs and breaks scheduled after every 10. Between the first and second breaks the New Direction’s worst nightmare happens as it becomes apparent their set list has been leaked. They all sneak out of the auditorium and into their assigned room, being seen by Hunter, Cooper and Sebastian. Soon everyone in the New Direction’s party is crowded in. The glee club forms a circle.

“They’ve stolen our set list; what are we going to do?” Marley asks panicked

“It was our tribute to Finn. How could they do that?” Tina asks angrily

“You could still do a tribute to Finn.” Carole cuts in, “He always said he was most proud when the glee club had to pull together.”

“We were going to do his favourite songs” Kitty explains

“We can’t do his favourite songs he listened to, but we could do his favourite songs we did when he was our teacher.” Sam suggests

“That’s a beautiful idea Sam” Blaine tells him and everyone agrees

“He’d like that. He always said one of the best things he ever did was teach you guys” Carole tells them

“That’s settled then. We need a solo piece. Blaine I think you should do it” Artie says and everyone looks at Blaine and nods.

Blaine goes wide eyed, “What? Why me?”

“You weren’t crowned the new Rachel for nothing Blaine. You can always pull it out the bag.” Artie explains

“You can do it Blainey-days”

“I’d be proud to stand behind you and sway” Unique adds making everyone giggle.

Sam looks Blaine square in the eye, “You can do it dude”

Blaine looks over his shoulder at Sebastian who nods in encouragement then turns back to the circle. “Okay”

“Do you know what you’re going to sing?” Artie asks

“Yeah…Fighter, Finn said it was his favourite performance of mine and it kind of suits the situation.”

“That’s a great choice Blaine. You really did blow him away that day.” Mr Schue says

“We need to stage it though. Any ideas Artie?” Blaine asks

Artie thinks for a moment, “I think you should go first. Britt, Jake can you come up with some choreography for you two, like a fighting Tango type thing coming on at the beginning of the second verse. We’ll need everyone on stage by the end.”

“No problem” Jake replies

“Already got some ideas” Brittany smiles

“Okay so second piece. I think it should be a group number. We should show off everyone’s talent.” Blaine says

“Some nights.” Sam beams, “Finn said it was the first time he felt like we came together as a group with him as adviser.”

“He did. He came home so happy that night” Burt tells them

“Great does everyone still remember the routine?” Blaine asks and receives nods and yeses in return. “Okay we need a final piece then.”

“It needs to be a big closing number” Artie says to the group who all agree.

“What about Shout?” Jake asks, “I know it was an impromptu thing but Finn enjoyed it and found it funny when we all got in trouble with Dalton’s headmaster at the end.”

They all look to Carole, “I think it’s a great choice”

Blaine takes charge “Okay, Jake, Britt do what you can for fighter, everyone else we need to work on Shout. We all need to meet back in an hour to run through all three pieces.   
Artie do you think you can come up with a lighting plan to hand in?”

“Sure no problem and I’ll see if we can get a piano at the back of the stage for shout”

“Why?”

“For you of course, if we’re doing it you’re doing your bit on the piano.”

Blaine hesitates, “Hang on guys. Someone needs to sing my part for shout, I’m singing too much.”

“Nope you’re doing it man” Sam instructs him, “If anyone had a problem with you singing so much we wouldn’t have picked the songs we did. Plus I bet you 10 fanfictions you’re the only guy who knows all the words.” All the guys nod in agreement.

“If you’re sure”

“We’re sure Blaine” Artie tells him and everyone agrees. “One last thing though, guys lose your jackets and bowties and roll up your shirt sleeves, our look doesn’t match the songs now.”

Their run through goes well but all too quickly they find themselves about to take to the stage after watching Throat Explosion blow the crowd away. Blaine kills ‘Fighter’, it’s even better and more powerful than the first time he performed it and Jake and Brittany’s choreography is stunning. They get through ‘Some nights’ smoothly and show off everyone’s talent as they wanted to. ‘Shout’ is a big hit and has the crowd out of their seats by the end. They don’t have to wait long for the results and know they’ve made it into the top three when they’re asked to make their way to the stage.

Unfortunately they place second, which considering everything is a massive achievement; however it’s not enough to save the glee club. It kills those in the audience supporting them to see all the kids fight breaking down on stage. Jean-Baptiste shakes Blaine and Sam’s hands before continuing to celebrate with his glee club. The New Directions head back to their assigned room where their supporters come to see them. Blaine and Sam step outside for a moment before going back in to address everyone.  
Sam goes first after getting everyone’s attention, “We just wanted to say we’re sorry. We’re sorry for losing your job Mr Schue…”

“…and we’re sorry for the end of the New Directions, for us seniors to go out on such a low and to all of you who will still be at McKinley next year, we’re sorry you won’t have a glee club to return to.” Blaine finishes.

“Guys my job isn’t solely based on the glee club, and you both did a fantastic job running it with me gone most of the year.”

“And you haven’t let us down doofuses” Kitty continues “If it wasn’t for you two we wouldn’t be stood here. We had an hour to prepare and came second; if that isn’t good enough for the stupid school board, then they’re the ones who should apologise.”

Tina takes over “And for us seniors. We’ve finally had a voice. It really was our glee club, all of ours.”

“Couldn’t have said it better” Artie adds, “This was still the best year I’ve ever had at McKinley and that’s down to the people in this room. We’re more than just a club; us new New Directions really are a family.”

Blaine and Sam both wipe tears away. Unique starts, “I know it seems lame but can we have one last show circle?” They all giggle then put their hands in the middle and ask everyone in the room to join in. For the last time they raise their hands and say, “Aaaaammmaaaazzziiiiinnnngggg”.


	46. Finals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mostly smut...but sometimes, it's just needed.

Finals pass in a blur for all of them in their senior year. Sebastian and Blaine manage to message a few times a day and Skype when they can but both accept that contact was always going to be limited during the exam period. Sam and Blaine’s last final is the day before Sebastian’s. When Blaine talks to his boyfriend he can hear the stress in his voice so Sam tells him to go to Dalton.

Blaine arrives with pizza, coffee and gummy bears at Sebastian’s dorm room which is slightly open to let a cross breeze through from his window and the corridor into his stuffy room, “Surprise” he says quietly so to not startle his boyfriend.

Sebastian’s head snaps up, “What are you doing here?”

“Well as I finished first I thought it was only fair for me to come and make sure you get through your last final. I’ve got coffee and pizza…and gummy bears…but if you don’t want them then that’s fine.”

Sebastian smiles softly, “Thank you killer…you really are the best…but I won’t be good company.”

“I know so I brought my book with me. I’ve been wanting to finish it for ages but with everything going on never got round to it.”

A few hours later and Blaine is sat on the floor on a pillow reading his book while Sebastian is sat on his bed furiously scribbling in his note pad and on various notecards as he looks over his old notes and exercise books. Blaine can’t help but occasionally look up or stop himself from noticing the varying degrees of annoyance, frustration and overall tiredness that keep sweeping across his boyfriend’s face. All Blaine knew for sure was that he’d never seen Sebastian stressed before, but that he definitely was now.  
It wasn’t surprising that Sebastian was a straight A student; natural intelligence combined with an amazing memory made learning easy for him; his GPA somehow remaining ridiculously high at 4.5 despite the difficulty of Dalton’s classes or Sebastian having the bust a gut to keep it there. As Blaine hears Sebastian scribbling furiously again in frustration he stands up and sits on the edge of the bed behind Sebastian, running his hand up and down his back comfortingly, “Hey Bastian” Blaine says softly.

"Stupid pen is out of ink…and my pencil is broken" Sebastian mutters through clenched teeth.

"Okay” Blaine pulls a pen out from his bag where it is on the floor next to the bed, “Here use this one, it’s my lucky pen and never lets me down." He smiles sincerely and Sebastian knows he’s not being patronising because his boyfriend is exactly the type of person who would have a lucky pen.

Sebastian huffs; shaking his head as he pushes the notebook from his thigh and changes his position, scattering note cards on the bed and making a few flutter to the ground. He groans in annoyance and runs his hands ruggedly through his hair before rubbing his eyes and covering his face with his hands. Blaine just rests his chin on his boyfriend’s shoulder, before pressing kisses into his neck and jaw.

"You really need to take a break." Blaine says softly, “Studying like this won’t do you any good Bas.”

Sebastian shakes his head, his face still leaning into his hands, "But I have so many topics to go over, B…I don't have time to take a break."

Blaine shifts so he can pull Sebastian into his chest and starts massaging his shoulders, hoping to help him relax, even if only a little. “Let me take care of you Bastian” 

“But…” Sebastian goes to protest but is cut off

"Bas” Blaine chastises, “You're exhausted."

Sebastian finally removes his hands from his face and smiles dopily at his boyfriend, “I can’t even image what gave you that impression” he says sarcastically.

"Well to tell you the truth it’s because it's been at least two hours since you made a comment about my ass." Blaine smirks

Sebastian laughs breathily and turns so he can rest his forehead against Blaine’s and gently presses their lips together. “Damn it…I am slipping…we can’t have that can we?”

"Nuh uh," Blaine mutters, pressing his lips to his boyfriend’s again and pushes Sebastian back so he’s sat against the head board and kneels in the gap between his legs, leaning forward to run his hands up under his t-shirt to feel warm skin. 

Sebastian pulls Blaine closer by his t-shirt and connects their lips, sliding his tongue into his mouth, making Blaine moan when he pulls him down flush onto his chest.  
Blaine can’t help but feel Sebastian’s cock already hardening and knows he’s starting to get through to him, “Relax Bastian” Blaine almost purrs, the deepness of his voice betraying the extent of his arousal.

Blaine knew that Sebastian would already know the information he was trying to scribble down once again. He knew all about his boyfriend’s incredible memory and how things came very easily to him, which was shown by the fact that he never really had to work hard to get the grades he did, which would say a lot for any school, let alone Dalton. However he was putting a lot of pressure on himself, combined with the ridiculous pressure his father was putting on him, Sebastian’s patience had been slowly chipped away. It was true, even the cool, calm and calculated Sebastian Smythe could on occasion suffer from stress and Blaine was going to do whatever he could to get him through this last exam.

Blaine kisses his boyfriend again and starts rubbing just beneath his hip bones, Sebastian’s body instantly relaxing a little as Blaine knew it would, it being one of his sensitive areas. Casually Blaine hooks his thumbs into the top of Sebastian’s longue shorts but Sebastian stops him from pulling them any lower and pulls back from the kiss, "B, I really don't have time" 

Blaine laughs, “Since when would you turn down a blow job” and pushes Sebastian back again so he’s propped up against the pillows, meeting very little protest. Blaine crawls back up his boyfriend’s body to give him a deep, heated kiss that they both get lost in. When it breaks Blaine sits back and pulls Sebastian’s shorts and boxers in one go.  
“I promise you…you’ll be glad you made time for this” Blaine’s eyes sparkling mischievously as his lips form a naughty smile. 

Sebastian raises an eyebrow, “Cocky…that’s pretty damn sexy killer”

Blaine starts at Sebastian’s knees, leaving small kissing bites all the way up the inside of each thigh. Sebastian groans and fists a hand into Blaine’s curls, pulling and trying to force his mouth where he wants it right now. The action causes Blaine’s stubbornness levels to rise though and he makes his way back a little lower on Sebastian’s thighs, taking his time to suck hickies all over them before taking his boyfriend’s balls into his mouth and sucking gently, rolling them with his tongue just the way he knows drives Sebastian mad. As if on cue Sebastian pulls hard on his curls, but the action makes Blaine more determined, the pain sending a bolt down to his own aching hard on.

Blaine finally takes Sebastian’s head into his mouth and sucks, running his tongue over the slit, making his boyfriend frantically try and thrust into his mouth, but Blaine pre-empts his action and holds his hips down. Blaine slowly lowers his mouth all the way down Sebastian’s length, humming occasionally and tracing the veins with his tongue. He can feel Sebastian just wanting to let go, wanting to thrust and catch the orgasm he’s currently stuck chasing. After a while longer of painstakingly, excruciatingly pleasurable slow sucking, humming and carefully placed licks, Blaine releases his hold on Sebastian’s hips and taps them, letting his boyfriend know he can finally do what he’s been craving.  
Immediately both of Sebastian’s hands take a firm hold of Blaine’s curls, as if to keep his head pinned in place. Blaine opens his throat, but still can’t help some of the small choking noises that escape him as Sebastian starts thrusting, a little rougher than normal, and the angle meaning he’s pushing deep. If anything the noises egg Sebastian on more, the thrusts quickly becoming erratic. 

“Fuck Blaine!” Sebastian moans loudly, tugging Blaine’s hair hard as he comes deep down Blaine’s throat, the shorter struggling to swallow quickly so he doesn’t choke on the intrusion. When Blaine’s swallowed every last drop and is sure his boyfriend is fully spent, he removes his mouth and tucks him back into his boxer briefs and shorts. Sebastian quickly pulls Blaine up and kisses him hard, loving tasting himself on his boyfriend’s tongue.

“Maybe it was worth making time for” Sebastian teases

Blaine tries to pull back, a mix of shock, outrage and humour dancing across his features, “Bas!” he scolds, but the smile on his face betrays him.

“You’re incredible at that killer” Sebastian practically coos as he gently runs his fingers through Blaine’s curls now. “But now you’re poking me” he teases again.

"Well what are you going to do about it then?” Blaine rocks his still hard cock into Sebastian’s abdomen to reinforce the point.

“Well for a start I’m going to close the door.” Sebastian smirks

Blaine’s head snaps up from where it’s resting on Sebastian’s shoulder, “What?” he asks with wide eyes, staring at the door, still open ajar. 

Sebastian’s smirk grows, “Well you see…you were so insistent that it seems my dorm room door was still open a little when you insisted on me relaxing….there really was nothing I could do killer.”

Blaine immediately blushes a fierce red and tries to hide himself, but Sebastian tightens his hold as he starts laughing.

“It isn’t funny Bas!” Blaine protests

“Yes it is!” Sebastian manages to force out through his laughter, “You should have seen Trent’s face when he walked passed and got a good look at you blowing me…I swear he almost walked into the door jam! You’ve probably given him enough jerk off material for months now B!” Blaine tries to pull away again, but Sebastian just tightens his hold further as he continues to laugh.

So Blaine hides the only place he can and buries his face into Sebastian’s neck, “That’s the last time I’m helping you relax if I get done for indecent exposure” he mutters and hits Sebastian’s arm as he continues to laugh.

"Trust me there is nothing indecent about my cock…you should know” Sebastian winks

Blaine just groans in response, his fingers fisting clumps of Sebastian's t-shirt. Sebastian pushes Blaine off him and closes the door before stalking back to the bed and pouncing on his boyfriend, pinning him flat to the bed.

“You seem tense B…I think you need to relax...here let me help you” Sebastian teases seductively as he pulls Blaine’s sweats and boxers down, relishing in the deep, throaty groan that escapes his throat.


	47. Covering plans

Although finals are over the McKinley students are still expected to go to school even if the teachers themselves would hardly turn up to classes. The school board had refused to allow the glee club to continue despite Blaine’s best efforts, as the set list had been leaked once before the board felt they should have been more prepared by having a backup list. As a last act Blaine and Sam were determined to find out who leaked the list so get changed into their superhero costumes figuring it was probably the last chance they would get to unleash the Blonde Chameleon and Night Bird whilst at high school.

The Dalton boys meanwhile are all sat round Sebastian’s house as his dad was on business and Sarah was away, but after a few days of just relaxing they’re all getting a little restless. None of them could go anywhere on vacation yet as they waited for results and graduation and they weren’t used to sitting around with nothing to do.

“Why don’t we go to McKinley?” Thad suggests

Sebastian raises an eyebrow, “And why should we do that?”

“Well Blaine said the seniors aren’t in classes right, but still have to go to school so we could just go and hang out with them.”

“It would be quite fun to see what it’s like. I know we’ve been to McKinley before but not when it’s actually in session.” Jeff adds

“Why not? I’m in.” Nick says

“Me too” Trent throws in

“Same” Beat adds

“Smythe?” Thad asks

“You seriously all want to go?”

Jeff sighs, “Yes. The way Blaine talks about it it’s so different from Dalton and I want to see for myself.”

“In that case we’ll need to blend in. Get changed guys.” Nick instructs 

“Fine, but you and Trent are driving Duval. I don’t want my car getting scratched up by one of their rust buckets.”

They pull up at McKinley and find a couple of parking spots at the back away from the school.

“Jeff if you don’t stop skipping I’ll make you” Sebastian growls at him as they make their way across the car park to the building.

It’s intermission between lessons as they enter the building.

“I can’t believe you can actually just walk in with nobody questioning you” Jeff mutters as they wonder down the corridor.

“Far away from home aren’t you boys?” Kitty sing-songs at them

Sebastian rolls his eyes, “These idiots wanted to see what a public school is really like so here we are.”

“Plus you get to see your boy toy” she smirks

“Speaking of do you know where Blaine will be?” Thad asks

“Oh trust me you won’t have any problem finding him or Sam. Now get out of my way. Some of us still have classes.” She pushes passed the boys and walks into a nearby class room.

From the other end of the corridor they hear an undignified shriek and turn around to see a cape disappear round the corner. 

“What was that?” Jeff asks amusedly

“I know” Sebastian smirks and saunters off to where the cape disappeared with the other Warblers following him. The corridors are now deserted as everyone is back in class. 

There is no sign of Blaine or Sam and all of the doors are shut. They hear a small yelp from behind one of the doors and muffled voices that are starting to get raised. After a while the door opens and a boy goes running out. The boys peer in and see the room is in complete darkness until the blinds go up revealing what’s obviously an astrology room and Sam and Blaine in their superhero costumes.

“And what exactly was going on in here?” Sebastian smirks as he steps in

“Bas?! What are you doing here?” Blaine asks and gives his boyfriend a kiss

“These idiots wanted to see what a public school is really like”

“Like what you see pilgrims?” Sam asks them in his John Wayne voice

“Seriously though B what were you two doing and who was that boy?”

“That would be Jacob Ben Israel”

“He leaked our set list” Sam adds

“So were you torturing him or something?” Thad asks

“What? No we were just showing him the proof we have that it was him” Sam replies, “You don’t actually have to hurt someone to make them talk.”

“So what are you two going to do now?” Nick questions

Blaine shrugs his shoulders, “Get changed then I’ve got some editing I need to do to my end of year presentation”

“Artie’s sent me a picture bro, let’s do this!” Sam exclaims the two high five and exclaim “Blam!” at the same time.

The Dalton boys follow them upstairs to the top floor after a stop at their lockers. “Erm guys…this is a girls’ bathroom” Jeff tells them

“Yeah we know” Sam replies with a hint of duh in his voice before he and Blaine disappear in. When they come back out they’re both changed into normal clothes.

Sebastian raises a questioning eyebrow at Blaine. “Hardly anyone goes in there it’s too far out of the way. The bathroom became a safe haven for glee clubers for post-slushie clean ups. We sometimes use it to get changed too as it can be safer for your stuff than the changing rooms.”

“I didn’t think you guys got slushied anymore” Sebastian says slightly concerned.

“Oh we don’t, not that this one ever did, he managed to dodge the only couple that were ever tossed in his direction, but it also doesn’t smell as bad as the changing rooms. Plus gym classes are still going so there won’t be any room in them anyway.” Sam explains.

The boys start walking to the library but Blaine pulls Sebastian to the side. “Sam wouldn’t let me make a fuss of his birthday because we were preparing for finals, but I really want to. He’s been such a good friend to me and I don’t think a trip to a comic book store, even if it was the one in Columbus he’s always wanted to go to is good enough.”

“What if that’s all he wanted B? He might not take too kindly to a surprise party.”

“Hmm maybe; I just want to do something special you know.”

“I know”

“Oh do you want to see our year book?”

“Go on then” Sebastian smirks and flicks through, stopping on any pages featuring Blaine. “Killer did you seriously use that as your quote?” Sebastian laughs, getting the attention of the other boys.

“Oh yeah his quote’s great isn’t it” Sam beams 

“What is it?” Jeff asks and Blaine does his best Chewbacca impression in return, making the blonde look at the book and laugh. “Only you Blaine”

“You know most people would think you’d come up with something meaningful” Thad muses

“It is meaningful…it means something different to each person” Blaine sasses back

Nick looks to Sebastian, “You’re a terrible influence on him” who just wiggles his eyebrows in response.

After finishing the edits to his presentation in the library the guys all wonder around the school, completely amused by the lack of authority. Blaine takes his moment to talk to   
Trent, “Trent…I’m really sorry about the other day…I erm…well…I didn’t realise the door was still open.”

“That’s okay Blaine…it was one of those things, was I shocked? Sure but don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone”

Sam turns around having heard some of the conversation and notices the particular look and blush on Blaine’s face and knows he’s only seen them a couple of times before, “Oh my god you totally saw them do it!” he says loudly, catching everyone else’s attention.

“Thanks Sam” Blaine says through gritted teeth as he punches Sam’s shoulder

“And I didn’t see them actually doing it” Trent tries to defend

Brittany climbs out of one of the lockers down the corridor, “But you did see something!” she beams

“Did you just come out of that locker?” Nick asks

“Where else would I have come from?” She frowns at him, “Tell me about it…was it hot? Who was doing what? Did they change the sheets? Did you know Blaine doesn’t change the sheets after unless he really needs to or he’s planning a sleep over night.” She turns to Sam, “Isn’t that right Sam? We’ve slept in them after”

“Oh yeah totally” Sam grins, wondering just how red Blaine can go

“Just kill me now” Blaine moans and hides his face in Sebastian’s chest

“Hang on, does this mean we can finally say something about New York?” Nick asks and Thad nods enthusiastically 

“I know I don’t want to know, but I can’t stop myself from asking…what about New York?” Blaine asks, face still hidden.

“The fact we heard you two obviously going at it” Nick smirks

“Okay that’s not as bad as I thought it would be” Blaine comments

“They’re just jealous anyway” Beat pats Blaine’s shoulder, “You’re getting loads and they don’t get any”

“As if you do any better” Thad quips

“Why don’t you ask the petite brunette from last night?”

“Nice” Sam remarks and gives Beat a high five

“Why don’t you give Blainey sex high fives anymore Sam?” Brittany asks mischievously

“Don’t” Blaine starts but is quickly cut off

“Because my hand would have fallen off from having to do it so often” Sam grins

“Answer that” Blaine finishes what he was about to say grumpily and punches Sam’s arm

“What the hell dude that actually hurt!” Sam punches Blaine in retaliation and they’re soon exchanging playful but hard blows.

“What’s going on here? Why aren’t you in class?” Mr Higgs asks

“Why aren’t you? Shouldn’t you be teaching AP Biology now?” Blaine retaliates

Mr Higgs clears his throat, “Carry on” he replies before walking on

“How did you know which class he should be teaching?” Jeff asks

“Because I should be in AP Biology” Blaine shrugs

Just then Tina and Artie come racing round the corner, “Yo Blam…get us some ice cream!” Artie calls

“Yes please” Brittany squeals

“One last Blam crusade!” Tina chimes in

Blaine and Sam share a look before answering simultaneously, “Fine” and head to the cafeteria  
When they get there they poke their heads round the door at first, “Okay…operation plan B…are you up to it dude? We need more than normal” Sam whispers

“Let’s do this” they do their Blam handshake before going in to the deserted room that’s gearing up for lunch

Brittany stops any of the Dalton boys from following, “We can’t go in or it will ruin it…and we need to be ready to run”

“Why?” Thad asks

Sebastian just looks through the glass window of the door and sees Sam charming one of the lunch ladies, he doesn’t however expect to see Blaine sneaking into the kitchen. 

“What’s plan A if this is plan B?” he asks

“Plan A is when Blaine distracts” Tina answers, “It depends who’s on lunch as to who does the distracting, all the lunch ladies find either one of them too cute.”

“We need to run” Brittany smiles as she looks through the glass and leads them all to underneath the bleachers

A moment later and Sam and Blaine come running over, each carrying a full box of choc ices and hand them out to the group.

“Stealing killer B…really? From a public school?”

“If you don’t want one” Blaine raises his eyebrows and goes to take Sebastian’s ice cream away but his boyfriend moves it out of his reach.

“I didn’t say that” 

“Thought so” Blaine smirks

“How come you two haven’t been expelled for stealing?” Jeff asks

“We don’t get caught” Sam answers as if it’s the most obvious thing

“Plus they’re Blam” Artie exclaims, “No one else can get away with taking extra portions at lunch either but they do”

“It’s because they seem too innocent to know it’s wrong” Tina teases and pinches Blaine’s cheek

“Plus it’s his puppy eyes of doom…even Sue can’t stand them” Sam adds

They hang outside just chilling and talking until the McKinley members are allowed to go home.

Later that evening Sebastian sends a text to all involved in planning Blaine’s birthday party telling those of them to be on Skype at 7:00pm sharp for an emergency meeting. After all agreeing that Blaine would feel bad if he got a big party and Sam didn’t, it was agreed that it would be a joint one for the two of them and the Iron Man theme would be extended to include Captain America. Marley’s mum even offered to bake them themed cakes when she stumbled in on Marley during the Skype chat and they all explained everything. Sebastian knowing a little about their money troubles from Blaine kindly accepted her offer but insisted on paying. Marley’s mum of course tried to refuse but Sebastian wouldn’t let her saying what they were going to pay her would still be saving them money by not going to a bakery. Of course this wasn’t true; he was going to pay her fairly having gotten to know and like Marley as she was one of the members who Blaine would spend time with outside of school.

While Sebastian is finalising plans, Blaine meanwhile is on the phone to his parents.

“Now Blaine we know your graduation ceremony is coming up, but we are currently involved in a very important business deal. Is it worth us trying to move meetings to come or not?” His dad asks.

“If you don’t want to come then don’t” Blaine replies, fed up of these games. He expected this and in truth he wasn’t sure he wanted them there as he’d already asked Sebastian to go and he didn’t want the backlash of having his boyfriend and his parents together.

“Now Blaine, we didn’t say we didn’t want to go. Graduating high school is an achievement but these meetings could lead to some exceptionally lucrative deals so we don’t want to mess them around unnecessarily. I know the Dalton ceremony is a big occasion but we weren’t sure if it would be the same at McKinley.” His mum explains.  
Blaine knew that they weren’t fussed about going by their tone, “If these meetings are that important then I wouldn’t want you to risk rearranging them. I understand.”

“That’s the mature decision.” Blaine’s dad tells him, “Now can we expect to tell them about a valedictorian or not?”

“Well it’s between me and two other’s but I should be able to tell you officially tomorrow. I have a meeting with the Principal.”

“Be sure to email me. Family is something important to these people. Now we need to go.” And with that Blaine’s dad ends the call.

Blaine lay on his bed staring at the ceiling. He never knew how to take their conversations. He knew his parents couldn’t accept him due to his sexuality but each time they ask about school he couldn’t help but get his hopes up that they actually care. Of course they’d only ask so they could drop in things to prospective business partners who are pro family. What a joke.

Blaine’s phone goes off with another call, seeing it’s Wes Blaine smiles brightly, “Hi Wes”

“Hi Blaine, how are you”

“I’m okay” but Blaine’s voice betrays him

“Blaine…don’t try to hide things from me. What’s wrong?”

“I’ve just got off the phone with my parents”

“And?”

“They were just calling to confirm they didn’t have to come to my graduation so they don’t miss some meetings. Apparently the deal is too lucrative to mess them around. The ironic thing though is these people are pro family so they probably wouldn’t mind. I suppose I should be grateful though; my dad told me to email him whether or not I get valedictorian so he can talk to them about his sons.” Blaine says bitterly.

“Oh Blaine”

“It’s fine Wes really. I’m used to it.”

“But you’re not fine and you shouldn’t be.”

“It’s for the best anyway as I’ve asked Bas to come. By any chance will you be back in Ohio?”

Wes smiles, “Is there a reason why I should be?”

“I was kind of hoping you’d come. If it wasn’t for you I doubt I’d be graduating this year, but if you’re not back I don’t expect you to make the trip just for me.”

“Blaine don’t be silly. I’d be honoured to come and would fly back no matter where I was. Is Cooper going?”

“I haven’t really spoken to him about it”

“I thought things were going well between you too.”

“They are and he’s calling and messaging me frequently and not just about his life.”

“Then why haven’t you asked him? You know I’m not going to push you to but it would mean a lot to him and I think it would mean a lot to you too. He was genuinely terrified   
he’d lost you forever and so far he’s proving himself.”

Blaine sighs, “I know; you’re right. I’ll talk to him.”

“I’ll see you soon Blaine”

“See you soon Wes”

Wes was right. Cooper was ecstatic to be asked, which in turn made Blaine very happy. He might not be having the conventional family attending to see him but with his friends on stage or in the audience and Cooper, Wes and his Sebastian, Blaine knew it was going to be a day he’d want to remember. Cooper however hadn’t been happy when he learnt about his parents approach to Blaine’s graduation so called two people who Blaine adored and who adored him; their maternal grandparents. Despite their mother’s homophobic view, her parents were the complete opposite and adored their grandsons, but particularly Blaine. Cooper was mature enough to admit that without any jealousy now, after all they were their only family members that still loved his baby brother. He knew Blaine wouldn’t have asked them as he wouldn’t have wanted to make them feel like that had to travel from either the Philippines or Italy, depending where they are at the moment. What Blaine didn’t know though was that they were planning on visiting him around his birthday so Cooper made a call for them to get an earlier flight. They were thrilled about attending Blaine’s graduation ceremony so jumped at the chance.


	48. Graduation

Blaine helps Sebastian straighten his cap and slip into his gown.

“Careful killer, you’ll stare holes through me if you keep looking at me like that”

Blaine blushes fiercely and looks down shyly, “I can’t help it if you’re handsome and I like looking at you”

Sebastian smirks in response and then his phone goes off, “My dad’s just arrived, are you ready for this?”

“What if he doesn’t like me” Blaine bites at his lower lip

“Then don’t take it personally. He doesn’t like me and I’m his son. You know he’s only coming because Sarah’s making him after he announced he didn’t see the point so had booked a load of meetings in, which he then kept yelling about having to rearrange. I just can’t believe someone like her is married to my dad.” Sebastian takes hold of Blaine’s hand and walks them to the senior common room where his dad had told him they were waiting. Sebastian greets them both before introducing Blaine, “Dad, Sarah I would like you to meet my boyfriend Blaine Anderson”

Blaine manages to put on his show smile as he shakes their hands, “It’s a pleasure to meet you both Mr and Mrs Smythe” 

“It’s our pleasure too Blaine, please call me Sarah” she smiles kindly at him

“Sebastian tells me you’re going to study at NYU” Mr Smythe says slightly abruptly but Sebastian had already warned Blaine that’s how he talks so to not take any notice.

“Yes that’s correct; their academic programmes really appealed to me”

“It’s a good school”

“Thank you sir”

“What are you going to study Blaine?” Sarah enquires

“B’s taking a double major” Sebastian smiles proudly down at him

“Impressive” Mr Smythe comments, “Which subjects?”

“Languages and musicology” Blaine replies

“Maybe slightly less impressive, I’m not sure one can really call music studying” Mr Smythe scoffs

“Dad” Sebastian growls in warning

Sarah steps in, “Well I’m always jealous of anyone who’s musical. I always dreamed of being able to play the piano and violin but I’m hopeless.”

“B can play both of those as well as others”

“Really? Now that is impressive” Sarah smiles and gives her husband a look

“Don’t even get me started on his singing voice” Sebastian continues causing Blaine to blush before everyone is called to take their seats.

The graduation ceremony goes smoothly, with Sarah sat between her husband and Blaine. She can’t help but notice how proud he looks as Sebastian is given a special award for the highest, most consistent GPA to have ever been gained at Dalton, or through his valedictorian speech. Unfortunately, Sarah also can’t help but notice that her husband spends most of the ceremony answering emails on his phone and just looks disinterested throughout Sebastian’s speech and when he’s given his accolade.

After handing back his gown Sebastian just wanted to go back to Blaine’s, but apparently a meal with his father and step-mom was non-negotiable. They go to an exclusive restaurant in Columbus, Sebastian being sure to take his own car so he could make an escape with his boyfriend if needed. The atmosphere in his Audi is tense.

“Are you okay?” Blaine asks tentatively

“Fine” Sebastian snaps

“I really liked your speech.” Blaine tries again, “You really do have a way with words like no one else.”

Sebastian smiles softly, “Thanks killer” and pulls into the parking lot, “Come on let’s get this over and done with then we can get back to yours”.

Blaine was used to awkward family meals, but even for him this had to be one of the worst.

“So Blaine, I hear you went to public school before going to Dalton and then transferred back to a public school again. Why is that?” Mr Smythe questions almost aggressively in a suspicious manner, as if Blaine was on the stand in a court room.

Sebastian sees red; he knows he hasn’t told his dad that so he’d obviously been snooping. The look on his face lets Blaine know he hadn’t been the one Mr Smythe had gotten this information from.

“Dad” Sebastian cuts in, warningly 

“What? It’s a genuine question. Could you not keep up with the academic standards Dalton demands?”

“Actually Blaine’s valedictorian at McKinley”

“Let the boy answer for himself Sebastian, unless he’s incapable”

“Xavier. We’re meant to be celebrating Sebastian’s achievements, not berating his boyfriend.” Sarah tries

Blaine’s had a chance to collect himself though and is determined not to be bullied by the elder Smythe, particularly at seeing how angry it’s making his boyfriend, “That’s okay. Dalton is of course a great school, but McKinley has a much larger range of extra-curricular activities, which is something very important to me.” He feels Sebastian squeeze his hand in support, giving him another bout of strength. “After Sebastian’s speech though, I have to say I’m a little nervous for my own graduation ceremony, there’s no way I can match up to that.”

“It was a very good speech” Sarah adds then looks to her husband, “Don’t you think?”

“Oh…yes”

“What was it about?” Sebastian challenges his father

“What?”

“What was it about? Because from what I could see you were on your phone for the whole ceremony”

“Well you know I had meetings planned for today”

“You should have gone to them. There was no point you being there anyway”

“Well maybe if I knew you weren’t going to throw your life away it would give me reason to care”

“How exactly do you think I’m going to throw my life away this time?” 

“Well you clearly have no idea what type of law you’re going to study”

“Actually I do. I just don’t want to share it with you. Plus even if I hadn’t I have plenty of time to decide. Most people chose their path in law school, just like you did.” Sebastian turns to his boyfriend, “Come on B, I’m full”.

“That’s the other thing” Mr Smythe starts

“Xavier" Sarah tries, but is cut off by her husband

“A want to be musician Sebastian? Really? I’d have thought even you’d have more sense than that. It’s nice to know the trust funds your grandparents left for you will go on funding his no doubt failure of a career.”

That’s the last straw for Sebastian, who abruptly stands, taking Blaine with him. “If you’d really done your research then you’d know Blaine doesn’t need to live off me as you so put it. Not that he would anyway. Not everyone’s like you. Plus you don’t know a damn thing about him. If anyone’s going to make it, if that’s the path he chooses, it will be him.” With that Sebastian storms out, pulling Blaine with him.

After a while of driving in silence Blaine speaks up, “So that was one of the weirdest arguments I’ve ever seen” and manages to get a small laugh out of his boyfriend. “I’ve never seen two people stay so calm but be so pissed at the same time.”

“If we were in a private setting, he’d have really lost it killer trust me. I swear if that vein in his forehead got any bigger it would have popped. And did you really expect me to lose it?”

“No…that’s not your style. In fact you staying calm pisses people off more, which I know you just love.” Sebastian just smirks in response to that. 

When they get back to the Anderson’s Sam and Brittany have finished setting things up for Blaine and have made themselves scarce. 

When Blaine walks straight through the house it catches Sebastian off guard slightly, “And where exactly are you going killer?”

“If you want to find out then you’ll have to come with me” Blaine grins wickedly and Sebastian immediately knows it’ll be worth it.

They go out into the garden and find the hot tub already to go, with a bottle of champagne in a bucket of ice and two glasses perched on the side, with ridiculously fluffy looking towels waiting for when they come out. Sebastian looks around and quickly realises where the hot tub is situated, they are at no risk of being over looked, “You better be planning on being in there naked killer”

Blaine rolls his eyes as if that’s the most stupid comment in the world, “How else would I be? This is your celebration after all”

“Right answer”

"I know" Blaine grins cockily, "So get in there”

After spending a couple of hours in the hot tub they decide to get out, both completely debauched from a rather heated mutual hand job and fiery session of sex. They head up to Blaine’s room to change into lounge wear for the evening and Blaine panics when he can’t find Sebastian’s present.

“Woah where’s the fire B?”

“I can’t find your present” Blaine says in a panic as he starts riffling through his things, “Oh my god I must have packed it” he heads towards the boxes he’s already got ready to head to New York, but Sebastian quickly stops him.

“B you didn’t need to get me anything. And if you have packed it, then it doesn’t matter. I’ll still get it, just when we’re settled. But you are not unpacking everything now.” Sebastian says calmly but firmly.

Blaine looks between his boyfriend and the boxes a few times. There’s a reason why he’s so panicked about not being able to find the gift, but he can’t say or he’ll give it away so relents, “Okay…so what do you want to do tonight?”

“Well you can tell Sam and Britt it’s safe to come back”

“Really?”

“Yeah…we get to celebrate both our graduations with everyone in a couple of days and since it’s been just us, the afternoon’s been pretty perfect B. So how about we gather up popcorn, soda and whatever else we fancy and just put some films on and actually relax.”

“Sounds pretty perfect” Blaine agrees, so that’s what they do.

XXXXXXX  
Blaine and Sebastian are sat in the living room as Sam is upstairs frantically tidying his room before his parents arrive when the doorbell goes. Blaine answers and is immediately jumped on my Stevie and Stacey. Although he hasn’t met the Evans family face to face he has Skyped with them all several times since he and Sam started living together and even sent the twins birthday presents.

“Now kids get off Blaine” Mary chastises them, “And don’t you have something to say to him?”

Both let go and look up at him, “Thank you for our birthday presents Blaine”

“You two are very welcome. I’m glad you liked them.”

“Mine was so cool!” Stevie enthused, “I’ve made loads of plectrums with my plectrum cutter, all my friends are jealous.”

“And I love my watch, nobody else I know has a Disney one the same” Stacey beams at him, “All my friends are jealous cos it’s so pretty.”

“And yet it’s not as pretty as you” Blaine tells her, “Mr and Mrs Evans it’s nice to finally properly meet you”

“You too son and what’s with the Mr and Mrs, we’ve both told you to call us Dwight and Mary” Dwight scolds him playfully.

“Isn’t anybody going to give me some love then?” Sam says as he appears at the top of the stairs before running down.

The twins shout “SAMMY!” and jump into his arms

“And here was me thinking you’d forgotten all about me” he tickles them

“We were just saying hi to Blaine” Stevie tells him

“Oh I see how it is” Sam teases

“Well he’s our big brother too now so we had to say hello” Stacey explains

“Oh is he now?” Sam looks to Blaine who’s blushing shyly

“Yes. Mum and Dad said he’s like your twin so they now have two sets” Stevie adds

“Let’s show everyone to their rooms Sam” Blaine interrupts before he gets more embarrassed and emotional

When they come back down Blaine discovers Sebastian in the kitchen brewing coffee. “Are you going to come and say hello Bas?”

“Yeah I was just trying to be useful”

“Are you nervous?” Blaine teases and Sebastian looks away, “Oh my god you are!”

“You don’t have to be so happy about it and you heard them Blaine, it’s like they’re your actual parents and I want them to like me. Plus I have no idea how to act around kids.”

“They will like you because I love you and you make me happy. That’s all Sam’s parents care about. They might be strong Christians but to them love is love and Stacey and Stevie are just like Sam so expect hugs…oh and don’t let Wes and David hear you say they’re like my parents”

“The one who was in Wes' year?"

“That's the one...The running joke is I’m their adopted son, though nobody could decide who the mum is and who the dad is. Basically the two were roommates and close friends so when Wes took me under his wing David kind of did too.”

The two join everyone else in the living room. “Hi everyone I would like you to meet Sebastian, my boyfriend, Bas this is Mary and Dwight and the two munchkins are Stevie and Stacey”

“You have a boyfriend?” Stevie beams, Blaine nods in reply, “That is so awesome! When I’m older I want one too, girls are icky” and screws up his face making everyone laugh.

“It’s nice to meet you Sebastian, we’ve heard lots about you” Mary greets him with a hug

Sebastian raises an eyebrow at Blaine, “It’s lovely to meet you too Mrs Evans, and you Mr Evans”

“Well you can cut out the Mr and Mrs for a start, please call us Dwight and Mary”.

They fall into easy conversation for a while when Blaine notices the time, “Just to warn everyone Cooper should be here soon.”

“Why do we need to be warned honey?” Mary asks

“When you meet him you’ll know” Sam laughs

“Samuel Evans!” Mary scolds making Sebastian and they younger Evans’ snicker

“To be fair Mary, Sam does have a point” Blaine assures her 

An hour later the front door flies open with a bang, “SQUIRT!” and Cooper comes bounding into the living room.

“Don’t call me that” Blaine protests, “and you’re late”

“Oh come on Blainey”

“You could have let me know is all I’m saying. Coop, please meet Stevie, Stacey, Dwight and Mary.”

“Hi nice to meet you all, you might recognise me”

“You sing the jingle on that commercial right?” Dwight asks

“Yes exactly!” Cooper beams

“That song is so annoying” Stevie groans causing Blaine, Sam and Sebastian to burst into laughter.

Blaine collects himself, “Seriously though Coop why are you late? Was your flight okay?”

“It was fine. I had to pick up your graduation present!”

“You got me a present?” Blaine asks excitedly, “Hang on it’s not more DVDs of your commercials is it?”

“Nope it’s even better”

“What could be better than that?” Blaine asks sarcastically

“Well hopefully your Nona and Grandpa” A small Filipino lady asks from the doorway with a man behind her.

Sebastian watches Blaine’s whole expression change into complete surprise and joy, “Nona! Grandpa!” Blaine shouts and rushes over to his grandparents who sweep him up into a hug. “I’ve missed you”

“We’ve missed you too little one. But what’s all this about you not wanting to bother us for your graduation.”

“I just didn’t want you to have a long flight out for me”

Blaine’s Grandpa clips him round the back of his head, “That’s for being foolish and not giving us the choice.”

“Now introduce us to everyone Blaine” his Nona tells him. 

They walk fully into the living room, “Everyone these are my grandparents Camille and Joseph Santos. Nona, Granpa this is Sam, my best friend, the one who has been living here with me this year and these are his parents, Dwight and Mary Evans and his siblings Stevie and Stacey.” Blaine then takes hold of Sebastian’s hand, “And this is my boyfriend Sebastian.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet all of you” Camille tells them all then turns to Blaine and says in Tagalog, “He’s very handsome, you’ve done well” causing Blaine to blush.  
Blaine’s phone goes, “Excuse me” and he steps out of the room.

Everyone in the living room takes a seat with Sam, Stevie and Stacey sat on the floor playing. “So Sebastian, Blaine told us you were valedictorian at Dalton, that’s quite an achievement” Joseph tells him

“Thank you sir”

“Please call me Joseph”

“And me Camille” Blaine’s Nona cuts in, “All this sir and Mr and Mrs makes us feel old and we’re not ready to admit that yet!”

Sebastian chuckles, “Can I get either of you a drink? I put some coffee on shortly before you arrived” 

“That would be wonderful thank you, we both have ours plain black, you can really taste the beans that way” Camille tells him.

As Sebastian hands them their coffees Blaine comes back into the living room, “Everything okay B?”

Blaine chuckles, “Yeah that was just Rachel and Santana, does anyone mind if they stop off on their way back to Lima? They want to come and say hello and see the munchkins again.”

“That’s it everyone prefers them over me” Sam sulks

“What can we say? We’re adorable” Stacey says catching everyone off guard and making them laugh.

“What’s the plan for food squirt?” 

“Don’t call me that, it’s like you seriously can’t help yourself. Well I had made a lasagne earlier but I doubt there’s going to be enough for everyone now.”

“Did you make a salad?” Camille asks her younger grandson

“Yes”

“And garlic bread?”

“No we don’t have any”

“Do you have bread, butter and garlic?” 

“Yes”

“Then what’s to stop you making some? Do you have ice cream and tinned peaches?”

“Yes”

“Then we have dessert too. See plenty to go around. Come on” with that Camille takes Blaine’s hand and marches him into the kitchen.

Joseph leans over to Sebastian and whispers, “You can see where Blaine gets his bossiness from now, but you didn’t hear that from me”

Sebastian chuckles, “Hear what?”

Joseph taps the side of his nose, “Exactly…so I take it you’re coming to the ceremony tomorrow?”

“I am; I wouldn’t miss it.”

“I hope I’m not speaking out of turn but I never hear Blaine as happy as when he talks about you; we feel like we know you already.” 

Sebastian blushes faintly, “Thank you. All I want is for him to be happy; he deserves it more than anyone I know.”

Joseph smiles, “That he does. My wife and I would very much like it if the two of you could join us at our house in Italy at some point this summer, we would of course pay for your flights.”

Sebastian is a little taken aback by the invite, “Blaine’s spoken so fondly about that house it would be my honour though you wouldn’t need to pay for my flights.”

Camille steps back into the room, “You’re coming as our guest so we’ll pay. Cooper can you come and reach something in the kitchen please?”

Cooper laughs and speaks very loudly, “Don’t tell me Squirt can’t reach something” and saunters out of the living room

Blaine’s voice echoes through, “I heard that Cooper!”

“You were supposed to! What would you do without us tall ones?”

“I manage very well thank you, but right now I’m a little busy so can you just stop being you for one moment. And anyway it’s not as if you’re that tall! Bas is at least as much taller than you, as you are than me!” Blaine answers back with a raised and frustrated voice

“Well if Sebastian is tall and I’m normal that just confirms that you’re short” Cooper teases, purposefully winding his brother up.

Before Blaine can retaliate Camille heads back to the kitchen, “Boys that’s enough!” 

Everyone left in the living room is laughing when there is a knock at the door. Sebastian goes to answer as Sam’s hands are being used by his mother to hold her wool as she knits and Cooper is being made to help make extra salad.

“Lurch” Santana smirks

“Satan, Rach, how are you both?”

“We’re great thank you” Santana replies “Where is everyone?”

“B, Cooper and his Nona are in the kitchen, his Grandpa and the Evans’ are in the living room.”

“Blaine’s grandparents are here?” Rachel asks

“Yes they came to surprise him. When you see his grandmother you’ll see where he gets his looks from.”

“Well now you’ve got me curious I have to go and see” Santana muses

The two girls follow Sebastian to the kitchen where Blaine is putting the food onto the large wooden table that has already been set. The girls spot Blaine’s grandmother and immediately see what Sebastian means, despite her age she is stunning and has the same eyes and complexion as Blaine. They’ve all seen pictures around the house so they know Blaine’s looks came from his mother’s side where as Cooper’s came from their fathers, but it was clear that some family traits had skipped Blaine’s mother but had been passed to him, like the eyes. 

Blaine looks up and sees the girls and runs up to them, picking them both up and spinning them around.

“Warn someone before you manhandle them next time Frodo” Santana playfully scolds.

“Aww I missed you too Tana” he says kissing her cheek, “And you too Rach” he says giving her a kiss

“And we missed you” Rachel giggles

“Now we’ve got a full house tonight, but I believe you’ve already met Sam’s family before and you obviously know Bas and Coop so I would like to introduce you to my Nona, Camille Santos and my Grandpa Joseph, but he’s in the other room at the moment.”

“It’s lovely to meet two of Blaine’s friends” Camille greets them both

“And it’s our pleasure to meet you” Santana says, “I hope you don’t mind me saying but it’s clear where Blaine gets his looks from.”

“He’s a handsome boy so I take that as a great complement”

Blaine blushes and groans, “Nona...”

“Now now B what did we talk about with you learning how to take complements” Sebastian teases Blaine and kisses his temple having now relaxed around everyone.

“You should listen to him Blaine” his Nona tells him, “Cooper can you ask everyone to come through as dinner is ready. You two girls are staying yes?”

“Oh we wouldn’t want to intrude” Rachel says

“You wouldn’t be Rach but don’t feel like you’ve got to” Blaine tells her “We’ve got a couple of different salads, garlic bread, lasagne, but I made some vegetarian pasta when you said we were stopping over just in case you wanted anything and peaches and ice cream for dessert.”

“Did you make the lasagne Blaine?” Santana asks

“I did”

“Right I’m in then. Berry trust me, you don’t want to miss his cooking.”

After everyone settles at the table and the Evans’ say their prayers they all tuck in and enjoy the meal, catching up and laughing. Throughout it Mary, Dwight and Blaine’s grandparents don’t miss the looks he and Sebastian share every now and then. Looks of love and happiness, or the tender touches they give each other when they think nobody is watching. The four older adults all share a knowing look with one another.

After the meal Santana and Rachel leave to go back to Lima and Sam, Sebastian and Cooper clear up. Sebastian is the first to go back into the living room and sees that Stacey, Blaine and Stevie are all missing.

“Where’s B?” Sebastian asks Camille

“He’s in the music room with Stevie and Stacey; they wanted to see his guitars, they’ve been gone a while though, could you go and check on them?”

“Of course” Sebastian walks down to the music room but pauses when he gets to the doorway and just watches Blaine play the guitar and sing Disney songs the two children throw at him. The other’s come to see what’s going on but keep quiet when Sebastian raises his finger to his lips when he hears them coming. At the end of ‘Make a man out of you’ Blaine realises he’s being watched and blushes.

“Okay you two, it’s bed time” Dwight tells the twins

“One more song; please dad!” They both beg

“It’s up to Blaine as he’s the one singing for you” Both turn to look at Blaine with pleading eyes.

“Okay one more song” Blaine gives in

“Yay! Can you do Belle please, we love it when you do the voices” Stacey asks and Stevie nods in agreement

Blaine thinks for a moment, “That will be quite hard”

“Come on B we love the voices too” Sebastian teases as they all settle in the room

“You don’t have to Blaine” Mary tries telling him but Blaine’s lost in his head figuring out the music.

“Mom he can’t hear you right now. You see that face, that’s his ‘lost in his head’ face as he figures out the music.”

“He’s actually figuring it out right now?” Dwight asks shocked

“Yeah Sam’s right, that is exactly what he’s doing” Sebastian tells them and smiles proudly

“Okay I think I’ve got it” Blaine says before he starts playing. When he finishes everyone gives him a round of applause and Stacey and Stevie give him a hug goodnight. 

“Your grandson is very talented” Dwight tells the Santos’

“Thank you” They smile back.

As Blaine’s putting his guitar away he catches hold of Sam, “Sammy can I have a word with you?”

“Sure dude, why do you look so worried?”

“I don’t want to upset you” Blaine says as he looks down at his feet

“Have you realised that you’re totally going to be living with Sebastian next year” Sam chuckles

Blaine snaps his head up, “What…how did you?”

“Relax man. I knew that’s what would happen”

“No wait Sam it’s not like we’ve been planning it for ages and I’ve been wanting to talk to you but I didn’t know how because I still need you Sammy and I didn’t want you to think I was dragging you to New York then dumping you. I love living with you and the idea of being without you next year is really scary.” Blaine rambles

“Woah calm down dude, I’m not mad”

“You’re not?”

“Not in the slightest and you aren’t dumping me; we’ll still see each other almost every day and will still talk all the time right?”

“Of course you aren’t getting rid of me that easily” Blaine teases, “But what are you going to do next year? You know you can stay with us until you find somewhere.”

“Actually Jeff asked me if I wanted to live with him Nick and Thad, we all kind of assumed you and Sebastian would move in together. Either that or you’d both be spending too much time going backwards and forwards. Have you guys found somewhere yet?”

“No but we’re narrowing it down. What about you?”

“The same, but I’m a bit worried about the money”

“Don’t be, their parents will cover all the living costs”

“I don’t want to live off them”

“You wouldn’t be doing any different from them. Just put in for food and take turns cooking and cleaning. That’s all that matters to them.”

“Were you really scared about telling me?”

“Of course you’re my best friend and I didn’t want to upset or lose you”

“You can be so dumb sometimes. We’re best bros for life now remember; Blam!”

“How could I have forgotten that little fact?”

“I know right” Sam teases, “right you better get to sleep, big day tomorrow and all that”.

“I love you Sammy”

“I love you too BD” The two share a hug before saying their goodnights and going to bed, having an early start in the morning.

XXXXXXX

The next day Sam and Blaine left earlier than everyone else so they could meet with the New Directions one more time. They all pitched in wrapping the trophies they’d won over the years up so they could go into storage as Sue had threatened to melt them down if they were there at the end of the day. The seniors all robed up before heading to the auditorium with their friends. Blaine, Artie and Tina had all tied with the highest GPA and were announced joint valedictorians and each given a certificate. Sue made it clear that although the day was about celebrating the achievements and successes of the seniors they also wanted to celebrate achievements across the school.

The whole student body was in the auditorium in addition to friends and family members, which had never happened before for a McKinley graduation. A series of awards were handed out, Sam got an award for his success and achievements on the swim team and most improved academic performance. Ryder got one for the football team and Blaine and Kitty were given awards for their part in the Cheerios wining their 10th National title with their highest ever score. Tina got one for achieving the highest mark to be recorded on an English paper final at the school and Artie got one for his work in helping the film department get properly set up.

Sue speaks through the microphone, “Now we have one final award to hand out. This award like the others can go to any member of the student body no matter what age. This is the award for the student who gave the most back to the school in the last year. All staff members were asked to nominate the person they thought earned the title the most and I can tell you their answers were unanimous. This person by far participated actively in the most extra-curricular activities and still found time to tutor their fellow students, as individuals and in groups and despite their minute size their presence was always known; partly because they hardly ever shut-up”. The students laugh knowing this is endearing from Sue but some of the family members look a little shocked. 

“By now you should all know who I’m talking about and if you don’t then I suggest you take an IQ test but I’ll give you one last clue. He has been without question the most active Senior Class President ever known at this school and has helped make the school a better place, leaving a legacy of an active council and student body. So please welcome to the stage Blaine Anderson!” Blaine is stunned and after a shove from Tina goes to collect his award. Sue stops Blaine from leaving the stage, “Now this is very convenient because as his last act as Senior Class President I’ve asked him to put something together and no doubt he will take the opportunity to try to deafen us all once again.” With that Sue walks to the edge of the stage.

Blaine takes over at the microphone, “Hi I hope you all don’t mind if I take this off for a minute because the tassels in my eye line are a bit distracting.” The audience laugh and Blaine takes off his cap, “Before I get onto what I’m meant to be doing I just want to say that as a student body we’ve come up with our own award, but don’t worry I promise you it is only one.” Again a few more laughs, “So we decided that the staff should also be recognised as without them none of us would be here today and I have to say I’m very proud that we’ve pulled this off without any of them finding out. All the students in the school were asked to nominate the member of staff, teacher or otherwise, who they felt had made the biggest impact to their year. Whether it be by additional help, a shoulder to cry on, whatever, you get what I mean.”

“Again there was an overwhelming majority. There were so many reasons why this person was selected, but to name a few, they always listen, they always manage to put a smile on anyone’s face, and they always care. This person is loved by everyone in the school and does a fine job in keeping us all fed, even on occasion making us something different if we aren’t feeling well. So Mrs Rose, the first Staff Star award goes to you.” Marley and her mum both burst into tears. Blaine helps Mrs Rose up the stairs to the stage and hands her a certificate, some flowers and an envelope containing a voucher for a three course dinner for two at Breadsticks, “Now it’s your turn to have someone look after you.” Mrs Rose makes her way off the stage getting a standing ovation from all the students and staff, Blaine looks to Sue who gives him a nod of approval. He wasn’t stupid and knew it had been Sue who gave Marley and her mum all the extra gifts at Christmas.

“Now as Principal Sylvester said today is about celebrating not only us seniors but our school as a whole and I was asked to put something together to highlight this. This school year has had highs and lows, successes and losses. The main thing for me though was how the student body pulled together after trauma and in a time of a great loss” Everyone knew Blaine was talking about Finn, “But there has also been some weird moments, some funny ones and others you never want to see again so I’ve put a presentation to capture some of McKinley’s moments throughout the year. On a final note for those who aren’t graduating yet, school is what you make of it, learn, make friends and enjoy this part of your life because you will never get a chance to do it again, don’t regret passing up opportunities because they don’t come your way every day. And of course I’m taking this opportunity to sing one last song as a student at this school.”

Cooper leans over to Sebastian, “Did you know anything about this?”

“No…not a clue but he did tell me it wasn’t going to be like an ordinary ceremony. Wes did you know?”

“No. I’m in the dark as much as you guys are.”

Music starts filling the auditorium and Blaine sings ‘Everybody wants to rule the world’ while slides with pictures and facts play. The school shooting and how the students supported each other featured, as did Finn, the swim team’s win, the Cheerios’ National win, the New Directions’ second place, the football team’s cup win, the hockey team’s second place as well as other team and individual achievements. There were also some more light hearted moments including twerking being allowed back in the school and there being only one Valentine’s Day cupid this year, complete with a picture of Jacob Ben Israel with nothing but a sheet tied round him like a diaper with wings after the hockey team got hold of him, as well as other moments such as Stoner Brett’s delayed Prom King acceptance speech. By the end of the presentation the audience and students are both laughing and crying at the memories.

Sue comes back on the stage and shakes Blaine’s hand. “Now put your cap on young Burt Reynolds so we can get this over and done with.”

The graduating class are called on stage one at a time each collecting their High School diploma, even Brittany. Tina announces she’s going to Brown and they all share a group hug before tossing their caps in the air. After half an hour of picture taking time Sue’s voice comes booming through her trademark megaphone. 

“Can everyone apart from the New Directions please leave the auditorium?” Nobody moves, “NOW!” At that everyone apart from the New Directions, old and present and their families and friends exit the auditorium. “You five, give me your gowns.” Blaine, Tina, Artie, Sam and Brittany all share confused looks then give Sue their gowns. “I may have celebrated the final fall of the glee club by sacrificing a goat, but the auditorium is yours for one last time.” At that the curtain that was half way across the stage lifts to reveal the roundabout they’d gotten for the stage complete with ramp for Artie to get on and off with ease. All the new New Directions beam but Sue reminds them, “One song then you’re out so make it a good one” before walking off.

Blaine looks at his New Directions, “Guys?!” and they all run back stage. 

“Aren’t you going to join them?” Wes asks Rachel and Santana

“No, it’s a completely different club from when we were members. They actually like each other.” Santana laughs, “Today’s about them saying goodbye, they need to have their moment.” Rachel nods in agreement. Everyone takes a seat near the stage and wait. After five minutes music starts for ‘On our way’ and Unique comes out singing the first verse, for the first chorus the rest run out onto the stage playing with Hula Hoops, giant balls and space hoppers, throwing them away as they all sit down at the end of the stage for the next verse. At the next chorus they all run and play with the roundabout. For the rest of the song they just clearly have fun on stage together, piling on top of each other and running hand in hand in a line on and off stage before finishing on the roundabout laughing all together.

They then all jump off the stage parting ways but not saying goodbye yet as they would be seeing each other the next night at Sugar’s for the Dalton/McKinley group graduation party. The graduates tonight though were spending the evening with their families. Blaine’s and Sam’s, including Wes and Sebastian all had a reservation together at a small Italian in Westerville. 

“Are you two going to join us?” Blaine asks the two girls

“Oh no tonight is about you celebrating with family” Rachel tells him

“Oh please you too could totally be related; you’re both hobbits” Santana abolishes

“My dad’s will be waiting outside to pick me up anyway”

“Oh do you have plans with them tonight?” Blaine asks Rachel

“No not really but actually they wanted to speak to you about something”

“Then invite them too”

“Are you sure?”

“Rach I wouldn’t have asked if I wasn’t…Sam I Am! Would you like Santana and Rachel and her dad’s to join us”

“Yeah the more the merrier, plus these two are going to have to put up with us next year so they might as well start now!” Sam enthuses as he throws his arms around their  
shoulders.

That evening the whole group spend their time laughing and eating and genuinely enjoying each other’s company. LeRoy and Hiram explain that they are getting married in New York on the 25th anniversary of their civil partnership on December 28th and ask Blaine if he will sing ‘One hand one heart’ with Rachel at their ceremony; he of course immediately agrees. It’s late by the time they leave the restaurant, the Berries taking Santana home and everyone else going straight to bed when they get to the Anderson home.

XXXXXXX  
The next morning Blaine wakes to a strong smell of coffee and opens his eyes to see Cooper standing at the side of his bed. Sebastian is still sound asleep tucked around Blaine.

“What do you want?” Blaine whispers to not to wake his boyfriend

“Nona and Grandpa want to talk to you, but I came to wake you up as I wasn’t sure what they could be walking in on.”

Blaine grumbles, “Thanks I think. Is that coffee for me too?”

“No yours is downstairs waiting for you in the office”

“The office?”

“Yes now hurry up” Cooper says before walking out of the room to leave his brother to get dressed.

Blaine manages to get up without waking Sebastian and pulls on sweats and a t-shirt, which he realises, is Sebastian’s when he walks into the office and his grandparents laugh at him.

“I feel like I’m in trouble” Blaine says as he sits down

“Not at all” His Nona reassures him

“Now Blaine we’ve spoken to Sebastian and we would love for you to join us at some point this summer in Italy.” Joseph tells him

Blaine smiles, “I know, he was thrilled you’d invited him”

“He’s a remarkable young man Blaine and you obviously truly make each other very happy. I know he pushes you when you need it and he admitted you aren’t afraid to let him know if he turns into an asshole, his words,” His Nona chuckles. 

Blaine blushes, “Thank you”

“What we really want to talk to you about though is a trust fund that will be yours in its entirety when you turn 18.” Joseph states

“A trust fund? I didn’t know I had one, you really shouldn’t have”

“Blaine we’re your grandparents and we love you…as your Grandpa said the money will be completely yours when you turn 18 and we wanted to talk to you about it as it’s quite a sizable sum of money and we didn’t want you to feel overwhelmed when you receive it.”

“On your 18th Blaine you will be receiving $1.7 million”.

Blaine’s eyes bug out and he feels his head swarm, “I, I don’t know what to say. Thank you isn’t enough. Are you sure?”

“Blaine we are completely sure; we love you and we want to do this for you. We support you completely and are so proud of the young man you’ve become, of everything you’ve achieved despite all that has been thrown at you in your short life.” Camille tells him and Joseph nods in agreement

Blaine stands and gives them both a gripping hug with tears in his eyes.

“Now we know it’s a lot of money and you’ll obviously need to think about what to do with it, so the account will be transferred into your name and the money will be safe.”

Blaine sits back down and wipes his eyes, “Actually I’ve got an idea of what I’d like to do with some of it if it’s okay with you.”

“What is it little one?” Camille asks tenderly, feeling slightly overwhelmed herself at Blaine’s reaction.

“When Bas’s grand-pere died he inherited a sum of money and he wants to invest it. So he decided he’d like to buy an apartment in New York and asked me to move in with him, I agreed on the basis that I would pay him rent so we are equal, which he was more than happy with since we are equals. Well now I have this money, I would like to be able to pay half of the apartment we choose. We aren’t naïve and know this is a big step and that we will need to get appropriate contracts drawn up, but this is something I feel very strongly about.”

Joseph looks to his wife who nods at him before he speaks, “It sounds like you’ve both thought this through. We’re very happy for you Blaine; would you consider using our solicitor to have the contracts drawn up naming you as equal owners? We’d also both love to come and look with you, not that we’ll try and influence your decisions but we have connections that will certainly help you see more than you would normally.”

“I’d have to talk to Bas but I don’t see why not”

“Would you go and get him now Blaine? If we can talk to the both of you about what you would like we can get our contacts working. As you’ll be buying with cash the sale will go through very quickly but you’ll need to go and look as soon as possible. I take it you’ve also spoken to Sam?” Camille asks

“I have. Sam said he knew we’d be living together even before I did and is moving in with the guys. As for going and looking we were planning on it after my birthday, we wouldn’t be flying out the day after but most likely the one after that.”

“Perfect, off you go then” Camille tells him so Blaine leaves to go and get his boyfriend. Then turns to her husband, “I know we haven’t seen them together much but I have no doubt they’ll be together for many years.”

“Me too. Dwight and Mary said the same thing to me as well. There’s nothing Sebastian wouldn’t do for our little bumble bee and it’s obvious that goes both ways. I’m glad he has someone in his life like that, after all our darling daughter and son in law failed him.” Joseph comments, a little bitterly when talking about his daughter.

Upstairs Blaine goes into his room with a mug of coffee for Sebastian who’s half awake, “Morning killer, I wondered where you’d gone”

“This is for you” Blaine hands Sebastian the coffee when he sits up, “Cooper came and woke me up, my Nona and Grandpa wanted to talk to me”

“Cooper came in here?” Sebastian asks with raised eyebrows

“Yes but don’t worry we were both covered”

Sebastian takes a sip of his coffee, “So what did your grandparents want to talk to you about?”

“Well it turns out I’ve got a trust fund that will be released on my birthday. It’s a lot of money and I told them I would like to be able to invest it in an apartment with you…I hope that’s okay. They actually support the idea and would like to use their connections to help us find a place. They were also really pleased that we’d thought about contracts and have offered the use of their solicitor to make sure we are both named as equal owners so that we would both get 50% of the price it sells for. Though I hope we wouldn’t be selling it for some time and that when we do it would be to get another place together.” Sebastian sits frozen, “Bas? Did I do something wrong? Should I not have told them; if you don’t want us to buy together after all or I'm getting ahead of myself I understand.”

“No killer no. You didn’t do anything wrong and you know I want us to buy together. I just can’t believe we can do it so easily now. Or that your grandparents are happy with the idea.”

“They really like you Bas. They’d like you to come down so they can get an idea of what kind of place we’d like so they can get their connections looking. They don’t want to interfere with our choice of apartment; they just want us to be able to see all that’s out there.”

“That’s more than fine B; I have no doubt they know the people to speak to in order to see the best on the market. Can I ask you how much money?”

“Of course, it’s $1.7 million, though I don’t want to put it all down.”

“No of course not. How much do you think you’d want to?”

“I’d say my maximum would be $750,000, if you were happy to match it we’d have a healthy budget to look in our preferred areas.”

“That’s exactly the amount I was thinking B. I guess we shouldn’t keep them waiting then if they’re doing so much for us.”

“Just chuck on some sweats and a t-shirt Bas, though you might need to find another one”

“Yes I can see you’ve stolen mine and you know what you in my clothes does to me” Sebastian gives Blaine a deep kiss.

The talk with Blaine’s grandparents goes extremely well. They are happy with the boys budget and like their favourite area as it is in a good neighbourhood and is an equal commute between both NYU and Columbia and isn’t far from Central Park. They spend time finding out the boys wish list and the must haves. Blaine wants to be able to take his drums, guitars, basses, ukulele, piano, keyboard (though that can be stored upright in a cupboard) cello and violin. Partly because he’s studying music but also because he would feel a little lost and empty without them. Sebastian wants Blaine to be able to have them too. Ideally they’d like a place they wouldn’t outgrow for some time so they would have plenty of space and could have friends to stay. Everyone agrees three beds would be ideal. They’d also like a kitchen they could enjoy cooking in and a dining space to entertain; they’d be happy with a kitchen diner but would prefer a separate room. They would also like an office space but agree that it could be the third bedroom.

They also book the boys flights to New York for two days after Blaine’s birthday so they can look. That day Blaine’s grandparents fly out to New York themselves where they had been planning on spending some time anyway. Cooper also has to get back to LA to film for CSI and makes Blaine promise to let him know how the apartment hunt goes. The Evans family also have to leave to get back to Kentucky for school and work.

“We loved meeting you Blaine. You’ve become such an important part of Sam’s life and have helped him so much. We really do see you as another son.” Dwight tells him

“Thank you. That really means an awful lot to me. Sam is an amazing person and he’s helped me more than you could possibly imagine.” Blaine says as Dwight hugs him

“Now I’m going to give you a little bit of advice since I see you as one of my own; Sebastian looks at you the same way my wife looks at me and your grandparents look at each other. That is something to be truly cherished. Do not let go of that Blaine. Many people will tell you high school romances don’t work, but Mary and I are proof that they can. You’re both about to start the next chapter of your lives and yes you will have to work together and there will be hard times, but if you do it will be the best adventure you can possibly imagine.” With that Dwight turns to make his goodbyes to Sebastian and then Sam, not giving Blaine the chance to reply but making him think about his words.

Unbeknown to Blaine, Mary was telling Sebastian the exact same thing. After the Evans’ leave Sam is obviously a little sad and deflated but Blaine knows the party later will change all of that. Sebastian and Blaine look at each other; both simply admiring the other and taking to heart the words of wisdom they’ve been told.


	49. Graduation celebration

Blaine, Sebastian and Sam head to Sugar’s for the graduation party and when they arrive find it in full swing with the Wablers and Hunter, some of the Dalton lacrosse team, New Directions and some of the Cheerios plus any alumni in town, which now includes Mike who has returned for the Blam birthday party. The event is not what Blaine was expecting at all. There are fairy lights in the trees of the Motta’s garden and the decking area has patio heaters and outdoor bean bags dotted around. There’s music playing and coolers of drinks and although everyone is having a good time the setting is more intimate than ‘full blown getting trashed’ party. Of course this is because of Blaine and Sam’s joint birthday party in a few days’ time, but Blaine doesn’t know that and even Sam doesn’t know the extent of the celebrations or that Captain America has also been added into the Iron Man theme.

It turns out Sugar has somehow ended up with all the New Direction’s costumes and lots of the props, which are being stored in an out building and everyone is having a laugh as they go through them all and Blaine ends up wearing his red feather jacket from ‘Diva’.

A Michael Jackson song comes on and lots of people gasp then quickly fumble to put a different song on.

“Guys seriously?” Blaine asks everyone clearly not amused, “I like MJ, put the song back on”

“We just didn’t think you’d want to hear it after…you know” Trent mumbles

“Well if you all hadn’t already worked it out…I’m over that whole situation.”

“Sorry Blaine we didn’t want to make the night awkward” Jeff murmurs 

“Well you did by making it a big deal.” Blaine says clearly annoyed and takes a deep breath to calm himself down, “Right everyone needs to get over this. All those involved in the MJ fiasco up” Blaine orders

“What are you thinking killer?”

“We’re going to sing ‘Bad’ again”

“Are you sure?” Thad questions

“Yes, unless you’re too chicken because you know we’ll win”

“Big words considering you’re missing quite a few of the New Directions who were there” Sebastian muses

“We have the key voices and let’s face it; Santana’s the one who stole that song”

“You know it” the Latina smirks

“Right if this is a competition then who’s going to judge?” Nick wonders

“Easy, Hunter, Wes, Kitty and Unique” Blaine answers

“Why those four?” Rachel asks

Blaine laughs, “Because none of them were involved and when it comes to telling people the truth about their singing and performances they’ll be honest and won’t hold back.”

“Fine by me hobbit, you prep boys ready for this?” Santana smirks

“Bring it Satan”

The group sing ‘Bad’ just like they did in the car park that night. It seems to work as everyone soon gets into the performance and forgets what happened before. The song will now have happy memories for them all.

The four judges deliberate for a while, “We’ve decided that based off that performance neither group can win” Wes tells them

“While we agree Santana kills that song in the chorus both groups were evenly matched” Kitty adds

“So you all either decide to call it a draw or each group sings their own Michael Jackson song for which the winner will be based.” Unique explains

“Group songs” Blaine immediately says and the New Directions nod in agreement

“Are you sure you want to do that killer?” Sebastian raises his eyebrow, secretly loving seeing the competitive side of his boyfriend

“Definitely…unless you just want to admit defeat now?”

Sebastian raises his eyebrows, “Don’t expect us to go easy on you” 

Blaine scoffs, “I could say the same to you”

Hunter stands with a coin, “Right Warblers you are heads, New Directions you are tails. If heads wins Warblers you go first, if tails wins New Directions go first.” Hunter flips the coin, “Warblers you’re up first, both teams now have five minutes to choose their song and get ready. You will be performing on the decking.”

The Warblers all huddle and decide the only number they have ready is ‘Want you back’ so decide that’s their song for the night. In the New Directions huddle though there is more of a debate going on.

“Right does anyone have a song in mind?” Artie asks

“We could do one of the ones from competition” Sam suggests

“But that didn’t feature all of us” Rachel argues

“I have one in mind” Santana grins mischievously, “It’s one we all did as a group but that the Warblers will have never seen before.”

“That’s great what is it?” Blaine questions

“’Wanna be starting something’” she smirks, “They’ll most likely have to sing ‘Want you back’ as that will be the MJ number they have ready and I know you, ‘Mr Competitive’ will get a kick out of going up against your lover boy and wining. Plus they’ll all get a massive shock.”

“Come on dude that sounds brilliant” Sam grins

“Yeah you totally killed that song” Mike adds

“Right everyone agree?” Artie asks and they all do

“As Sugar’s got all our costumes are you guys up for dressing up?” Blaine asks impishly 

“Thought you’d never ask Frodo”

All the New Directions go running into the out building

“You only have two minutes!” Hunter shouts after them

“That’s all we need!” Sam yells back sticking his head out the building, obviously mid getting changed.

All the New Directions reappear in costume as the Warblers take to the ‘stage’. They nail ‘Want you back’ Sebastian dancing even more flirtatiously with his boyfriend than he had when they first performed it.

“Sure you want to do this killer?” Sebastian asks slightly breathlessly ask the Warblers step off the 'stage' area.

“Absolutely” Blaine replies cockily and heads onto the decking.

The New Directions absolutely kill ‘Wanna be starting something’ and Sebastian is fixated on Blaine throughout the performance, he can’t remember the last time he was truly this confident performing and he loves it in more ways than one. 

“Well the winners of the MJ saga are the New Directions” Wes announces

“That’s not entirely fair, Blaine was a Warbler first” Jeff huffs

Sebastian tugs Blaine towards him, “What is it with you and jackets killer? Though this is an improvement on the red one, it looked like 100 Elmos were sacrificed to make it…And the bowtie returns” he says playfully pulling at it.

“Do you want to know a secret?” Blaine asks with a deep voice. Sebastian nods and lowers his head so Blaine can whisper into his ear, “’I want you back’...superhot.”

“I take it that’s what you thought the first time too” Sebastian whispers into Blaine’s ear

“I’ll tell you later” Blaine pulls back then winks as he walks back to the outbuilding to get changed

Artie approaches Sebastian, “It’s safe to say he’s got his swagger back” Everyone who hears agrees.

When they get back to Blaine’s that night he and Sebastian stumble through his bedroom door, quickly locking it behind them.

“So are you going to tell me then B?”

“Tell you what?” Blaine replies as innocently as he can feeling buzzed from the alcohol he’s consumed

“What you thought the first time you saw me sing ‘I want you back’” Sebastian says as he starts stripping Blaine

“Super-hot…I always thought you were super-hot”

“I knew it” Sebastian nips at Blaine’s neck as he strips himself, “When was the first time you thought about me, about us” he asks as he starts to stroke Blaine, his meaning clear.

“The first day I met you…I thought about you bending me over that table...though I knew I shouldn't...I couldn't help it” Blaine stutters 

“Fuck B” Sebastian pushes Blaine back onto the bed and climbs on top of him, their bodies fully flushed and erections grazing. Sebastian finds Blaine’s mouth, his hands threading into dark curly hair as Blaine’s hands roam across his back. They grind their bodies slowly together with the exchange of breathless moans and desperate kisses.

Sebastian breaks the kisses to suck on the spot below Blaine’s ear, making him moan. Blaine clutches his hair with one hand and squeezes his ass with the other. Sebastian starts kissing down Blaine’s body, nipping and licking as he goes, only running his tongue over the slit of Blaine’s cock when he’s whining and rolling his hips in earnest. After licking up the pre-come from the tip Sebastian lowers his head, taking Blaine deeper and deeper, occasionally pulling back up but then going deeper on the next time down, the action making Blaine wrecked. Sebastian can feel Blaine’s body practically vibrating so uses a hand to caress his balls. The only warning he gets is Blaine pulling sharply at his hair before flooding his mouth with come. Sebastian swallows it all down before removing his mouth, Blaine’s cock now only half hard.

Before Sebastian moves from between Blaine’s legs he leaves a few hickeys on the inside of Blaine’s thighs, making the shorter boy writhe as his whole body is feeling over sensitive. Sebastian crawls back up Blaine’s body and kisses him deeply, forcing him to taste himself on his boyfriend’s tongue, before flipping them over so Blaine is now straddling him.

Blaine’s crack lands along the length of Sebastian’s erection, making him moan, “Bastian” and he passes the bottle of lube to his boyfriend. Blaine lifts himself higher and bends over to kiss his boyfriend as Sebastian lubes up his fingers and circles his hand round behind Blaine so he can push two in at once, being rougher than normal, making Blaine moan and gasp. Sebastian doesn’t waste any time, being too worked up so makes quick work of stretching his boyfriend, scissoring his fingers before curling them to stroke Blaine’s prostrate.

Sebastian lubes up his cock when Blaine pushes his hand away and holds it up, allowing his boyfriend to sink down on him. Blaine lowers himself so fast it makes Sebastian moan and throw his head back in pleasure. Blaine uses his knees to lift and lower himself, Sebastian meeting his movements, driving in deeper and harder and rougher, maybe almost painfully for his boyfriend, but he can’t stop and he knows how much Blaine loves it when they do it like this. Sebastian flips them over before rolling Blaine to his stomach and lifting him to his hands and knees. Once Blaine is on all fours Sebastian thrusts back in, in one swift movement, the force rocking the curly haired boy forward. 

Blaine moves his hands to the headboard to hold himself steady as Sebastian thrusts into him relentlessly. The sight of his cock disappearing into Blaine’s whole between two perfect ass cheeks is enough to make Sebastian close, but he edges so he can wrap his hand around Blaine’s cock that is now fully erect once more and pumps his hand hard and fast to match his thrusts, the sensation quickly making Blaine spill over with as sensitive his body currently is. When his muscles clamp down, it’s enough to force Sebastian over the edge, coming deep within his boyfriend.

Sebastian collapses on top of Blaine and kisses his birthmark at the base of his neck, “I love you”

"I love you too…but right now I’m kind of lying on a wet patch…and you’re heavy” Blaine whines, making his boyfriend laugh. Sebastian pulls out and settles on the other side of the bed before pulling Blaine on top of him, away from the wet patch. Do you want to know another secret?” Blaine muses and looks up at his boyfriend from where his head is placed on his chest to see Sebastian nod in response, “You’re voice has always given me chills, I nearly blurted it out when we met.”

Sebastian practically snorts out a laugh, “Sure because that would have been embarrassing, ‘Hi are you a freshman’,” he mocks doing an impression of Blaine before properly bursting out laughing.

Blaine huffs and kisses Sebastian to make his stop laughing, “There was always something between us, I’m sorry it took me so long to realise, I guess I was kind of scared.”

“I knew I wasn’t imaging it” Sebastian muses, “But I think we needed the time. I needed the time to grow up and make myself a better person, it’s what you deserve killer…and that’s all behind us now…what matters is here and now…us now.”

Blaine smiles dopily, “I love you” and leans in to kiss Sebastian, much sweeter than before but still full of passion, pouring his emotions into it.

"I love you too," Sebastian says rubbing his nose against Blaine’s. Sebastian chuckles when Blaine lets out a big yawn and wraps his arms tighter around Blaine’s body, “Go to sleep B”

“Sleep does sound good” Blaine mumbles as he rests his head back on Sebastian’s chest. The last thing Blaine is aware of is his boyfriend leaving a lingering kiss to his curls before he’s lost to the world of sleep. It’s not long until Sebastian is sound asleep too, a small smile tugging at his lips.


	50. The birthday surprise

Blaine wakes up slowly and it takes him a while to realise he’s being sung to, sung to by his gorgeous boyfriend, “Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear killer, happy birthday to you” Sebastian nuzzles at Blaine’s neck.

Blaine rolls over so he’s chest to chest with his boyfriend and can stare into his green eyes. He grins dopily, “Morning”

“Do you think you’re awake enough to open your present?” Blaine immediately sits up and rubs his eyes as an attempt to come to quicker, making Sebastian chuckle, “I thought this was the part where you were going to tell me I shouldn’t have got you anything.”

“I was going to but we both know you wouldn’t take any notice of me” Blaine grins cheekily.

“Cheeky” Sebastian pinches the side of Blaine’s ass before reaching over the side of the bed and picking up a small cube-shaped box wrapped finely.

Blaine opens the beautifully decorated box to find a watch with a gorgeous dark brown leather strap and a blue watch face. “It’s gorgeous Bas, thank you…but”

Sebastian cuts Blaine off, “Don’t even think about saying it’s too much or that you don’t deserve it B”

Blaine smiles brightly and leans over to give his boyfriend a kiss, “Thank you” he goes to put it on but Sebastian stops him, “Turn it over killer”

Blaine turns the watch over to see it engraved with an interlinked ‘S’ and ‘B’, just like he had drawn on the padlocks in Paris and the date. The personalised touched and meaning behind it making his heart swoon, “It’s perfect, thank you so much” Blaine puts the watch down on his bedside table gently then turns back and straddles Sebastian's lap, holding onto his face with both hands and kisses him deeply. Blaine ends up lying completely on top of Sebastian and starts nipping and kissing down his neck and onto his chest.

“What do you want B?” Sebastian stammers over Blaine’s assault on his neck

“You” Blaine replies breathlessly

Sebastian wraps his legs around Blaine’s waist and soon he’s full of Blaine’s fingers stretching him purposefully and fully as they share passionate kisses. Blaine coats his shaft in lube before slowly pushing in, letting Sebastian adjust.

“Blaine, move” Sebastian breathes out

Blaine starts slowly but soon builds to a gruelling pace, both feel their release building and as soon as Blaine wraps a hand around Sebastian’s cock he comes hard, muscles clenching down on Blaine’s cock making him come. Blaine collapses on his boyfriend, still inside while they both catch their breath and their heart rates return to normal.

Sebastian runs his hand up and down Blaine’s spine making him shiver, “As much as I want to stay here killer, I’ve got plans for us today. Come on, shower time” he playfully pats Blaine’s ass.

Blaine groans then slowly pulls out of his boyfriend before standing on shaky legs, “You better be joining me”

“Wouldn’t have it any other way” Sebastian replies and he stands, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend to help keep him steady.

After their shower Blaine and Sebastian slip on sweats and t-shirts before heading downstairs. When they get to the kitchen Blaine can’t help but smile at the sight of ‘Happy birthday’ balloons and Sam and Brittany waiting for him wearing party hats.

“Happy birthday bro!” Sam holds Blaine in a tight hug

“Thanks Sam…but…you’re actually…choking me”

With that Sam quickly lets go, “Sorry dude” and looks a little embarrassed.

Brittany gives him a hug next, “Happy birthday Blainey” and places a party hat on his head then one on Sebastian’s.

“Something smells good” Blaine comments as he heads over to sit at the breakfast bar with Sebastian.

“We made you breakfast” Brittany beams

“You didn’t have to”

“But we wanted to dude” Sam says as he puts the pot of coffee and orange juice on the already set bar.

Blaine smiles at his two friends, today already being better than any birthday he can remember, “What have we got?”

“Dolphin pancakes! I couldn’t get narwhal shaped ones but I’ve made them magic with glitter” Brittany says as she places the plate in the middle of the breakfast bar.

“It’s really cool. It’s glitter you can eat” Sam enthuses

“Did pretty bird tell you what we’re doing today?”

“I didn’t yet Britt” Sebastian replies

Sam and Brittany look at each other before both exclaiming, “We’re going to the zoo!”

After breakfast they all go back upstairs to change so they could head out. Blaine sits on the edge of his bed and motions for Sebastian to do the same, “So I’m guessing you know that we went to the zoo last year” he asks sheepishly.

“I do”

“And I’m guessing you know we didn’t go on or even near my birthday”

“I do…why didn’t you tell me killer?”

Blaine shrugs his shoulders, “It happened before we connected again and I didn’t really feel like reliving it. I know it seems weird considering I told you everything else but it’s the truth…it just didn’t seem important.”

“It’s fine B I understand…I actually talked it through with Sam and Brittany when I first found out.”

When the group gets to the zoo both Blaine and Brittany run off holding hands and bounce from one enclosure to the next, squealing at the different animals, Blaine reading the information and names of the animals on all the plaques to Brittany.

“I can see why Stevie and Stacey are easier to take to the zoo now” Sebastian mutters to Sam while he watches his boyfriend ricochet around. 

As before, all of them come away with a stuffed animal of their favourite from that day, including Sebastian after receiving puppy eyes from not only Blaine but also Brittany. When they get back to Blaine’s house they all collapse in the living room, “Thanks for an amazing day guys” Blaine beams at them.

“It’s not over yet killer”

“What? What else have you got planned?” Blaine asks a little shocked.

“Now that would be telling, but we should eat then maybe have a nap before showering and changing.”

Blaine narrows his eyes but doesn’t get any answers so relents, “Okay…what does everyone fancy?”

“Man it’s your birthday, we’ll have whatever you feel like” Sam tells him with Brittany nodding her head in confirmation

“Is Indian okay for everyone?”

“From that little place?” Sam asks

Blaine chuckles, “Yes Sam from that little place”

“Awesome!”

After dinner they all crash in the living room and fall asleep watching Aladdin and are only woken up when Blaine’s phone starts ringing, smiling he answers it and Sebastian knew who it was immediately when Blaine started talking in Tagalog. In the meantime Sam’s parents ask him to log into Skype as the twins wanted to wish Blaine a happy birthday. Sam brought his laptop downstairs so they were all set when Blaine got off the phone to his grandparents.

The Evans twins sang ‘Happy birthday’, which Stevie played the guitar for making Sam and Blaine smile proudly.

“So man now we’re up and need to start getting ready can I give you my present?”

“Sam I told you not to get me anything” Blaine chastises

“Yeah and I told you the same thing and you didn’t listen so come on!”

Everybody follows Sam to his bedroom and sits on his bed. Blaine is passed a large poster shaped present to unwrap.

Blaine gasps as he opens it, “Sam it’s beautiful”

“I thought you could put it up in the music area of your apartment, not that you have to if you don’t want.”

“Of course I want to. It really is beautiful Sam and the frame matches my piano perfectly.”

Sebastian looks across at Blaine’s lap and muses, “Let freedom sing”

“It was our campaign slogan” Blaine explains

“You really are talented Sam, and there will of course be a place for it in whatever apartment we choose.” Being complemented by Sebastian like that means a lot to Sam as he knows the taller boy doesn’t hand them out lightly.

Brittany checks the time on her unicorn watch Blaine got her when it was her birthday, “Guys we need to get ready!”

“Okay if I don’t know what I’m getting ready for how do I know what to wear” Blaine pouts

“Sorry killer but that look won’t work this time. You’ll just have to base your outfit on what we’re wearing.”

“I’ll show you what I’m wearing Blainey” Brittany says as she grabs his hand and runs down to her room.

After seeing that Brittany’s wearing some denim shorts and an off-shoulder t-shirt printed with horses, Blaine has an idea of what to wear so goes back to his room to get changed where Sebastian’s just finished getting ready having pulled on dark wash jeans and a short-sleeved green Henley that makes his eyes pop even more.

“Know what you’re going to wear yet killer?” Sebastian smirks when he catches Blaine staring at him.

“I do actually so if you don’t mind waiting downstairs for me”

Sebastian laughs until he notices Blaine’s facial expression, “Wait you’re not joking”.

“No, so off you go”

“It’s a good job I like you and that it’s your birthday” Sebastian growls but Blaine just shrugs his shoulders and flashes him a cheeky smile. Sebastian heads out the room after grabbing his sunglasses from Blaine’s desk.

Blaine pulls on his navy chinos, navy boat shoes and a bright aqua short-sleeved Henley with fluorescent pink edging. To finish the outfit off he puts on his black trilby which he places so some curls are sticking out and grabs his bright pink sunglasses. He decides to leave Sebastian’s watch at home not knowing where they’re going and not wanting it to get wrecked so instead puts on a black-beaded bracelet. 

“Hurry up dude” Sam shouts from the bottom of the stairs and Blaine appears just seconds later.

Sebastian smirks and looks Blaine up and down as he comes down the stairs, “Looking good killer” 

They climb into Sebastian’s car, Blaine and Brittany in the back.

“Sorry killer but you need to put this on and Britt’s going to be making sure you don’t peak” With that Sebastian ties a blindfold around Blaine’s eyes.

“Is this really necessary?”

“Why don’t you trust us dude?” Sam says evilly

“Don’t worry narwhal I’ll protect you” Brittany tells him as she strokes his shoulder

“Well in that case, let’s go guys”.

They drive for about an hour and Blaine has completely given up trying to work out where they’re going until Sebastian stops the car.

“Don’t even think about touching that blindfold B” Sebastian guides Blaine up what sounds and feels like a gravel path and some steps before whipping the blindfold off.

Blaine comes face to face with Patrick Montgomery and immediately realises he’s at Wes’.

“It’s good to see you Blaine” Patrick says as he scoops him into a hug

“You too Mr Montgomery”

Patrick sighs and rolls his eyes, “Blaine you haven’t called me that for years. Please don’t tell me you’re going to start doing so again.”

“It’s just been so long” Blaine says sheepishly, obviously a little embarrassed too.

“Yes too long and if you hadn’t at least been answering my emails you’d have a lot of explaining to do young man” Patrick admonishes Blaine good naturedly, “As much as I’d love to keep you all to myself to catch-up I’m actually on my way out.” Patrick picks up his golf bag and steps out the front door, squeezing Blaine’s shoulder, “You should know Blaine, your room is still just as you left it. Now Wes is waiting for you in the garden so off you go” With that Patrick leaves.

“You have a room here?” Sebastian asks Blaine as they start to make their way through the downstairs of the vast property to head out to the garden.

“Yeah, I spent the summer of my freshman year here and quite a few weekends and time of the other holidays in my sophomore and junior years.” Blaine shrugs, “They didn’t want me alone in an empty house and wanted to make sure I had somewhere to go if I needed to get away from everything. Wes’ dad knows roughly what happened and helped me recover fully with physio exercises; he’s a really great doctor. I used to go on camping trips and things with them.”

Blaine opens the backdoor and is greeted by a large shout of “SURPRISE!!!”

He goes wide-eyed, “What?! How did you?!” Then turns to Sebastian giving him a big kiss and then to Sam and Brittany pulling them both into a hug and giving them a kiss on their cheeks, “You realise I’m mad at you Sam, no matter how awesome this because you didn’t let me do anything like this for you”

“No but you took me to that comic bookstore I’ve always wanted to go to”

“And actually killer, if you look closely you’ll see your ideas for Sam’s birthday party you wanted to organise have also been included” Blaine and Sam both look round and realise it’s Iron Man and Captain America themed, “You see this is a Blam birthday celebration.”

Blaine hugs Sebastian again and gives him a kiss on the cheek, Sam joining the hug and replicating the kiss as a joke and in thanks before he and Blaine both go running down the stairs and start to greet everyone. “You’ve done a good thing pretty bird” Brittany tells Sebastian as they stand at the top of the stairs together for a moment.

“We all have Miss Pierce and you were right about the zoo earlier; he absolutely loved it. Shall we?” Sebastian offers his arm to Brittany who giggles and takes it before walking down the stairs.

All the current New Directions, band members, Warblers and Hunter are present. The New Directions alumni bar Kurt, Quinn and Rory are also all there as are Wes, Flint and David from the Warblers.

“Anderson!” Puck shouts over to Blaine where he’s saying hi to some of the Warblers and thanking them for coming, even if he didn’t really know some of the younger ones that well.

“Puckerman!” Blaine responds and goes to say hello to find himself gripped in a tight bear hug, “Where’s your better half then?”

“I thought we were bros man but all you want is my woman” Puck teases, “She’s coming don’t worry, she just had to pick something up on her way over. How are you man?”

“I’m good, actually I’m really good”

“You seem happier than you have in ages, and I heard you finally stuck it to them MJ style”

Blaine laughs, “Yeah you could say that, it was all friendly rivalry this time though”

“I’m loving the hat dude, but I think it would look better on me” Puck steals the hat from Blaine’s head and puts in on.

Blaine goes to respond but a voice coming from behind him makes him stop, “I heard there was this guy who transferred to public school” and he whips round immediately to see David stood next to Wes and immediately jumps into his arms.

“Awww look they have their baby back” Flint teases and takes a picture of the three of them. Blaine sticks his finger up, “Looks like he’s grown up guys. He isn’t your little boy anymore.” 

“It’s good to see you David” Blaine says

“You too, now where’s this boyfriend of yours. I feel like I’m the only one who hasn’t met him.”

“Yeah well that’s what you get for spending a year abroad” Blaine sasses back.

 

David gasps and clutches his heart “Harsh words Blainers. So where is he then?”

“He’s right here” Sebastian says as he puts his arms around Blaine’s waist from behind and rests his chin on his shoulder. “It’s nice to put a face to a name I’ve heard a lot about”

“Why have you been talking about me Blaine?” David teases

“Oh it’s not just him. It seems you and Wes lead a tight ship during your time at Dalton. Where did your hat go B?”

“Puck took it, it doesn’t matter though…and it looks like Mike’s got it now. By the end of the night I’m not sure I’ll want it back if what they did to a Santa’s hat that time is anything to go by” Blaine shudders at the memory

“Too true” Santana says as she gives Blaine a kiss on the cheek, “Dani says happy birthday”

“Blaine aren’t you going to introduce me?” David asks

“Of course, David this is Santana, Santana, David” Blaine tells him amused before turning back to Santana, “Thank her for me, it’s a shame she couldn’t come”

“Well you’ll just have to make sure to see her when you come to NY in a couple of days before you go jetting off.”

“So who’s Dani?” David asks Sebastian while Blaine, Santana, Rachel and Wes chat.

“She’s Santana’s girlfriend”

“Damn it”

Sam comes bounding up to Blaine, “Man this is totally awesome!”  
“I know!" Blaine's brow furrows as he takes in Sam's appearance, his short sleeved plaid button up now open, revealing a glittery chest, "How come you’re covered in glitter?”

“Oh Sugar got me, she’s after you too" Something catches Sam's eyes, "No way!”

Blaine follows Sam’s line of sight, “Oh my god!” and the two go running off

“Who’s that with Quinn?” Sebastian asks Santana

“That’s Rory, come on” she grabs Sebastian’s wrists and starts manoeuvring their way to see the late arrivals.

“Hi guys! I heard it was your birthday so couldn’t not come and see you” Rory tells them

“It’s a long way to come just to see us” Sam tells him and Blaine nods in agreement

“Ah well you’ve twisted my arm, I was over here already, now school is done I thought I’d come and see a bit more of your country this summer and when I heard about this party how could I pass it? I’ve actually got something for the each of you.” Rory pulls out two bottles from his bag, “It’s about time you learn what real whiskey tastes like after that cats piss we drank.”

“I am seeing that right?” Sebastian asks as he approaches with Santana, eyes fixed on the bottles

“I think you’ve just become Bas’s favourite person Rory” Blaine jokes

Wes gets everyone’s attention, “Right, now we’re all here I just wanted to say I’m so glad you could all make it, you can see the caterers are setting up and there is going to be plenty of food. There is also plenty to drink so please help yourselves, anyone who is drinking is more than welcome to stay even if you hadn’t planned on it; there’s enough room for everyone.”

“We can see that!” Puck shouts from the crowd getting a few laughs

Wes continues, “I know that some of you have gifts you’d like to give to Blaine and Sam so I think we should kick off with that so we can then get them all safely put away before we really get going. There are only two rules for tonight, stay out of the rose garden, Nick, Jeff and Blaine I’m looking at you.” All the older Warblers and their alumni laugh while Blaine starts to blush, “And keep out of the fountain, again Blaine I’m looking at you” Blaine’s blush takes over and he hides his face in Sebastian’s chest. “Right so birthday boys if you can come over we’ll get the gift giving underway.”

Both of them are a little overwhelmed by the gifts they receive. Blaine had more to open as it was actually his birthday whereas Sam had been given most of his gifts on his birthday a few weeks before; he just had a few from people he hadn’t seen yet, like the aulmni.

“Kitty” Blaine chastises when he opens her gift, the last one in the pile.

“What?” She asks completely failing any attempt to feign innocence, “We can’t have you getting out of practise now can we PB?” All the Cheerios who were also in glee club giggle.

“And those better not be put away with the other gifts as I expect to see you using them tonight.”

“I’ll need a lot to drink for that to happen” Blaine comments

“Well that can be arranged killer. But why exactly Miss Kitty did you buy my boyfriend five Hula Hoops.”

“You should ask PB here himself” she says before skipping off

Everyone helps move the presents inside and pull the coolers of drinks out so Sebastian takes the opportunity to pull Blaine to the side, “So why did Kitty buy those for you and what’s with calling you PB?”

“Promise not to laugh?” Blaine pouts

“Promise”

“Remember I told you we did a cirque du solei inspired performance for the Cheerios’ regionals?”

“I do”

“Well part of that included props”

“Including Hula Hoops” Sebastian fills in 

“Yes including Hula Hoops, and I know you saw me use one when we performed after graduation but…okay…In the Cheerios I was the only one who could keep five going round my hips and waist at once so Roz and Sue named me power butt, hence PB.” Sebastian can’t help the amused grin that crosses his face as he some how manages to hold in his laughter. “You’re laughing at me” Blaine huffs

“No I’m not”

“You’re laughing on the inside” Blaine pouts

“Is being happy a crime killer?” Sebastian says through a giggle

Blaine spends a lot of the night flickering between Sebastian and the other guests getting steadily drunker. At one point Sebastian finds himself sat with Puck, Quinn, Santana, Rachel, Wes, Hunter, David and Flint.

“So are you ready to handle drunk Blaine?” Flint asks Sebastian

“I’ve handled him before...several times now” Sebastian says as he takes a swig from his beer, “And one of those nights has to be the funniest I can ever remember”

“Oh god what did he do?” David groans with amusement.

Santana leans forwad, “Come on Sebastian you’ve got to share, apart from Berry’s train wreck of a party I haven’t seen Blaine drunk.”

“I thought Blaine didn’t like drinking” Rachel says, earning snickers from the Dalton boys and Puck.

“That’s because you only saw him at parties with Kurt and Kurt didn’t like Blaine drinking so you were all meant to believe it’s something he didn’t like.” Puck tells her

“And how would you know Puck?” Quinn asks

“Because he’d happily come drinking with us guys. I swear get him drunk and set him loose on a video game killing zombies and it’s one of the funniest things you will see”

“Preach!” Artie says as he comes to join them

“Where’s your girl?” Quinn asks

“She’s otherwise engaged” Artie points to where Kitty, Sugar, Blaine and Tina are all climbing on Sam, “They’re trying to see how many people it takes to topple Sam.” They all look over to see Marley also climbing on.

“So what did Blaine get up to when drunk with you then Sebastian?” Wes asks, “But we only want to know the clean stuff”

“Screw that I want to know everything” Santana says eagerly

“Sorry Satan but I don’t kiss and tell” Sebastian winks

“And I thought you were only into girls now” Puck muses

“I am but I can still appreciate hot guys, in the same way that I know Blainers appreciates girls and all my hotness, we just don’t do anything for him and I bet you lurch is the same. Not all gay people are like Lady Hummel and chose to stay blind to the opposite sex. Now enough of that, what did your boy get up to Sebastian?”

Sebastian pulls out his phone and shows them the pictures from that night at Scandals, including Blaine on the back of the 400lb man pretending to ride him like a rodeo bull, Blaine with ‘Waldo’ and some footage of him dancing on the table. They all laugh and Brittany comes skipping over, “Pretty bird where’s Blainey gone?”

“He’s…well he was over there Britt” Sebastian tells her pointing to where Sam was stood still with various New Directions members attached to him but not Blaine.

They all look around, “Hang on Nick and Jeff are missing too” Wes stands up

“So?” Puck asks, “Scared for your rose garden?” he teases

“Puck!” Quinn admonishes 

“No…it’s more that we don’t know what they’re up to at all as there’s no trace of them and you can’t even hear them” David also stands up and keeps looking for a sign of the three younger boys

“Because we’re all a couple of years older we knew Blaine had to spread his wings and get to know more people when he came to Dalton. Nick and Jeff are the two that are the same age that first really got to know him, mainly because Jeff roomed with Blaine though it was obviously a good match, and then Thad was added to that group, but it's the three you really have to watch out for.”

“What’s so bad about Blaine, Nick and Jeff missing though?” Rachel asks

At that the three come bundling through a large near-by bush, firing Nerf guns at each other; Blaine now wearing a Dalton blazer and has a Dalton tie tied round his head albeit in a perfect Windsor knot.

“You three, come here now!” Wes orders 

Begrudgingly the three boys make their way over to the group, who all stand up, heads hanging down.

“Look at me” Wes instructs

The three boys slowly look up, “Where exactly did you get that tie from killer?” Sebastian asks completely amused.

“What tie?” Blaine asks completely confused, he looks drunkenly down at his neck and chest then looks back up at his boyfriend, “I’m not wearing a tie"

Everyone snickers and Sebastian reaches out and pulls at the one tied round Blaine’s head, “The one on your head genius. God B what have you had? Your eyes are completely gone” 

Blaine, Nick and Jeff all start laughing uncontrollably, until something gets their attention from the other side of the garden, it’s at that point Wes notices how twitchy and erratic Blaine’s movements are.

“Right which one of you two has given him a can of Monster” he points at Nick and Jeff as Blaine literally cannot stand still on the spot and is bouncing on his feet manically.

“Hey Britt come with me” Blaine says excitedly then grabs her hand and runs off with a giggling Brittany

“Well I’m waiting” Wes raises his eyebrows

“We both did” Jeff confesses

“He’s had two?” David asks wide eyed

“Yes”

“Oh god” Flint groans

Santana laughs, “Hang on you’re telling me you’ve given Blaine, who is for all intense and purposes a hyperactive puppy anyway, two cans of energy drink”.

Both Nick and Jeff get the same mischievous smile then both run away before they can be chastised any further.

“How bad can it really be though?” Quinn asks

“Bad” The three older boys chorus

“Well Sebastian, you may have dealt with drunk Blaine before, but welcome to drunk, energy drink infused Blaine, just a little tip, make sure he doesn’t kill himself before he crashes” David warns Sebastian.

“And then when he crashes he’ll be out cold for about 20 minutes so you’ll need to keep an eye on him” Wes adds.

“But then he should be back to normal, well as normal as Blaine gets” Flint finishes.

“Oh my god!” Rachel gasps bringing a hand to her mouth and her eyes go wide.

Everyone in the group follows to where she’s looking and see Blaine stood at the top of a large oak tree with his arms held up in a ‘Y’ with his head tilted back.

“Shit” Sebastian grunts and goes running over, the rest of them hot on his heels. “B how did you even get up there?” Sebastian asks from the base of the tree but Blaine doesn’t take any notice.

Brittany leans over one of the large branches, “We were talking to the squirrels…shhh they have a nest here”

“That’s lovely Brittany but why did Blaine go up there?” Quinn asks

“To talk to squirrels you’ve got to know what it’s like to be one” Brittany answers

“Britt honey, I know you want to stay talking to them but it’s actually the time when all squirrels must go to bed, so you better come down.” Santana tells her

A drunken Sam appears, “What’s going on guys?”

“Blaine’s at the top of the tree” Rachel explains

“Awesome!” Everyone looks annoyed at Sam, “Erm…not awesome then I guess” At that point Brittany jumps down.

“Blaine come down” Sebastian shouts up

Blaine looks down, “Why should I? I like it up here”

“I’ll make it worth your while” That gets Blaine’s attention and he’s soon scrambling down but misses his footing and falls down passed a few branches before he manages to grip onto one again. “Oh my god, killer you’re actually going to kill me at this rate, just come down slowly.”

“He’s like a monkey” Sam enthuses; “Now I know why he’s so hairy”

“I heard that Sam, I am not that hairy” Blaine shouts from where he is

“Face it dude, you’re like a Chia Pet”

Blaine climbs down a little further but then hooks his legs over one branch so he’s swinging upside down, his face level with Sebastian’s, “I thought I told you to come down B”

“And I thought you said it would be worth my while” Blaine grins mischieviously

“Come down and it will be”

“Prove it”

“What do you want?”

“A Spiderman kiss”

Sebastian raises his eyebrow in amusement before giving Blaine his Spiderman kiss. When they pull apart Blaine grins then swings back up before jumping down. Before he can run off again Sebastian grabs hold of him.

“Killer, don’t do that or anything else that could end up with you in the hospital, do you understand me?”

Blaine nods sheepishly, “Sorry for scaring you Bastian”

For the rest of his buzz Blaine spends his time running around with Nick, Jeff and Sam causing mischief and mayhem. It doesn’t take too long for the drinks to start to wear off and he’s soon stumbling over to wear Sebastian is sat on one of the outdoor beanbags drinking with Artie, Puck, Santana, Wes and David.

“You okay B?” Sebastian asks as Blaine collapses to the floor in front of him, now with his t-shirt fashioned into some sort of crop top, showing a glittery midriff where Sugar had got him earlier.

“Mmm sleepy” Blaine grumbles back

“Where’s Sam?” 

Blaine points in a general direction to where Sam is also crashed and Kitty and Sugar are piling up cans on his abs.

20 minutes later Blaine wakes up on one of the beanbags with his head on Sebastian’s lap, “How are you feeling killer?”

Blaine sits up, “Good, refreshed. I’m going to get some food, do you want any?”

“No I’m good, you can grab me another beer though”

After Blaine’s eaten he drinks more to be buzzed rather than completely wasted and keeps away from anymore energy drinks. At one point the party splits into boys and girls.

“Why do they keep looking over here?” Jeff asks

“I don’t know but we need to be afraid, very afraid. Look at the look Kitty’s got in her eyes” Jake says

“I don’t think it’s us who need to worry guys, they’re looking at Blaine” Ryder tells them

“No they’re not” Blaine dismisses

“Actually B they are”

“In that case, I’m just going to go into the kitchen for something”

Over in the girls group, “Okay Tina I can see your obsession with one Blaine Anderson” Santana tells her

“Well you know I had a crush on him so I can obviously see it too” Rachel says

“And me” Quinn adds, they all look at her, “What? He’s cute, kind and we all know he’s got more muscles than his clothes make out and his ass is something else” Everyone hums in agreement.

“I think you all need to join BAAAS” Kitty tells them

“What’s that?” Mercedes asks

“It’s the Blaine Anderson Ass Appreciation Society” Brittany explains, “It’s got more members than any other society at McKinley.”

“I have to admit I can see why, and he’s not really my type” Mercedes says

“Please, get to know him and he’s everyone’s type” Unique scoffs

“I wander if it feels as good as it looks” Tina muses, “his ass I mean”

“That’s what we all assumed you meant” Quinn looks at her

“I can assure you it does” Kitty smirks

“What?! How do you know?!” Tina exclaims

Kitty shrugs her shoulders, “Cheerios, there was a move we had to do that meant I got to cop a feel, just as you all saw him hold onto mine at Nationals. We didn’t use it in the routine in the end but I can tell you it wasn’t wasted, no wonder Sebastian grabs and holds it as much as he does, I’d hold it every day if I could too.” She purrs 

“Kitty you have a boyfriend” Tina scolds her

“And as you know he’s in the society too”

“I want to feel it” Brittany pouts

They all watch Blaine walk into the kitchen, “Well girls, I say we take what we can get” Santana smirks

“Are you really suggesting we all go and molest Blaine so we can feel his ass?” Rachel questions

“Yes”

“I’m in!” Rachel stands

“How much has she had to drink?” Quinn asks Santana 

“Enough to make her fun now come on” All the girls stand and go running over to the kitchen door, ready to pounce on Blaine when he comes back out.

“Erm you might need to help your bf” Artie tells Sebastian who turns to see all the girls stood waiting

Blaine sees the girls gathering outside the door and knows it isn’t good so he sneaks down to the basement so he can get back outside without being seen, unfortunately Tina sees him so he starts running, all of the girls hot on his tail. “Come on Blaine we only want a feel” she calls as he runs away. Blaine manages to get enough space between them so he can get back to the guys and jumps onto Sebastian’s lap and pulls his arms around him.

“What’s going on B?”

“We just want a feel pretty bird” Brittany explains as they all catch their breath

“A feel of what?”

“Blaine’s ass, they’re all jealous because I’ve already copped a feel” Kitty explains

“Which begs the question, why are you chasing him too?” Tina questions

“Because that was for Cheerios, I want a proper one now”

“You’re all crazy” Blaine tells them, pulling Sebastian's arms even tighter around himself, “You are not groping me”

“I’m with B on this one ladies, while I see where you’re all coming from I’m the only one that gets to have a feel” Blaine elbows him in response, “Jesus killer, what was that for? They all know it’s true.”

“Kitty your boyfriend is right there” Ryder points to Artie

Kitty scoffs, “Oh please you know he’s in BLAAAS as much as I do”

“I don’t think I want to know but what is BLAAAS?” Blaine asks nervously

“The Blaine Anderson Ass Appreciation Society; it’s the society with most members”

“There’s no such thing, I knew about all the societies and clubs” Blaine argues

“Not this one” Tina smiles  
“I’d join” Puck says and everyone looks at him, “Don’t look at me like that, I’m comfortable enough to admit when other guys are hot. Sorry Anderson but it looks like you could bounce a quarter off that thing.”

“You definitely can” Sebastian smirks causing his boyfriend to blush and look down, neither would forget the night they tested that theory.

Blaine looks back up at them all, “While I guess this is kind of flattering in a really creepy way, can we all please stop talking about my ass? And I’d like to be able to enjoy my birthday without fear of being molested. This is the last time I’ll see some of you before I go off to college.”

Everyone feels bad for a moment, his words hitting home, “You’re right, sorry Blaine” Tina tells him

“Yeah it shouldn’t have got so out of hand” Kitty adds and everyone nods, “Hug?” Kitty asks

Blaine rolls his eyes and stands up and gives Kitty a hug who takes the opportunity to grab his ass firmly in both hands, “KITTY!” Blaine jumps and shrieks making everyone laugh.

“Come killer you should have seen that coming a mile off” Sebastian laughs

“Right that’s it” Blaine picks Kitty up and holds onto her tight and starts marching her towards the pool.

“Put me down fuzz ball!”

“As you wish” Blaine holds her out over the pool

“Wait! Wait okay I’m sorry I shouldn’t have done that”

“Thank you Kitty” Blaine says and pulls her back to his body, “But it’s a bit late for that” and jumps into the pool with her in his arms as she screams. The next thing everybody sees is Blaine laughing madly while an angry Kitty keeps trying to push him under the water.

“When did those two get so close?” Puck asks Artie

“Cheerios, coming up for Nationals they saw more of each other than they did anyone else.”

Everyone enjoys the rest of the night and they all end up staying at Wes’, Blaine taking Sebastian up to his room when he wants to call it a night. Sebastian looks around Blaine’s room at the Montgomery’s house while his boyfriend is in the bathroom.

“Are you okay Bas?” Blaine asks as he enters the room once more

“Yeah, just looking around, this is a lovely picture B. You were absolutely adorable when you were little” Sebastian says as he's holding a picture of a 6 year old Blaine sat on his Nona’s lap in front of a small pond with a fountain on a picnic blanket.

“That’s at their house in Italy” Blaine smiles

“How come you don’t have pictures like this in your room at home?”

“My parents and grandparents don’t exactly talk anymore. I have pictures; I just don’t have them out because I don’t want anything to happen to them.”

“You know it’s not your fault that they don’t really talk” Sebastian says as he wraps his arms around Blaine.

“I know deep down.” Blaine’s eyes go dark as Sebastian starts to get changed for bed, “You know this bed has never been Christened.”

Sebastian smirks, “Oh hasn’t it now?”

“Nope never; it’s a crime really”

“The only crime would be if you didn’t let me do something about that killer”.

In the morning Sebastian wakes up with a desperate need for coffee so gets dressed and makes his way downstairs but gets distracted by a picture in the hallway of a young Blaine and Wes roasting marshmallows with Wes’ dad at a camp fire. Blaine’s hair is completely free and wild and despite the splint on his arm, he looks utterly carefree. Next to it is one of Wes, his sister and Blaine stood at the edge of a span of water. It’s obviously taken during the same holiday as the marshmallow one as Blaine has the same splint on his arm and his hair is the same mound of curls. What strikes Sebastian is how small Blaine is, yes Blaine isn’t exactly big now and Sebastian knew he would have been smaller during his freshman year, but seeing just how small really hits home and makes him think of Sadie Hawkins.

Wes’ voice snaps Sebastian back into the present, “It makes you wonder doesn’t it. Each time I see a picture of how small he was back then it makes me wonder how those bastards could have done what they did to him. It seems to make it so much worse.” 

Sebastian nods as that’s exactly what he was thinking, “When was this picture taken?”

“Spring break; at my family’s lodge in the Hamptons during his freshman year. That holiday was the first time after the attack he didn’t wake up every night with nightmares...it was kind of a turning point...after he actually started to stay in his room with Jeff as he wasn't so scared of waking him up and Jeff finding out what had happened” Wes reminisces before continuing, “That’s my older sister Tabatha, she’s in the London Symphony Orchestra now; she used to love teaching Blaine how to play the violin.”

“She taught him?”

“Yes”

“I thought he learnt when he was little. I’ve heard him play and I assumed he’d been playing far longer.”

“It just shows how remarkable he really is. I think it’s partly why Tabatha doted so much on him, I can sing and can read music just fine but no one else in our family has her knack with instruments, and then she met Blaine.”

Sebastian laughs breathily, “Kindred souls”

“Exactly; I’m guessing you’re up for a reason.”

“Yes I’m on the hunt for coffee”

“That’s just where I was going. I figure we’re going to need a lot. It’s a good job we’ve got more than one machine” Sebastian raises his eyebrows at Wes in question, “My parents couldn’t agree so they bought one of each type they wanted.” 

Slowly one by one each person wakes up and makes their way to the kitchen in hunt for food and drink. The day marks some goodbyes and when it's time for Kitty to go she pulls Blaine to the side, “Now you listen to me fuzz ball, if that ex of yours gives you any grief I want you to let me know so I can be on the next plane.”

“It’s not necessary Kitty but I’ll let you know. I’ll call and Skype you and come back to visit”

“As long as you’re not around more than you are now like last year’s graduate losers” She hugs him tightly, which he reciprocates without hesitation. “Don’t tell anyone this but I’m really going to miss you fuzz.” She admits, tears forming in her eyes.

“I’m going to miss you too.” Blaine tells her also with tears in his eyes, “Maybe when we’ve moved into our new place you can come and visit. Assuming we find something on our trip out we should be settled in a month and I’m sure Artie would love to see you.”

Kitty sniffs, the two still embracing, completely unaware they’re being watched by the remaining few (Wes, Sebastian, Sam, Brittany, Santana, Rachel and Artie.) “Actually we broke up”

“What why didn’t you say anything?”

“Because it was your birthday doofus. Long distance, you know how sucky it is and he wants to be able to fully experience college life...and anyway...now I’ve got my pick of Dalton boys too” She jokes trying to make light of the situation.

“Oh Kitty cat”

“Hey I don’t want you to feel sorry for me and we’ve parted on friendly terms. Just promise me that no matter what you’ll still be my friend. I’ve gotten too used to you hanging around.” Blaine laughs breathily as a car horn sounds, “That’s my mum. So promise me you’ll let me know when you’re moved in and I’ll come visit.”

“I promise” Blaine picks up her bag and takes her hand to walk her out to the car. Kitty takes her bag from him and throws it in the back before turning to give Blaine one last hug.

“What the hell, one more for the road” she teases and gives his ass one last pinch making him laugh. “McKinley’s not going to be the same without you.”

“No but they better all watch out because it’s your show now”

“Too right” she kisses him on the cheek, which he reciprocates. They give each other one last hug before she jumps into her mum’s car. Blaine watches them back down the drive before heading back into the house. When he enters he doesn’t notice the remaining few are wiping their own tears away, a little chocked up by Blaine and Kitty’s farewell as he heads upstairs.

“I’m on it” Sebastian says as he leaves the rest of them to follow Blaine, when he walks into Blaine’s room he’s curled up on the bed crying.

“Today sucks” Blaine sobs

“I know killer but it’s not like you won’t see her again. Hey when we’re moved in to our place why don’t you invite her over for a visit before school kicks off again?” Sebastian lies down and pulls Blaine tight to his body.

Blaine chuckles, “I already did. I’m just going to miss her. I didn’t really have any of my own friends at McKinley last year. I know I had Puck, but it was really him and Finn and Sam, and I know I had Quinn, but she was part of the unholy trinity and was closer to Joe. This year I haven’t felt so lonely, you and the guys are a huge part of that, but so was Kitty.”

“I know B” Sebastian kisses the top of his head

“And we’ve got to say goodbye to Brittany”

“I know, come back downstairs”

Blaine nods and wipes his eyes before heading back down.

“I’m guessing she told you?” Artie asks when Blaine reappears

“Yeah she did” 

“You know it’s on friendly terms though right, we both want you to be friends with the both of us. It won’t change anything.”

“I know, thanks Artie.”

“Is someone going to tell the rest of us what you two are talking about?” Santana asks 

“Me and Kitty split up” Artie explains

“It’s a good job you’re still on friendly terms though as she’s going to come and visit when we’re settled before school starts” Sebastian explains, his arms wrapped around his boyfriend on the chair they’re both cuddled on.

“As if there was any doubt.” Artie muses and another car horn goes, “Well that’s my ride, I’ll be seeing all you losers in the big city so I don’t want any goodbyes.”

“Good because you weren’t going to get any” Santana winks

Blaine looks at the time, “Britt we’ve got to go”

“I know”

They go back to Blaine’s house to pick up her bags before heading to the airport where her parents are waiting. Once they’ve said they’re goodbyes Brittany says farewell to them all one by one, ready to start her next adventure on the Island of Lasbinos. Rachel and Santana also fly out to New York saying they’ll see them soon.

The next day Sam packs up to head for Kentucky to see his family where he’ll be leaving anything he doesn’t want shipped out to New York.

“Good luck with the hunt dudes let me know how it goes and Blaine I’ll be seeing you in a few days for Comicon, I can’t believe Cooper got us tickets still.”

“I know the LA one is meant to be huge! Travel safe Sammy and send everyone my love.”

“Will do”

Sam gives Blaine and Sebastian a hug before he too is leaving Blaine’s house for probably the last time.

“You okay B?” Sebastian asks on their drive to the airport

“Yeah, it’s just weird you know.”

“I know, but it’s exciting too right?”

Blaine smiles, “Definitely. Now this is your final chance, do you really think you can put up living with me?” he teases.

“I’ll put up with anything if it means I get to wake up next to your ass each day” Sebastian winks.

They have a smooth flight and easily get to the hotel where Blaine’s grandparents are staying, ready to start their apartment hunt, together.


	51. The apartment hunt

“Morning boys” Camille smiled as Blaine and Sebastian came into the living area of the hotel suite Blaine’s grandparents were staying in and insisted they did too.

Blaine yawns, “Morning Nona” he says giving her a kiss, “Morning Grandpa”

“Did you two sleep okay?” Joseph asks

“Very well thank you...we’re both excited for today” Sebastian answers

“Great. We’ve ordered breakfast up. We thought it would give you boys a chance to look through the details of the properties our contact sent over to us so we can get an early start” Camille says pointing to the coffee table where the piles of information are 

Blaine and Sebastian sift through the property details and pick out their top five that they want to view. “Are those the ones boys?” Joseph asks and they nod their heads in reply, “Great I’ll get appointments set up.”

After breakfast they head off to the first apartment. Camille and Joseph step back to let the boys view it for themselves but it’s clear to them they don’t like it. “So what do you think?” Joseph asks

“It’s erm…very…” Blaine starts

“Clinical” Sebastian finishes

“Yeah it’s got absolutely no character to it” Blaine agrees

“That’s fine. It’s good you two know what you want and agree on it so let’s move on to the next one”

The second apartment is in an older building that has been refurbished but maintains many original features. The apartment is the only one on the top floor and from some of the rooms Central Park can be seen. The front door leads in to a wide lobby area which then narrows to a small hall that leads out onto a large living room, which is composed of a large square and a smaller one, giving it almost an ‘L’ shape. The outside wall is completely glass allowing plenty of light in and shows off the spectacular views of the city. From the living room a cut out leads to a large kitchen-diner, a half wall separating the kitchen area making it feel like two separate rooms but keeping an open-entertaining vibe. A doorway from the other side of the living room leads to another hallway with a skylight that has doors to the main bathroom and three large bedrooms, the master having a large en suite. Throughout the apartment are the original oak wood floors and the smaller square of the living area has an exposed brick wall.  
Again Camille and Joseph watch the boys look round and this time they can tell they’re actually excited about the place.

“Bas what do you think?” Blaine asks wide eyed. 

“Honestly?”

“Yes”

“I love it”

Blaine beams, his smile reaching his ears, “Well aren’t you going to ask me what I think?”

“I could do but your face says it all. Do you want to know how I imagine this place?”

“Absolutely” 

Before Sebastian gets started they’re interrupted, “Sorry to interrupt you boys but there’s one more thing you need to see” They both look confused then follow Camille back out the front door and to the end of the corridor where a door leads to some stairs that lead to the roof. “With this apartment the top floor of the building is private; nobody has any business going up there unless you want them to. Deliveries are made to the front desk where the doormen have a secure area to store them. The other thing is, it comes with this space,” She opens the door at the top of the stairs onto the roof area. It’s not overly big but does offer outside space and is secure as it has tall cast iron railings going all around, but it doesn’t feel enclosed or prison like in anyway.

“Can we go back down Nona?”

“Why, don’t you like it?”

“Actually I love it; we love it, but Bas has a vision of how the place could look and I want to hear it.” Blaine bounces a little with excitement

“We’d love to hear it too if that’s okay with you Sebastian”

He grins “Of course” and is soon dragged back down by Blaine. “I see the smaller square of the living area being your music area. You’re piano could go here and your drums here. Along the brick wall we could mount stands for your guitars. Then along this wall there would be space for your violin and cello to be stored either side of Sam’s painting he did for you.”

“You’d want to keep the bare brick?” Joseph enquires

“Yes” both boys answer at the same time

“It sounds wonderful, but have you thought about how to contain the noise when Blaine plays?” Camille asks

“I like listening to Blaine play”

“I’m sure you do, but even you can’t want to always hear the drums, and even though you’re the only ones on this floor and have nobody directly beneath you it would be good if you could dampen the sound someway.”

“Do you have any suggestions?” Sebastian asks

“You could have a folding glass door that when folded back would fold flat and would blend in to the wall. They make ones that are virtually sound proof so you could keep it as an open space but if Blaine wants to practice the drums and you’re studying you could pull the door closed. Being glass the room would still feel open and you could still see each other and whoever else is in the apartment but the noise would be significantly dampened.”

“That sounds amazing Nona”

“B’s right it does”

“Well she wasn’t an award winning designer for nothing you know” Joseph winks

“Was? I think you’ll find I still am” Camille gushes with mock outrage

“What else would you boys do?” Joseph asks

“I’d change the kitchen” Blaine answers, “It looks okay but when you poke about it’s not a great layout for cooking

“What kind of style would you go for?”

“I’m not sure, but actually I think oak cabinets with a graphite top would look good. It would make the area feel bigger almost, not that it’s small. Bas what do you think?”

“That sounds good, but come with me” Sebastian takes Blaine’s hand and they go into the room; Sebastian standing behind Blaine, “You can say no B, but I was kind of picturing dark cherry wood cabinets with a black marble top.” He turns them round, “Then here we’d have a large table where we could seat most of our friends, again a dark cherry wood to match the colour of the kitchen. Then along the brick wall in here we could have art…then along this wall we could have a cabinet running underneath the long window to store crockery and glassware and place settings to keep the kitchen free for you and your marvellous creations.”

“That sounds perfect Bas”

“Are you sure you’re not just saying that?”

“I’m sure. You know I’m not the most creative when it comes to art, but I can picture that exactly and it looks amazing, it looks like us.”

“You do have excellent vision Sebastian” Camille compliments

“Coming from you, it means an awful lot” Sebastian tells her

“What colour would you put along the plastered wall?”

“Like a dusky red maybe, not too dark but a shade to offset the wood and the sandy coloured brick.” Blaine kisses his cheek, “I take it you approve then killer?”

“Very much so”

“What about the living room, would you change the colour of the plaster wall in there?” Joseph asks

“Actually I had an idea for that one” Blaine speaks up, “What about a grey, not like a dull rainy day grey but a sleek sophisticated one?”

“Like the waistcoat and pants you wore out for my birthday?”

Blaine thinks for a moment, “Exactly”

“Maybe you’re not as bad as you think you are at this B” Sebastian kisses his temple

“So would you like me to put an offer in then boys or would you like to see more?” Joseph asks

Sebastian and Blaine both look at each other, communicating with their eyes then speak at the same time, “We’d like to put an offer in”

“Excellent, this place truly is special, what kind of level were you thinking?”

“I’d be happy to go for the asking price; if they could push the sale through quickly and guarantee nobody else will see it.” Blaine says

“I’d be happy to do that too; one question though. How come they aren’t asking more? I don’t want to find out it’s falling apart” Sebastian asks

“That’s a very good question Sebastian, but rest assure, the places we’ve shown you we already had checked out by our surveyor; we didn’t want to risk you boys falling in love with somewhere to find out it had dry rot. The owner actually passed away, she was a lovely elderly lady. Her son has many fond memories of growing up here but lives in England now so needs the sale to pass through while he’s in the country so he can oversee it. Ideally he’s looking for a younger couple to move in and bring this place to life once again as that’s what his mother wanted.”

“How do you know this?” Blaine questions

“We know the family, which is actually how we heard about this place; it’s not technically on the market yet. You actually met her son, Jonathon when you were a toddler Blaine; he and his partner, Aston have recently married and adopted a little girl. When we told him you and your boyfriend were looking for a place he made me promise to show you the details and even said he’d be willing to do a deal if you think you’d be happy here.”

“I think we’d be very happy here, but Bas is right the place is already reasonably priced so I’d feel more comfortable paying him the full asking price.”

“I’m with B on this one”

“Right I’ll make the call.” Joseph steps out. While he’s gone Sebastian and Blaine continue to share their visions for the place with Camille, not realising that as a graduation present to them both she’s planning on having the place decorated and furnished for them so it’s ready to be moved into straight away when they return from Italy, with Cooper having agreed to organise shipment of their possessions considering both boys have already packed and marked up things they want to be with them. Joseph comes back in, “Congratulations boys, Johnathan is extremely pleased you like the place as much as you do and wants to get the sale complete in two weeks so he can get back to his daughter. In fact he’s calling his solicitor now to start the proceedings. I’ll have our solicitor draw up the contracts, Sebastian will your father like to see a copy?”

“If that’s okay; I’m sure it’s something he’d like to read over”

“I’m so happy for you both” she says giving them each a kiss on the cheek, which Sebastian has to bend down significantly for. “Let’s go back to the hotel to freshen up and then we’re going to go out and celebrate! Ask your friends to join us too if you’d like, I know you were hoping to see them while you’re here.”

“Thank you” Blaine beams brightly and contacts both girls telling them they’d pick them up and warns them that where ever they go will probably be fancy so to dress up.

A little later back in the hotel Sebastian and Blaine are getting dressed after showering. “Out with it B, what’s on that mind of yours?”

“Is your dad okay with you doing this?”

“If he had his way I would be putting the money into various stocks and shares but I don’t want to do that.”

“I just don’t want to cause a rift between you two”

“You’re not killer; you know we’re not close enough to cause a rift between anyway…there’s already a canyon in the way” Sebastian winks, “I remind him too much of my mother in some ways and in other’s we’re too alike, though I hate to admit it. He’s not completely against it as you’re going in with me equally on this so it’s obvious to him now you aren’t after my trust fund. Once he sees the contracts he’ll be even more reassured. Though I only plan on selling this place if it’s to go somewhere else with you.”

Blaine grins dopily and kisses Sebastian, “Me too”

“Boys the car is here” Camille calls through so Blaine and Sebastian head into the living room, “Well don’t you two look handsome”

Blaine of course blushes a little at the complement and Sebastian fondly rolls his eyes, earning a wink from Joseph. When they’re settled in the car Blaine messages the girls to let them know they’re on their way. 

Meanwhile in Bushwick Santana is trying to calm Rachel down, “Berry stop fretting…you look good…I should know…I dressed you and did your makeup”

“I’m just nervous”

“Why? You’ve met them before…and Blainers said that they offered for him to invite us, so they obviously liked us”

Rachel takes a deep breath, “You’re right…it’s just we don’t really fit in their kind of world”

Those words immediately let Santana know what’s gotten in to Rachel so she lets out a big sigh, “And neither did Blaine’s grandparents, they made their fortune and that’s what we’re going to do. Just because we weren’t born into it doesn’t mean we can’t or don’t fit. Stop letting him screw with your head Rach. It’s just Blaine…and you know his grandparents are just as down to earth as him. Don’t let Hummel make you think otherwise…particularly as he never even met any of Blaine’s family, apart from Cooper, so what the hell would he know?”

Santana’s words hit home and make Rachel laugh a littlle at herself, “I was being really stupid wasn’t I?”

“Extremely…come on they should be here soon” 

Both girls grab their purses and put their jackets on before making their way out of Santana’s privacy area to go and wait for the guys outside.

“Where do you think you two are going dressed up like that?” Kurt practically sneers judgingly at them

“Out” Santana quips back

“I was going for something a little more specific” he chastises her, “Rachel” he glares at her

“Out with friends Kurt…we’re going to dinner”

“And who are these friends for you to be so dressed up?”

“Good ones” Santana answers back “They’ve been much better friends to us than you have”

In the car Blaine is getting twitchy, “Something isn’t right…Santana said they’d be down by now” he goes to open the door but Sebastian stops him.

“B…there’s only one reason why they won’t be down yet…you’re not going up there…he’s not ruining tonight.”

“Well you’re not going either” Blaine quips back

“I’ll go” Joseph goes to get out

“Just so you know, there isn’t an elevator and they’re on the third floor” Blaine warns his grandfather, “Not that you can’t do them”

“But it might take a while and we don’t want to miss our reservation” Joseph makes fun of himself, though he could walk well without any aids, three flights of stairs at 91 would be no easy feat, so he turns to the driver, “Excuse me Collins, would you mind going and collecting our other two guests? They’re two lovely young ladies in apartment…”

“23” Blaine fills 

“Of course Mr Santos, no problem” Collins assures Joseph, having driven for them many times when they’d been in New York and always found them to be the best of customers.

The girls and Kurt are arguing when a loud knock sounds on the door, Santana quickly answers expecting to see Blaine and Sebastian but is met with a gentleman in a driver’s uniform, “Good evening, I’m here to collect Miss Lopez and Miss Berry…the car is waiting outside” immediately shutting Kurt up as he looks on in shock.

“I’m Miss Lopez” Santana replies before turning and taking Rachel’s hand, “Come on Berry” The driver offers both girls an arm to assist them down the stairs, when they get to the bottom Blaine is standing outside the car and opens the door for them. The two slide in alongside Sebastian. Blaine’s just closed the door after sitting next to his grandfather, opposite Rachel when they see Kurt appear on the sidewalk and stare at the car, the dark tinted windows stopping him from seeing in. He goes to approach but the driver quickly pulls away.

“Sorry we kept you waiting” Santana apologises as they join the other traffic

“We’re sorry you had a hard time getting away” Joseph replies

“I have to admit I expected to see you on the other side of the door lurch” Santana smirks, “But I’m glad it wasn’t you…you should have seen his face when the driver was there to escort us down.”

Blaine leans forward, “You okay Rach? You’re being quiet and Rachel Berry is never quiet.”

Rachel smiles at him, “Actually I am…because I’m with my handsome Tony and am going to have a wonderful evening with some wonderful company”

“Atta girl” Santana winks

“Where are we actually going for dinner?” Blaine asks his grandparents

“The 21 Club, Midtown” Camille replies making Rachel, Santana, Blaine and Sebastian all go wide eyed

“How the hell did you get a reservation so quickly?” Sebastian asks

“We know the owner from his and our bohemian days” Joseph smiles 

“They were totally hippies, remind me to show you the pictures” Blaine grins at his boyfriend and both girls giggle

“Oh Rachel, we called ahead and let the restaurant know you’re vegetarian so they’re preparing a special set meal for you, I hope that’s okay.”

Rachel is a little shocked, but in the best possible way, “Wow…thank you…you didn’t have to”

“It would have been rude of us to invite you out to dinner and not have you properly catered for” Camille smiles kindly

“Blaine you are so much like your grandmother” Santana comments as that’s exactly the type of thing Blaine would do.

“It’s both a blessing and a curse” Joseph deadpans, getting a pinch from his wife to his thigh.

“So Frodo, lurch, I take it you two found a place then for you to both be grinning like the idiots you are” Santana smiles at her two friends, already feeling completely at ease around Blaine’s grandparents.

“We did Satan, but you’re going to have to wait to see it”

“Can we at least know where it is?” Rachel asks excitedly

“Upper West, not far from the park at all” Blaine smiles back

The car pulls in, after the driver opens the door, Blaine steps out before helping Rachel and offering her his arm, Joseph doing the same for Camille and finally Sebastian and Santana. After they’re all seated Blaine catches the girls looking around in awe, “It’s pretty crazy in here isn’t it” 

“That’s one way of putting it…it’s certainly different from Lima Heights” the Latina quips

“Or Breadstix” Rachel adds, making the boys and Santana laugh

“Would you all like some wine? Or would you prefer something else to drink”

“Wine would be good” Sebastian answers quickly

“Wine please” Blaine smiles

“If it’s okay, I’m in for wine too…please” Santana adds

“Rach…it’s not a trick…you can have wine or you can have something else if you’d prefer” Blaine reassures her squeezing her hand

Rachel smiles shyly, “Wine would be lovely…thank you”

“Well as we’re having the tasting menu, I suggest we get the accompanying wine one” Joseph suggests, “You get a complementary glass of wine with each course”

Sebastian’s whole face lights up, making Blaine laugh, “Grandpa, I think you’ve just made Bas’ day”

“No my day was made by buying our apartment B…this is an ultimate highlight though”

“I take it you’re a wine man Sebastian” Joseph smiles

“Wine…whiskey…brandy” Blaine comments cheekily

“What can I say…I have a taste for the finer things killer…you should take it as a compliment” Sebastian winks

“Aww…are you saying I’m one of the finer things?” Blaine clutches his heart playfully

“The finest” Sebastian winks

“Oh my god that was cheesy, even for you” Blaine laughs, but then gets distracted as the pianist changes song so whips his head round, “I love this song”

“You remind me of something when you get distracted like that Frodo but I can’t put my finger on what” Santana narrows her eyes as she thinks

“Doug, the dog from Up” Sebastian offers

“Oh my god that’s it!” The Latina laughs

“Huh…what did I miss?” Blaine asks, having zoned out of part of the conversation while listening to the music, making everyone laugh.

The group all fall into easy conversation for the rest of the meal, the girls feeling completely at ease around Blaine’s grandparents due to their laid back and caring demeanours, very much like that of their younger grandson. 

A few hours later they’re pulling up in front of the girls’ building once more. “Thank you for a wonderful evening” Rachel says sincerely

“Yes…thank you, I don’t think I’ve ever been so full in my entire life but I’d eat it all over again right now if I could” Santana giggles

“It was our pleasure…we’ve really enjoyed getting to know you two more, you’re clearly important to Blaine” Joseph smiles back at both girls

“Oh and Rachel…congratulations on Fanny, I know your opening night is some way off, but if we don’t speak to you before, break a leg” Camille congratulates her as both girls step out of the car.

“Thank you” Rachel smiles back at her before heading inside with Santana.

XXXXXXX  
That night Sebastian and Blaine lay in bed overly full from their celebratory meal. The contracts have already been drawn up, which Mr Smythe promises to look over and have them sent back by 10am the next day so the sale can proceed. True to his word, the contracts are sent back to Sebastian at 9.30am with no amendments. Both he and Blaine sign copies, and sign the sales agreement sent through from Johnathan’s solicitor. 

That afternoon they say their goodbyes to Blaine’s grandparents knowing they’ll be seeing them again in a couple of weeks and head to JFK airport – Sebastian flying out to Paris and Blaine to LA to meet with Cooper and Sam for Comicon, not that Cooper would be joining them there but they were going to stay at his for their visit. Blaine had been clinging onto Sebastian the closer it got to them saying goodbye.

“Right limpet, here’s where you need to let me go now” Sebastian tells Blaine and kisses his head.

“I don’t want to” Blaine pouts

“I’ll be seeing you in four days B” Sebastian chuckles, “We saw each other less during finals”

“I know” Blaine huffs

“And you’ll be far too busy being completely adorkable to even notice I’m not there”

“I’ll never not notice you missing from me Bastian and you’ve been talking to Santana and Kitty too much, they’re the only ones who call me adorkable”

“It’s a pretty damn good description” Sebastian’s flight gets called for boarding. “I really have to go now B; let me know when you get to Cooper’s safely and I expect pictures of you all dressed up how I know you’re going to be. I know you can’t resist a costume.”

“Let me know when you land safely too Bastian”

“I will. I love you”

“I love you too”

Sebastian gives Blaine a deep and passionate kiss before turning around and heading straight through the gate. He knew Blaine would have his puppy dog eyes on and couldn’t look at them at this moment; knowing how they affect him.

Blaine then walked to his gate and boarded his plane only an hour later. When he lands he messages Sebastian as promised then waits for Sam, knowing his plane lands only half an hour later. Both boys then make their way to Cooper’s together.

“Squirt! Sammy boy!” Cooper greets them as he throws open the door to his apartment

“Don’t call me that” Both boys chorus as Cooper gives them a bone crushing hug

“So tonight I thought we could hang out before you two go and do your whole nerd thing tomorrow.”

“If you didn’t want us to nerd it up you shouldn’t have got us tickets for ComiCon Coop” Blaine chastises

“Yeah yeah” Cooper rolls his eyes playfully, “So I take it you two are okay with sharing the guest bedroom?”

“Yeah no worries” Sam replies

“Great, go dump your stuff”

Blaine looks around, “You might need to show us where…”

“Oh yeah, I forget you haven’t been here yet”

“Seriously dude you’ve never been out here?” Sam asks his best friend

“Nope; there’s never been a good time you know” Blaine answers and Sam immediately feels like an idiot knowing all about the relationship between the brothers.

“So…” Cooper starts as they settle back in the living room, “Would you two rather go out or stay in tonight? Some of my friends would love to meet you both and I hope you don’t mind but I told them it would have to be tonight as I wasn’t sure if you were going to join in with any of the night time Comicon activities.”

“That’s fine by me” Blaine replies, “but would it be okay if they came here? I’m pretty exhausted after the last few days. Unless you’d rather go out Sam?” 

“That’s fine by me dude, I was up early with Stevie and Stacey most mornings. They both missed you.”

“Aww I missed them too”

“Okay well I’ll tell them to get round for 7 and we can order pizza; then if you two want to go to bed early it won’t seem rude” Cooper says as he starts messaging his friends.

“That sounds perfect thank you Coop”

“No problem little brother…so how did the apartment hunt go?”

Blaine immediately smiles his Sebastian smile at the memory, something both Cooper and Sam notice, “Amazing. We both fell in love with the second place we saw. The previous owner passed away and her son wants to sell it quickly so he can get back to his husband and daughter in England so wanted a very reasonable price. He said he has so many fond memories growing up there and I can’t wait to move in. We should be able to when we get back from Italy.”

“I’m sure Nona and Grandpa are taking care of everything”

“They are. They’d already had the placed surveyed and we’ve signed contracts, it’s just the exchanging of funds and final legal bits now.”

“Have you got any pictures dude?”

“Sorry Sam no; plus I kind of want it to be a surprise when you see it”

“What about me?” Cooper asks feigning hurt

“Yes you too. When do you move into your place Sammy?”

“While you’re in Italy actually so when you’re back and sorted you’ll have to come round.”

“The same goes to you. Do you want to know the best bit?” Sam nods enthusiastically, “We’re only two blocks away…it’s about a ten minute walk” Sam grins and they do their special Blam handshake.

“It shouldn’t be surprising really boys considering Thad, Nick and Jeff will need a similar location so they all have fair commutes to school too” Cooper laughs

“You had to take our fun away didn’t you” Blaine frowns

Cooper’s friends arrive and they all quickly tuck into pizza and start chatting and getting to know each other. Even though the Anderson brothers are clearly different they can all   
see a family resemblance between Blaine and Cooper, but can’t help to notice that Blaine seems older than his years and while obviously knows how to have fun, has his head fixed firmly to his shoulders. It’s 10:30 when Cooper notices Blaine and Sam can barely keep their eyes open, “You two should go to bed” he tells them, “You’ve had a busy week and a big couple of days coming up.”

“We don’t want to seem rude” Blaine explains

“Don’t worry Blaine, we know how busy you’ve been recently, it was lovely to meet you both” Simon says, “If you have time we’ll have to meet up again before you go”

“We’d like that” Blaine replies

“Come on dude” Sam tugs Blaine into the bedroom they’re sharing 

The two quickly fall asleep, cuddled up together on the queen sized bed.


	52. ComiCon

Cooper is woken too early for his liking by Blaine and Sam excitedly talking in the living room. He goes to see what they’re up to and can’t help but laugh. There stood in the middle of the room is Blaine dressed as a hobbit, specifically Frodo, including big rubber feet and Sam as an elf, obviously Legolas, complete with hair extensions and pointy ears.

“What’s so funny?” Sam asks

“Have you seen how you look?” Cooper laughs

“We know exactly how we look thank you. If we didn’t go in a costume we’d look a lot weirder, so be useful and take a picture for us.” Blaine chastises Cooper and hands him his phone.

Cooper collects himself, “Okay…you guys are right I should have expected this. Now smile!”

Blaine takes his phone back and shows Sam the picture, as they’re both happy with it he sends it to Sebastian as promised and Santana knowing she’d get a kick out of it.

The two have a great day getting their comic books signed, buying memorabilia and going to Q&A sessions for their favourite shows. On their final scout round before they see a sign they cannot resist and quickly sign up to take part in the Quidditch tournament the next day. On their way towards the exit they decide to check out the large stand selling comic books to see if they can find anything new they want to read or wouldn’t be able to easily find elsewhere.

“Hey dude before we head back I just need to go to the bathroom”

“Okay…I’ll wait for you here” Blaine smiles and continues to browse comics

“What’s a hobbit like you doing all this way from the shire on your own?” a deep voice oozes from behind Blaine. He ignores the comment part assuming and part hoping it was  
directed at someone else, but he knows he’s the only one dressed as a hobbit in the immediate area, “I said what is a hobbit like you doing on his own?”

“Looking at comics” Blaine replies flatly while continuing to flick through the rack of comics, silently praying that Sam will appear sooner rather than later.

“A pretty hobbit like you shouldn’t be on his own…it’s dangerous out here” the man tries to growl seductively, but it makes Blaine’s stomach roll.

When he feels the man step closer behind him, Blaine quickly turns around and is met by a tall, thick set Vulcan, “I can manage quite well thank you”

“I’m not so sure…I think I need to take you away from here…you know…protect you” The man steps closer again and Blaine can immediately smell the beer on his breath and tries to step away but finds himself rather pinned against the rack of comics he’d been flicking through only moments earlier. “Some Vulcans are against cross species marriage, but I can make an exception for you…It’s time for pon farr” he reaches out for Blaine, who flinches immediately, but a familiar comforting voice stops the Vulcan in his tracks.

“Koon-ut-kal-if-fee” Sam says, a little threateningly making the Vulcan turn around

“I’m sorry?”

“You heard me, koon-ut-kal-if-fee…or walk away now”

“An elf like you couldn’t stop me”

“I wouldn’t count on it” 

Luckily for Blaine Sam has distracted the drunken Vulcan long enough for him to sneak round, “Come on Sammy…we’re from middle earth…we don’t go by their dated, barbaric rules” Blaine clasps a hand on Sam’s shoulder until his best friend steps down and throws an arm around his shoulders as they make their way out of the exhibition hall.

“Man you really can’t be left anywhere can you?” Sam teases, “Are you alright though?”

“I guess…he was really drunk, but also kind of creepy…you turned up just in time.”

“Oh shit!” Sam exclaims as he goes wide eyed

“What?” Blaine asks quickly, full of concern

“I just won you in koon-ut-kal-if-fee as he didn't accept the challenge…we’re betrothed bro…if not married”

“I don’t think that counts as we’re not actually Vulcans…plus we’re on earth” Blaine laughs a little

When they get back to the apartment Cooper is nowhere to be seen but luckily he’d given Blaine a key just in case he wouldn’t be back in time for them. Both boys shower then order some take out when they don’t get an answer from Cooper when they try calling him, but are sure to order enough for him to join them.

Blaine’s phone goes and he immediately answers and makes his way to the bedroom, leaving Sam in the living room waiting for the food to arrive.

“Hey killer, I knew you’d look adorkable, you know you’re going to have to show Santana that picture right?”

“Yeah I know. It’s partly why we dressed like that today…and we actually already sent it to her”

“So you have different costumes?”

“Now that would be telling. How was your flight Bas?”

“It was smooth. I managed to sleep for most of it, which is a big bonus.”

“That’s good…Oh you’ll never guess what I found!” Blaine enthuses, clearly beaming even down the phone.

Sebastian laughs breathlessly at Blaine’s exuberance, “What did you find B?”

“Your graduation present!”

“Aren’t you glad I stopped you from unpacking all those boxes now?” Sebastian teases

“Maybe” Blaine grumps, “So what did you get up to with your first day back in the city?”

“I met up with a couple of friends, who by the way cannot wait to meet you…you’re blushing aren’t you?” Sebastian grins

“I hate it you”

“No you don’t…you’re quite fond of me…in fact I’d go as far to say you love me”

“Maybe I do”

“Stop pouting”

“And you stop doing that or this phone call will be over” Sebastian just laughs in response, “I miss you…I know it’s stupid but I do” Blaine confesses in a whisper

“I miss you too killer”

“Really?”

“Yes really…so what have you got planned tomorrow”

“Well Sam and I might have entered a tournament”

“And what tournament is this exactly?” Sebastian asks amused

“Quidditch”

“Only you two”

“Actually it’s an all-day event because so many people want to do it. They even had to stop people from entering.”

“Alright smart ass” Sebastian teases

Sam comes bundling into the bedroom, “Food’s here dude! Oh wait is that Sebastian” Blaine nods and Sam snatches his phone. “Man I am so sorry…it didn’t mean anything...honest!” 

“What are you talking about Sam?” Sebastian manages to say calmly but through clenched teeth

“Oh god…he hadn’t told you?”

“Told me what?”

“We’re married…or at least betrothed after I fought for him in koon-ut-kal-if-fee”

“What the fuck are you on about Evans?” Sebastian snaps

Blaine snatches his phone back, “He fought for me in an imaginary fight for the death after a drunken Vulcan tried to make a move” Blaine quickly explains

“I think I’ve only understood about half of what’s actually going on.” Sebastian replies more calmly again

“Sam went to the bathroom and while I was waiting for him a drunken man dressed as a Vulcan from Star Trek tried to make a move on me…but Sam stopped him by challenging him to a fight to the death, koon-ut-kal-if-fee. They obviously didn’t fight, but I left with Sam so it means he won, which if we were Vulcans would mean we’re either betrothed or married…we can’t remember which. But as we weren’t Vulcans and actually on earth, funnily enough Vulcan laws don’t apply…so long story short…me and Sam aren’t actually engaged or married.”

“So a guy tried to make a move on you but Sam stopped him”

“Basically yeah”

“Thank him for me…are you alright though B?”

“I’m fine” Blaine smiles

“I obviously shouldn’t ever let you out of my sight” Sebastian jokes then lets back a big yawn

“You should go to sleep Bastian; I know it’s late there”

“I know but I just wanted to talk to you”

“Two more sleeps, well I guess three as my flight is overnight, and I’ll be seeing you again”

“I know” Sebastian yawns again, “I’m sorry B”

“Don’t be sorry, I love you”

“I love you too”

Blaine hangs up then turns around to see Sam grinning dopily at him, “Oh shut up” he rolls his eyes as they head to the kitchen where Sam had left the food, “Oh and Bas says thanks”

“Well I wasn’t just going to let some guy snatch you away so he could mate with you”

“What the hell have I just walked in on? Or better yet…what the hell happened today?” Cooper exclaims as he joins the boys, having caught the tail end of their conversation.

“As we’re not actually abiding by Vulcan law basically a guy tried to make a move but Sam got him to back off.” Blaine exclaims

“So now we’re married” Sam adds and Cooper’s eyes bug out

“Sam you’ve got to stop saying that…we’re not married…we’re not even betrothed…we weren’t Vulcans, so it doesn’t count, plus we’re actually on earth so it definitely doesn’t count.”

Cooper furrows his brow, “So no marriage and no mating” he confirms

“None” Blaine tells his brother seriously

“Good” Cooper comments as they settle in the living room to eat, “So you’re a bit of a stud then huh little brother” he grins

“Cooper” Blaine whines

Sam laughs then swallows his mouthful, “Oh yeah he totally is…though he doesn’t know it and never notices when people are in to him…Tina…what’s that word? You know when you sing to someone?”

“Serenade” Blaine fills in then immediately mentally kicks himself.

“Yeah she serenaded him…and vapo raped him and he didn’t think she had a crush on him!”

Cooper practically chokes on his food, “Wait…back up…she what raped you?”

“He was passed out when he was sick and she undid his shirt and straddled him so she could cover him in vapo-rape.”

Cooper bursts out laughing. “It really wasn’t funny” Blaine grumps

“It was kind of creepy to walk in on…but you have to admit dude…now you think about it…it is kinda funny” Sam says as he tries to stifle a laugh himself.

Blaine just scowls and pouts before finishing his food in silence.

“I’m sorry Blainey” Cooper apologises as he wipes his eyes from where he’d been crying with laughter.

“No you’re not”

“You’re right I’m not…but tell me about your day before you nearly got whisked away by a Vulcan”

“Actually I think he’d have been the first Vulcan to have his ass kicked by a hobbit if he'd seriously tried" Blaine smirks

“What?” Cooper questions

“Nothing” Blaine smiles before he and Sam start recounting their day with bucket loads of excitement and enthusiasm, both practically bouncing in their seats. Cooper can’t help the manic grin that appears on his face. Seeing them both this way, but particularly Blaine, immediately pays for the cost of the tickets and flights, and he can’t believe how close he came to losing his baby brother, all through his own stupidity and selfishness.

XXXXXXX  
Cooper makes sure to get up early so he can spend some time with the boys before they head out for the day, “I was expecting more costumes…you two are let downs” he teases as he grabs some cereal.

“It’s quidditch today…we told you last night” Blaine answers back

“Yeah but I thought there’d be quidditch costumes…not work out clothes”

“It’s a fast paced game” Sam answers and Cooper decides to take that explanation 

They eat breakfast together before parting ways, Cooper heading to set and Blaine and Sam to quidditch. 

Later that evening Cooper has just got home and put some pasta on when Sam and Blaine come bursting into the appointment, “Coop Coop! Guess what?!” Blaine asks hyperactively, eyes wide.

“What buddy?” Cooper laughs

“Sam was on the winning quidditch team” Blaine blurts out excitedly

“And Blaine was the best golden snitch!” Sam adds

Cooper can only smile at the two boys, “As if there was any doubt! Pasta okay for you guys tonight?”

“Can we have salad too?” They both ask in unison

“Okay…that was kind creepy…don’t do that again…and yes there’s salad too.”

Blaine and Sam both shower as Cooper finishes dinner, he goes to get both boys from their room when he catches part of their conversation, “Just ask him dude”

“But I feel bad…he got us here and now we want to go out on our last night here”

“I get it, but it’s the quidditch celebration”

“I know Sam”

Cooper decides to knock on the door, “Hey…dinner’s ready when you are guys”

Blaine opens the door, “Thanks”

They’ve all settled down to eat when Cooper speaks up again, “So as you two are winners is there some sort of celebration thing on tonight that you’re going to? I know these conventions do quite a lot of stuff at night…and you haven’t done any of it yet…it’d be a shame not to.”

Blaine looks to Sam who nods at him in encouragement, “Erm…actually…there is a quidditch tournament celebration thing on tonight.” Blaine shifts uncomfortably in his seat.

“Do you want to go?” Cooper asks  
“Yeah…but it’s our last night here so we don’t mind not going and spending some more time with you as you got us the tickets and it’d be really rude if we just went out like that” Blaine says, picking up speed with every word until they’re almost all rolled into one.

“Dude…breathe” Sam cuts in before Blaine can go any further and get into full ramble flow, which can be almost impossible to stop until he’s done.

Cooper frowns a little in concern, “I got you the tickets for your birthday squirt…if you want to go then you should…in fact you’re banned from staying in tonight.”

“But…” Blaine tries but he’s shut down again

“Not buts” Cooper says firmly

Blaine thinks for a moment then takes a deep breath, “Okay…I better go call Bas…” Blaine goes to head to the guest room but Sam stops him.

“Take your food with you dude…two birds, one stone and all that” Blaine nods then takes his dinner into the guest room to finish as he talks to his boyfriend. “You alright?” Sam asks Cooper when he doesn’t stop staring at the door Blaine’s just closed behind him.

“Yeah…no…where did all that come from?”

“It’s sort of his default for when he thinks he’s letting someone down.”

“So if I hadn’t said anything you two would’ve stayed here tonight?”

“Most likely”

“Even though he clearly wants to go”

“Santana says it’s because he’s too sac…sacrificial cos he’ll put anyone’s happiness he cares about before his own, even if it means he’s unhappy…but he’s got a lot better since he started dating Sebastian…plus he doesn’t want to screw things up with you.”

Cooper frowns, “But I was the one who screwed up”

Sam scratches the back of his neck, “Look I could be completely wrong because he hasn’t said anything, but knowing him as well as I do, he’ll be blaming himself in part for what went down between you two, particularly when he was younger…like thinking that if he’d been a better brother you would’ve wanted more to do with him.”

“I really did a number on him didn’t I?”

“It wasn’t just you…but just…you can’t disappear on him ever again”

“I won’t” Cooper shoots back, almost defensively

“I know” Sam smiles

In Paris Sebastian is a little surprised when Blaine calls him earlier than they had planned for that evening, so he excuses himself from his friends.

“I wasn’t expecting your call until later killer”

“Sorry I hope I’m not interrupting anything”

“Not at all, but even if you were you know I’d always want to talk to you”

“Aww look at you being all sappy” Blaine teases

“What can I say? It’s your influence B”

“I know” Blaine grins cheekily

“So how did quidditch go today?”

“Amazingly! Sam’s team won and I got the award for the best golden snitch”

“Hang on, are you telling me you spent all day running around pretending to be a small flying golden ball.” Sebastian asks completely amused.

“Yep!” Blaine beams back, “Those of us that were snitches for the tournament had to wear tags for the seekers to pull off.”

“Not that I doubt your ability but what exactly made you the best?”

“I was the snitch that took the longest to get caught across the whole tournament. It was so much fun Bas. They had an area marked out we couldn’t leave but we could do what we wanted to evade being caught in that area. I was up a tree for 10 minutes before anyone even spotted me.”

“What is it with you and trees?” Sebastian asks exasperated

“I was safe this time though Bas, I promise.”

Sebastian smiles fondly, as Blaine immediately recognised what he was worrying about, “So now you’re both winners, in your own way, what are you doing tonight?”

“We’re going to join the tournament celebrations. It’s why I’m calling now as we need to go in a minute.”

“You could’ve messaged me killer if you’re pushed for time.”

“I wanted to talk to you.”

“Good. That was the only right answer.”

“You’re an idiot” Blaine huffs playfully

“If I am then I’m your idiot, and you’re mine. Now you and that fabulous ass better go or you’ll be late. Have fun tonight, but remember you’ve got a plane to catch tomorrow.”

“I know Bastian; I wouldn’t forget that. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

When Blaine comes out of the bedroom he’s changed, ready for the evening so Sam excuses himself from Cooper to go and get ready and give the brothers a minute.

“Looking good Blainey”

“Thanks”

“You don’t have to feel bad about going tonight you know…it’s why I got you the tickets, I want you two to fully enjoy it…otherwise what’s the point of going to Comicon right?”

“What did Sam say?”

“Nothing…really…but you’re rambling said a lot of it” 

Blaine looks down, “I just like that we’ve actually gotten to know each other more…I actually want to spend time with you now” he cringes at his own words, “No offense”  
Cooper chuckles, “None taken…and it’s not as if we won’t see each other tomorrow as you’re on a later flight…plus we both know I’ll be coming to see you in New York”

“Yeah?” Blaine grins

“Of course” Cooper scoffs. 

Sam re-enters the room, “Ready to go man?”

“Yeah I’m good” Blaine replies

“Just remember boys…don’t do most of the stuff I’d do and have a good night tonight”

“I wouldn’t do most of the stuff you’d do considering I’ve got a boyfriend” Blaine quips back catching his older brother off guard as he hadn’t really seen that much of this side of his brother yet.

Cooper laughs, “Maybe there’s hope for you yet! Now get out of here!”

Cooper knew not to wait up for Sam and Blaine that night and found it kind of adorable they were going to a celebration for a quidditch tournament, after the little push from him at least. What he hadn’t counted on however was how serious the game was taken by those who played or how hard they liked to celebrate. Cooper certainly didn’t expect to be woken at 4am by the two boys crashing through the door of his apartment obviously wasted; he had to do a double take of the clock to make sure he hadn’t been imagining it. He even contemplated that his apartment was being broken into but that thought only lasted for a second as he soon heard Blaine and Sam’s voices as they tried to talk quietly to each other, as they stumbled across the living area to their room.

When Cooper got up at 9am he went into the living room to see Blaine’s and Sam’s shoes kicked off into random places. As the door to their bedroom was open a crack Cooper decided to peek inside and had to stop himself from audibly gasping. Blaine and Sam were both crashed out on the bed in various stages of undress. Blaine had obviously managed to get his pants off but had then given up with his button up and was spread out on his front. Sam was lying on his side next to Blaine still in his jeans but topless, he had an arm chucked over Blaine’s back but what got Cooper was that Sam had gotten his long hair cut. To be fair from what he could see he thought it looked like a good job, but it made him wonder what they’d been up to. So he did what any big brother would, he decided to take a picture of the two of them.

Knowing the boys had gotten in at the time they did Cooper leaves them to sleep it off, particularly as their flights aren’t until later on. At midday Sam comes literally crawling out of the bedroom.

“Sammy boy lives!” Cooper cheers

“Shhh, don’t talk so loud” Sam croaks

Cooper actually takes a little pity on him, “Can I get you anything?”

“Water please” Sam then collapses on the floor, leaning back against the sofa.

Cooper has just placed Sam’s glass of water and some Advil on the coffee table when Blaine goes running clumsily through the living room to the bathroom and immediately starts throwing up. Sam quickly turns a shade of green and joins Blaine in the bathroom, apparently taking it in turns to vomit down the toilet. Cooper hears Blaine’s phone ringing, and after he locates it answers when he sees it’s Sebastian.

“Afternoon Seb!”

“Don’t call me that. Where’s B?”

“He’s erm…a little busy at the minute”

“Doing what?” Cooper moves to the bathroom door and holds the phone up so Sebastian can hear for himself. “I take it they had a good night then. Well I’m assuming that was both of them or B is in serious trouble.”

“No it’s both of them” Cooper answers, “They’ve only just woken up”

“Jesus what time did they get in?”

“4am”

“When they both have planes to catch? They’re lucky they aren’t until later. Though Cooper I hope you realise you only have a couple of hours to get them sorted before you have to take them to the airport.”

“Why do I have to get them sorted?”

“Because I’m not there and are you saying you want to let your brother go on a long haul flight in that state?”

“No of course not”

“Right then”

“Hang on Sebastian…Blaine wants to talk to you.”

“Hi Bastian” Blaine voice sounds raspy 

“So it sounds like you had a big night then killer”

“You could say that”

“How are you feeling?”

“A lot better now. I guess I just needed to get it out of my system.”

“It sounded like it. I just wanted to check to double check when you’re plane lands.”

“At 9 tomorrow morning”

“That’s what I thought. Drink something killer and try and have something to eat.”

“I will”

“And text me when you board the plane so I know you’re on it safely.”

Blaine chuckles slightly at Sebastian’s fussing, a side of him that doesn’t often appear and if it does, it’s only ever in relation to Blaine, “I will Bas. You know this isn’t my first flight to Europe.”

“Yes but it will be your first with a massive hang over and on your own.”

“Thanks for the reminder”

“You did it to yourself B, but hopefully you can sleep on the plane.”

“That’s the plan.”

“Okay now go and drink something. I love you.”

“I love you too”

Blaine collapses back onto the sofa to only have Cooper bring him some water and pain killers. Sam soon collapses next to Blaine and Cooper decides to go and grab them bagels for breakfast. After managing to eat something both Blaine and Sam slope off to their room to get them and their stuff sorted.  
Sam looks in the mirror, “Woah, what did we do last night for me to think that getting a haircut was a good idea?”

“I have no idea but it looks good Sam. Not that your long hair didn’t, but it definitely suits you. Let’s face it; you could have ended up with a pink Mohawk. We must have been seriously drunk for neither of us to remember anything after the first round of shots.”

“True. Do you want first shower?”

“If that’s okay?”

“Wouldn’t have offered if it wasn’t dude, plus I’ve got more packing to do.”

Blaine goes into the bathroom and starts the shower before stripping off; catching his side he winces slightly when he feels a bit of pain. It’s then that he looks down and notices the dressing, after taking it off he’s left facing a backwards treble clef tattoo he’d gotten low on the right side of his abdomen, next to his hip bone.  
“What the hell did we do last night?” Blaine mutters to himself as he looks at the tattoo and quickly pulls his phone out to check how to care for it before stepping in the shower. When he steps back out Blaine feels a lot better. It’s when he’s carefully drying the area around his tattoo that it occurs to him it resembles an ‘S’ and he quickly realises what he must have been thinking when he got it done, even if he couldn’t remember it. Blaine pulls his clean boxer briefs on and is pleased to see they pretty much cover the mark so hiding it from his brother and Sam would be easy. The first person he wanted to see it was Sebastian, although he was a little nervous.


	53. Paris take two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys, sorry for the delay in getting this chapter out to you. Just a heads up, the next couple of weeks are exam weeks so I will be posting a lot slower, but things will go back to normal after they're finished. I hope you continue to enjoy the story and as always, I love hearing your thoughts and comments and thanks for your support so far. :) xx

They make it to the airport just as check-in for Blaine’s flight opens. 

Blaine gives Sam a hug, “I’ll see you in a couple of weeks Sammy…safe travels and I hope everything goes okay with the move.”

“You too dude…message me when you land” Sam lets go of Blaine after giving him a final squeeze.

Cooper then takes Blaine into a bone crushing hug, “You better message me too”

“I will Coop…thank you so much…I had a great time and I really enjoyed getting to see you…and thanks for organizing Nona and Grandpa being at graduation...I'm sorry I haven't properly thanked you yet, but it really meant a lot that you did that for me.”

“Don’t worry...it's been pretty damn hectic for you… but next time I will get you another DVD of my commercials” Cooper teases

“As long as you don’t lock the discs so I can copy over them that’s fine” Blaine sasses back, “I’ll see you soon…yeah?” Insecurities washing over Blaine’s features.

“Yeah…you will…I promise…you better get to your flight”

Blaine pulls back and grabs his hand luggage. After final goodbyes he heads to his check in. It’s only a minute later when Sam heads to his own and Cooper goes back to the apartment, finding it weirdly quiet now his baby brother and might as well be his other brother had gone.

As promised Blaine messages Sebastian when he gets settled on the plane and falls asleep as soon as they are cruising through the air, only to be woken up by an attendant an hour before landing. After collecting his bag he goes through to arrivals to be greeted by his smiling boyfriend.

Sebastian scoops him up, “Well you’re looking better than I thought you would” and gives Blaine a kiss before putting him back down.

“I literally slept from the moment we got to altitude to an hour before we were due to land when a flight attendant woke me up.”

“When was the last time you had anything to eat or drink then killer?”

“At Cooper’s just after I got off the phone to you”

“And what did he feed you?”

“I had half a bagel, I didn’t dare eat anymore”

“Right we’re going to get some food in you then”

“I don’t really want to go anywhere Bas...I just really want a shower then to cuddle for a bit. Did you make plans for later?”

“No because I want you all to myself for tonight. Adrianne’s staying out too so we have the place to ourselves.”

“She didn’t have to do that.”

“Oh please...she’s going to stay with her latest guy; it’s not just us she’s doing this for.”

They leave the airport and pick up some pastries at the bakery just around the corner from Adrianne’s apartment Blaine had fallen in love with on their last visit. After eating they take Blaine’s things to their bedroom as the shorter gets ready to go for a shower.

When Blaine picks his sweats up Sebastian’s present comes flying out of his suitcase, landing next to his boyfriend’s feet.

“What’s this then killer?” Sebastian asks after picking up the CD

“That’s your graduation present” Blaine blushes slightly, “It’s the first CD I’ve ever made”

“You’re telling me my hopelessly romantic boyfriend has never made someone a mixed CD before?”

Blaine blushes a deeper shade of red, “That’s not actually what I meant. Will you listen to it while I’m in the shower?”

Sebastian frowns slightly, unsure as to what has Blaine so rattled, “Of course I will B”

Blaine scuttles into the en suite attached to the guest room they are staying in. When Sebastian hears the shower start he begins playing the CD. As soon as Blaine’s voice comes through the speakers Sebastian all of a sudden understands why his boyfriend had been acting so cagily. The disk consists of four songs (Don’t you, Jealousy, Human and Categories) Blaine had written and a piano composition. Just as the last piece finishes the shower switches off and a few minutes later Blaine comes back into the room wearing sweats and one of Sebastian’s t-shirts.

Sebastian kisses Blaine hard before saying anything, “They were amazing B”

“You don’t have to say that” Blaine mumbles in response

Blaine looks down to the floor but Sebastian just gently tilts his chin up, “I’m only saying it because I mean it. You know I wouldn’t sugar coat something, even for you. I genuinely think your songs are good, and the piano composition was stunning.”

Blaine smiles slightly, “Really?”

Sebastian laughs breathlessly, “Really really...why don’t you let me show you how much?” he goes to lift Blaine’s t-shirt but his boyfriend stops him.

“Before we do that Bas I need to tell you something; but you’ve got to promise not to laugh. It’s already embarrassing enough...not that I regret it because of what it means, but still.”

“You’re talking in riddles here killer” Sebastian says with a furrowed brow

“Okay so you know me and Sam drank far too much and got back far too late, well early.”

“Yes”

“Well neither of us can remember much of that night at all”

“Okay…”

“And Sam ended up getting a haircut. It looks really good but we have no idea why or where he got it done.”

Sebastian’s eyes light up with amusement, “Show me a picture” so Blaine does, “Damn it does look really good, he’s one lucky guy; he could have ended up with a piercing or something permanent.”

“Err yeah” Blaine chuckles uncomfortably and shifts awkwardly, which does not go unnoticed by his boyfriend.

“Oh my god what did you do?” Sebastian asks amused, eyes wide and dancing with excitement

“You’re already laughing at me.” Blaine goes to move away but is stopped by his boyfriend

“I’m sorry B...I promise I can control myself.” Sebastian replies, trying and failing to school his expression

“We both know you can’t”

“Only when it comes to you” Sebastian growls and squeezes Blaine’s thigh firmly.

“You ready?” Sebastian nods so Blaine lifts his t-shirt and pulls his sweats and boxer briefs low to reveal the tattoo in full, “You’re the only one who knows about this Bas so please don’t say anything to anyone else” Sebastian doesn’t say anything but instead traces over the tattoo very lightly with his fingers. “Bastian? Say something…please.”

“It’s a backwards treble clef”

“I know”

“It looks like an ‘S’”

“I know. I figure it’s my two great loves coming together…music and you”

“And you don’t regret it?”

“I regret not knowing where I got it done, but I don’t regret the tattoo itself no, in fact I kind of love it.”

Sebastian finally looks back up at Blaine and smiles, “Me too”

“Yeah?”

“Of course...it’s like a permanent mark that you’re mine” Blaine rolls his eyes fondly, “Have you looked through your wallet B?”

“No why?”

“Because I’m sure even drunk you would have left with some details of the place he got this done in.”

“I hadn’t even thought of that”

“You were really scared to show me weren’t you killer?”

“More nervous than scared and don’t forget my nerves in giving you that CD too. I just wasn’t sure how you were going to react.”

“It’s the best present I’ve ever been given. You should let more people hear your music B. You really are incredibly talented. If you’re already writing music like that I can only imagine what you’ll be capable of as you go through your studies.” Sebastian starts going through Blaine’s wallet. “I think I’ve found where you got your tattoo from killer and you have no reason to worry.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because you got it done in one of the best tattoo parlours in LA; known for serving the very rich and famous, though I’m not sure how you and Sam got all the way to that part of town. I guess it does explain how he got such a good haircut though.”

“I can only imagine what it cost us.”

“Well I don’t know about Sam’s hair, but your tattoo cost you $350”

“You weren’t kidding when you said it was a place for the rich and famous. I know tattoos aren’t exactly cheap but $350 for that?!”

“Well I think it’s $350 well spent”

“That’s because you like that I’ve got your first initial on me permanently.”

“Of course I do” Sebastian growls before lunging at Blaine, forcing him down on the bed. Before Blaine can even register what’s going on, somehow Sebastian has already stripped them both of their clothes. Sebastian presses his body on top of Blaine’s but immediately lifts back up when his boyfriend winces.

“Sorry Bas, it’s just a little tender” Blaine says looking at his tattoo.

“That’s okay, we’ll just have to do this another way”

“And what exactly do you have planned?” 

Sebastian rolls them over so Blaine is now on top and crosses his arms behind his head, “Ride me”. 

“Where’s the?”

Sebastian sits up before Blaine can even finish his question and grabs lube out of the cabinet next to the bed. Blaine raises himself up to give Sebastian access, who takes his time preparing him slowly, only pulling his fingers out when Blaine starts thrusting down on them. Blaine moans at the empty feeling so quickly holds onto Sebastian’s cock and sinks down far quicker than normal causing both of them to moan loudly.

“Fucking hell B” Sebastian growls and starts thrusting to meet Blaine as he lowers himself down. Neither last long given how worked up they are and from the time apart, although it hadn’t been long they had been used to spending everyday together and being able to have each other whenever the mood hit them. They fall asleep in each other’s arms.

After a couple of hours Sebastian comes to slowly and decides he better wake Blaine up or else his body clock would be completely screwed. “Time to wake up killer” Sebastian nuzzles at Blaine’s neck and peppers him with kisses.

Blaine grumbles before opening his eyes and sees his boyfriend staring back at him, “Bastian?”

Sebastian laughs breathily at how adorable Blaine is. It always seems to take him a few more moments to get his bearings when he’s been woken up rather than waking naturally. “The one and only” Sebastian smiles causing Blaine to grin dopily back at him. “What do you want to do with the rest of the day killer?”

“What time is it?”

“One”

“It’s probably really boring but could we walk to the bridges? If you want to do something different or with your friends though I understand.”

“I already told you I didn’t make any plans today with them because I want you all to myself and that hasn’t changed. So why don’t we grab some food and stop for a picnic before getting into our walk.”

“That sounds perfect”

They both get dressed then head out. After grabbing some food from a bistro they take a detour into the park before heading off to the bridges. When they find their padlocks they both take pictures. After hours of walking around the city they decide to head back to the apartment after picking up some food for the evening. 

“What did you pick in the end Bas? It smells amazing.”

“Beef bourgeon. Do you want some wine to go with it?”

“I’m not sure if I should” Blaine looks embarrassed

“Are you still feeling rough?”

“Not really, just a little sensitive but that could also be the tiredness. I had a great time at ComiCon but we did so much. Today was just what I needed.”

“Though it’s not as if we sat around today killer, we covered some miles.”

“I know but we did them at a relaxed pace. So what are the plans for tomorrow?”

“Well tomorrow I agreed with the others that we would meet them in the café Adrianne works in for lunch so she can join us and then just go from there. There’s a good chance we could end up in a bar or something though, is that going to be okay?”

“It’s fine by me. I’ll just stick to beer or something this time though” Blaine chuckles, “What about the next day?”

“Oh I’ve got a surprise planned for you” Sebastian grins smugly

“And why exactly are you being so smug about it?”

“Because you’re going to love it and I can’t wait to see your face. Be warned though, we will have an early start and you’ll need to bring an overnight bag with you.”

Blaine goes to press but can see from Sebastian’s face that he won’t get anywhere so relents, “Okay”

XXXXXXX  
The next day Sebastian and Blaine are walking down the street hand in hand when Sebastian feels a tug at his arm and turns to see Blaine staring into the window of a music shop, “What is it B?”

“It’s beautiful”

Sebastian tries to follow Blaine’s sight line but can’t work out which instrument in the window he is looking at, “What is?” 

Blaine doesn’t answer verbally but instead pulls Sebastian into the shop and stops dead in in front of an acoustic guitar that looks like it has seen better days to Sebastian. It’s missing two strings and looks a little beaten. Sebastian can’t help but notice the look on Blaine’s face as he takes in the instrument, or how his fingers glide over the wood when he lets go of Sebastian’s hand to touch it, so goes to find the shop owner.

“How much for that guitar?” Sebastian asks the man in French and points to Blaine

“It won’t be much good...you can have it for 20 euros”

“We’ll need strings and a case too”

“What did you have in mind?”

“You’ll need to ask my boyfriend as the guitar is for him.” Sebastian walks back to Blaine with the shop owner. “So what kind of strings and case do you want to go with your new guitar then B?”

Blaine shakes his head, “What?”

“You heard me. The guitar is yours, pick out what you need.”

“Bas I can’t let you do this”

“I’m not giving you a choice. So get to it or I’ll pick them.”

Blaine rolls his eyes fondly knowing he wouldn’t win and then picks a hard case so it can be shipped home and a complete new set of strings.

After paying Blaine looks to Sebastian, “Do we still have some time before we have to meet everyone?”

“We do”

Blaine then asks the shop owner in French, “Do you mind if I fix the guitar here?” and Sebastian smiles with a little pride at how easily the French now rolls of Blaine’s tongue.

“Please help yourself” The owner replies and points Blaine to an area at the back of the shop he uses for instrument repairs.

Sebastian can’t help but watch how Blaine handles the guitar, with a light but firm hand and with such precision. Blaine fixes all the strings and makes a mend to the bridge and bridge pins before tuning the instrument, smiling widely at the beautiful tone it produces.

“Let’s get out of here B”

Blaine puts the guitar in its case and takes Sebastian’s hand, “Sorry if we’re going to be late now Bas.”

“That’s not why I wanted to get out of there” Blaine looks at him with questioning eyes, “He didn’t think that guitar was going to be any good for anybody so only wanted 20 euros for it. I didn’t want him to change his mind when he heard it.”

“That’s crazy. I know the body looks a little battered, but look at the wood. It’s beautiful and was obviously built with a lot of love. It just needed some care after a lot of years of being played. The previous owner obviously never serviced it, which is just stupid.”

They walk into the café and find a table and are quickly greeted by Adrianne, “It’s nice to finally meet the famous Blaine Anderson”  
Sebastian rolls his eyes, “B, if you hadn’t already guessed this is Adrianne, my cousin.”

“Thank you for letting me stay with you and for letting us use your apartment during winter break.”

“It’s my pleasure honestly, I’m just glad I get to meet you finally. What can I get for you both?”

“Can I have an iced peach tea please?” Blaine asks

“And I’ll take a lemon one”

“Great, I’ll be back in a minute...hopefully the other two will arrive soon. I’ll take my break when they get here so we can all eat together.”

Blaine looks to Sebastian, “How much have you said about me Bas?”

“What makes you ask that?”

“Just the way Adrianne called me famous and said ‘finally’, it seems more than missing us at winter break.”

“She may have heard about you before we got together” Sebastian shrugs nonchalantly 

“Oh”

“You’re not mad are you?”

“No of course not...in fact I’m kind of flattered” Blaine smiles cheekily

Adrianne walks back over, “Here are your drinks guys. I’m just going to help clear the queue then we’ll eat regardless of whether they’re here or not, I’m starving.”

Adrianne walks back behind the counter to help clear the lunch time rush. Blaine and Sebastian are sat chatting when a tall, though not as tall as Sebastian, broad shouldered, blonde haired boy with blue eyes pulls a chair close to Sebastian. “I hear the famous Blaine Anderson is in town. I’m Tristan”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you”

“And I you…I’ve certainly heard a lot about you Blaine.”

Blaine blushes slightly. “Where’s Melanie?” Sebastian asks Tristan

“Ah she said she'll be late...typical Melanie" Tristan half smiles

A tight knot twists in Blaine’s stomach at how close this guy is sitting to Sebastian, and how his boyfriend doesn’t seem bothered by it at all. Tristan looks Blaine up and down then starts talking to Sebastian in French while keeping his gaze on Blaine. 

“He’s just as gorgeous as you said”

“You know I don’t exaggerate” Sebastian replies, also in French smiling proudly at Blaine.

“I can see why you’re so smitten. But there are still a couple of things I don’t know about.”

“And what’s that?”

“His ass and voice”

“Just remember Tristan you can look but don’t touch”

“Are you sure about that? The three of us could have some fun” Tristan then leans even closer to Sebastian and caresses his arm, again Sebastian doesn’t seem to mind at all and that’s what does it for Blaine.

“Don’t you think it’s rude to talk about someone as if they’re not even there?” Blaine snaps in English.

Tristan just grins, “I’m sorry, I was just telling Sebastian how gorgeous you are”

“And why do you assume I don’t understand what you were saying?” Blaine challenges while Sebastian looks entertained.

“I like him…he’s a fighter” Tristan says to Sebastian in English this time.

“You have no idea” Blaine glares, “But you didn’t answer my question, why do you assume I didn’t understand what you were saying?”

“And did you?” Tristan asks amusedly. 

Blaine replies in French to make his point, “More than you know” causing Tristan to look shocked.

“I’m going to use the restroom” Tristan stands and walks away.

“What?” Blaine snaps at Sebastian who is still grinning at him.

“Don’t mind him”

“Yet he was suggesting we have a threesome and started touching you like that and you weren’t bothered by it.”

“That’s because it’s Tristan, if you’re over 16 and with a pulse he’ll be interested.”

“So you two…”

“Yes we hooked up if that’s what you’re getting at” Blaine looks down, “I’m not going to apologise for it” Sebastian tells him.

Blaine snaps his head up, “I don’t think you should.”

“Then what is it?”

“Can we just talk about it later?”

“That depends, are you going to be able to cope being around him today?”

“Yes, but we’ll go back and change before we head out this evening right? So we can have some time then.”

“Yes”

At that point Adrianne and Tristan join them, “I’ve grabbed a selection, I hope you like something Blaine.”

“Everything looks great” Blaine smiles at her

“Great, eat up then” Everyone tucks into the baguettes and croissants and it isn’t long before they’re all gone. “Did you bring a guitar with you or have you boys been shopping?” she asks when she spots the case propped up next to Blaine.

“We went shopping” Sebastian replies, “Well rather we were on our way here when B spotted it through the window of the music store, I have no idea how as it was leaning against the counter.”

“Will we get to hear you play sometime?” she asks Blaine

“Oh…erm…maybe if you really want to but you don’t have to”

“I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t”

“Why don’t you play now?” Tristan asks, “There’s a stage over there, it wouldn’t be the first impromptu performance this place has seen.”  
Sebastian notices Blaine tense slightly so answers for him, “That wouldn’t be fair when Melanie’s not around, B can play later. Right killer?”

“Yeah…right” Blaine smiles and nods

At that point a girl comes bundling through the door and makes her way up to the group, “I’m so sorry I’m late!” She pulls up another chair then turns to Blaine, “So you must be the famous Blaine Anderson, I’m Melanie.” 

“It’s nice to meet you.” Blaine then looks round the group, “Do you realise you’ve all greeted me the same way? I suppose I should be glad I’m famous rather than infamous but I don’t really understand why.”

Sebastian shrugs his shoulders, “What can I say? I like boasting about you.”

A waitress then heads to the stage area and turns on the microphone, “Ladies and gentleman we have a special guest performer all the way from the United States, please welcome to the stage Blaine Anderson.”

Blaine goes wide eyed, “What’s going on?”

Sebastian looks round at his friends, “Did any of you do this?” They all reassure them they didn’t. 

Blaine grabs his guitar. “You don’t have to do this Blaine” Adrianne reassures him

“It’ll look bad for the other waitress if I don’t…and that’s not fair to her” he replies as he takes his guitar out of the case.

“What are you going to sing killer?”

“I have no idea” Blaine says flatly, clearly lost in thought already as he makes his way up to the small stage.

“Does he seriously not have a clue?” Melanie asks

“Judging by his face, no” Sebastian answers, eyes fixed on his boyfriend.

Blaine sits on the stool behind the microphone and starts strumming his guitar, “Hi everyone, so I guess I’ve just figured this out right now, so forgive me if we muddle through it, but erm it’s by a great band I’ve loved for a while; I’m going to slow it down a little bit.” Blaine then performs an acoustic mash up of ‘Misery’ and ‘This Love’, which is a great hit with everyone if the café, earning him much applause. Blaine chuckles bashfully, “Thanks guys” then makes his way back to the group.

Sebastian gives him a kiss then Blaine puts his guitar away, “Flawless as always killer”

Blaine shakes his head fondly in reply.

“You seriously didn’t know what you were going to play when you left the table?” Adrianne asks

“Nope”

“Are you sure you just made that up?” Tristan questions a little suspiciously.

“Absolutely” Blaine replies a little offended by the doubt this guy is placing on him 

“Well you couldn’t tell” Melanie assures him, “Sebastian was right about your voice”.

Blaine blushes, “Thank you. I’m just going to use the restroom.”

“He really has no idea how good he is does he?” Adrianne asks Sebastian

“None what so ever” Sebastian smiles proudly, “In fact he doesn’t think he’s anything special at all.”

“It makes me love him more” Melanie gushes

Just as Blaine exits the restroom he is greeted by a familiar voice, “So it seems you really can pull it out of the bag when you need to, with or without a group around you.”

Blaine turns to see Jean-Baptiste stood before him, “Thank you. What are you doing here?” 

“Visiting family with my girlfriend, and you?”

“My boyfriend used to live here...we’re visiting his friends before going to see my grandparents in Italy. So why did you put me on the spot like that?”

“I heard what happened at Nationals, though I had no idea at the time. I wanted to beat you in a fair fight, but that didn’t happen. I guess I just wanted to see if you could do it again. I’ve got to tell you, you were even better.”

“Thanks. You guys deserved to come first though, you were awesome, I just wish it wasn’t the end of the glee club”

“You’re kidding?”

“No. Unless we won the glee club was going to be shut down. I appealed to the board thinking the fact we came second with only an hour and a half to prepare might change their minds, but they said we should have been prepared with a second set list.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. I’m also sorry for my behaviour. I acted like an arrogant dick.”

Blaine chuckles, “Well I’m not going to argue with you there”

Melanie spots Blaine talking to Jean-Baptiste, “Looks like you’ve got some competition Sebastian.”

Sebastian looks round and frowns, “What the hell is he doing here?” he growls, just as Blaine shakes Jean-Baptiste’s hand.

“So what are your plans for next year?” Blaine asks Jean-Baptiste

“NYADA, I wouldn’t be surprised to see you there.”

“NYU actually, I’m doing a double major I wouldn’t have been able to at NYADA. We’ll have to meet up some time as we’re both going to be in the same city.”

“Are you sure that will be okay? If your boyfriend could actually stare daggers I’d be dead by now.”

Blaine looks to see Sebastian glaring, “Oh he’s just protective. Come and say hi.”

“I’m guessing B having to perform was one of your stunts” Sebastian snarls at Jean-Baptiste.

“Yes I just wanted to see if he could pull off being put on the spot again, but he was even better. Will you stop staring at me like that if I tell you I apologised and we’ve put all that rivalry behind us? I couldn’t believe it when I was told the New Directions set list had been stolen.”

“It’s fine Bas honestly. Jean-Baptiste is going to be in New York next year too, studying at NYADA.”

“Wonderful” Sebastian replies sarcastically

“Oh what about your girlfriend? Is she going to be in New York too?” Blaine asks

“Yes actually, she’s going to Columbia to study history”

“Girlfriend?” Sebastian asks

“Yes so you don’t have to worry, however amazing your boy is, he’s not my type” Jean-Baptiste winks

“I wouldn’t be worried even if he was”

“Right”

“Okay well this just got super awkward” Blaine says nervously

“Don’t worry about it Blaine, I’ll see you in the big city. Have a nice time in Italy.”

“Thanks, bye” Blaine gives a single wave to Jean-Baptiste as he exits the café. 

“So our plans for tonight” Adrianne starts trying to break some of the tension.

“Why don’t we go to Jay’s bar?” Tristan suggests, “If you think you’re up to it Blaine?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“We heard you had a big night out the other day, plus this place isn’t your standard bar.”

“I’m sure I’ll be able to cope but thank you.”

“Right well I’ve got another couple of hours before I get off shift so why don’t you all go and get sorted then we can meet outside the bar about 9.” 

“Sounds good to me!” Melanie beams

They all go their separate ways; Blaine can’t help but notice that Sebastian’s in a foul mood for the whole of their walk back to the apartment and when they get back he storms straight to their bedroom.

“So are you going to talk to me?” Blaine asks, following his boyfriend

“What’s there to talk about?”

“How about the fact that you’re obviously mad and can’t even look at me?”

“I just don’t get why you want to be friends with him”

“Why not? Yes he wasn’t exactly pleasant at Nationals but he apologised for that and for it not being a fair competition and the glee club   
being disbanded, even though he had nothing to do with either of those things.”

“But he was an ass to you”

“And so were you at one point but look at where we are” Blaine barks back

Sebastian takes a deep breath to calm himself down, “You’re right I’m sorry. And I’m sorry for Tristan...he shouldn’t have acted the way he did earlier.”

“Can I ask you something?” Blaine sits on the bed and picks at the blanket

Sebastian sits next to him, “Of course, I’ll answer any questions you have”

“How long have you and Tristan known each other?”

“Since we were about 10”

“Why did you hook up?”

“Both times we were drunk and horny” Sebastian shrugs his shoulders

“Both?”

“Yes”

“He doesn’t strike me as a bottom”

“He’s not” Blaine looks straight into Sebastian’s eyes, “I didn’t lie to you B; I had never bottomed before you. It was hand jobs and blow jobs. He asked me if I would once but I said no. It honestly meant nothing.”

“When was the last time you did?”

“In the summer we reconnected again. I’d been here before I bumped into you that day. I can honestly tell you though if I’d seen you before I wouldn’t have gone there.”

“Really?”

“Really really…I didn’t think my past mattered to you.”

“It doesn’t…it’s just the way he was touching you didn’t bother you” Blaine shrugs “And then when he suggested a threesome you didn’t seem to mind the idea.”

“B he has nothing on you. He is not the person you are, not as gorgeous and nowhere near as good in bed. Don’t let him get to you…I don’t see why this is bothering you so much.”

“Okay imagine if me and Sam had slept together a couple of times before we got together and you saw him touching me like that. I know we hug and stuff but we’ve never touched each other in that way. Or what if I’d become friends with Eli, how would it make you feel to see us like that?”

Sebastian thinks for a moment and then it all clicks as he imagines both of those scenarios, “I would feel awful, as if I was second best to this guy who’d been there before me. I’d want to know why you were okay with him touching you like that. I’d probably feel a little sick.”

“Exactly”

“Oh B I’m sorry. I mean it when I say it meant nothing though, he wasn’t my first and I never had feelings for him. It really was just a way to get off. I would never go back there B, I would never do anything like that to you. I love you too much. I meant it when I said the idea of being with anyone who isn’t you makes me feel empty and sick. And it doesn’t excuse it but he touches everyone like that, don’t be surprised if he does it to you later, but if he does it to me again I’ll stop him. You’re right; I would hate to see someone doing that to you. Forgive me?” 

Blaine notices Sebastian’s eyes are a little watery, “Of course I do, I was probably overreacting.”

“No you weren’t, don’t let me get away with it. And I’m sorry for how I treated Jean-Baptiste; I shouldn’t have been that rude.”

“Well maybe when we’re settled in New York we can meet up with him together. You’re both probably quite similar in some ways, like you, Santana and Hunter.”

“In that case he should fit right in. I am sorry though.”

“It’s okay Bastian, really, I’m just glad you talked to me about it so we could get it sorted.”

“Always killer, even if I am ass before. Come on…we should shower.”

They get distracted in the shower, ending up with Blaine holding Sebastian up against the wall as he thrusts into his boyfriend deeply at a gruelling rate after an incredibly slow build. When Blaine puts Sebastian back down he stumbles slightly with weak knees.

“Sorry Bastian” Blaine says as he steadies his boyfriend

“Don’t be sorry B, that was fucking amazing, but we should probably wash off and get out. God only knows how long we’ve been in here for.”

When they get back into their room Blaine goes to his suitcase, “Bas have you got a bag I can use to pack my overnight things in? I don’t want to take my suitcase with me tomorrow.”

“I’m one step ahead of you killer” Sebastian says as he pulls out a rucksack for Blaine, “You’ll need to dress comfy tomorrow and have something you feel comfortable travelling in for our return journey. Do you have some dress pants with you?”

“Yes as I wasn’t sure if we’d be going out with my grandparents”

“Great, bring them. We’ll need to dress up a bit tomorrow night.”

“Okay.” Blaine packs his bag ready for the morning, “What should I wear tonight Bas? I have no idea what this bar’s like.”

“It’s not exactly a bar, it’s kind of a bar cross club, but not in the usual sense, people will be performing but it’s an instrumental kind of place. Jay’s a drummer so often people use the two kits on stage. Some are great where as others are truly awful. Wear your dark blue jeans and your white V-neck t-shirt and you’ll be dressed right.”

“Well that’s easy enough. I know I can’t exactly talk but we won’t be late out will we if we have an early start in the morning?”

“No as we’ve got a busy day ahead of us and be warned by my alarm will be going off at 6 and well need to leave by 6:30, but trust me it’s worth it.”

“I don’t doubt it” Blaine grins

They make their way to the bar with Adrianne and find Tristan and Melanie are already there.

“Sorry we’re late, some people got distracted” Adrianne teases, looking at Sebastian and Blaine.

“I can see why” Tristan purrs and bumps shoulders with Sebastian while obviously eying up Blaine, but Sebastian just moves away and wraps his arms around his boyfriend.

“What can I say? I’ve got the hottest guy, who just so happens to be my amazing boyfriend, with me in my favourite city” Sebastian kisses the top of Blaine’s head.

“Well I certainly don’t blame you” Melanie jests, “So let’s go in and get this night started guys!”

Sebastian takes Blaine’s hand and walks ahead of the rest of them into the club.

“I never thought I’d see Sebastian like this with anyone” Melanie says to Adrianne

“I know what you mean, but now I know Blaine a little it makes complete sense. I’ve known him for 48 hours, even though it feels much longer, and I can honestly tell you he is everything Sebastian said and more. It’s not often people can live up to the hype about them but he certainly does. He’s very special and I couldn’t be happier for Sebastian to have him in his life. My cousin has never been so happy and it’s because of one Blaine Anderson. Don’t you agree Tristan?”

“What?”

“That Sebastian has never been so happy and that it’s because of Blaine, who is a remarkable person.”

“I do”

“Then back off trying to wind Blaine up.” Adrianne warns him.

“It’s just a bit of fun”

“Well Sebastian isn’t enjoying it and nor is Blaine and you don’t want to get on his bad side.”

“What do you mean?”

“I have it on good authority that he can look after himself”

“Seriously?” Tristan asks amused, again clearly doubting Blaine

“Do you really want to risk finding out?” Adrianne smirks, in a manner very similar to Sebastian.

They find Blaine and Sebastian at the bar with a beer each.

“What do you think Blaine?” Adrianne asks

“This place is great and not just because I don’t need to have a fake ID here”

“Hi guys, I was hoping to see you in here tonight” Jay greets them, “Who’s this? Oh hang on; this must be the famous Blaine Anderson.”

“Yeah, hi and you must be Jay”

“Are you going to have a go on the skins tonight?” Tristan asks Jay

“I’m kind of in the mood to duet but I haven’t found anyone yet.”

“B could do it”

“You play?” Jay asks happily

“Oh not really” Blaine dismisses

“He’s being too modest for his own good, he can play very well.”

“How many instruments do you play Blaine?” Adrianne asks

“8” Sebastian answers

“Not really though, I can’t play them well”

“We’ll have to disagree there killer”

“So will you play then?” Jay asks Blaine

Blaine looks at Sebastian who is grinning encouragingly at him, “Okay just let me finish my drink” Blaine caves.

“That I can do”

Blaine turns to Sebastian, “Can you get me a shot of something?”

“Really?”

“Yes, if I’m going to do this I’ll need it.”

Blaine finishes his drinks then makes his way up to the stage with Jay.

“Can you take that kit Blaine? Get yourself comfortable and let me know when you’re ready, we’re working together on this so I won’t push, you can set the beat and we’ll go from there okay?”

“Sure” Blaine replies, nerves evident. 

Blaine gets settled then looks at Jay before drumming a couple of beats to set the tempo. They start and Blaine soon gets lost in the beat and the rhythm as they get going. Throughout they both take turns to break into a solo and go through three movements, each with its own unique rhythm. For one part they even use the sticks on the edge of the drums to create a different effect. Periodically Blaine just closes his eyes, getting lost in drumming and forgetting the large crowd in front of him. They play for about 6 minutes before closing with a crescendo, making everyone in the crowd applaud madly.

Sebastian knew Blaine could play the drums, hell he’d heard him messing around on his kit at home before, but he’d never seen or heard him play like that and it has to be said he found it as hot as hell. Jay helps Blaine push back through the crowd to where the group still are at the bar.

“It’s safe to say you can play the drums Blaine” Jay praises

“I’ll say…you were amazing!” Adrianne beams

“That’s the best duet I’ve heard in a long time” Melanie adds

Tristan holds his hand out to Blaine to shake, “You’re obviously very talented Blaine”

Blaine shakes Tristan’s hand, “Thank you”

Blaine goes to the bathroom but on his way back is stopped by a guy, “Do you want a drink?”

“Oh no thank you, I’m actually here with my boyfriend, excuse me”

“One drink won’t hurt…he won’t mind” the man moves in to crowd Blaine

“I don’t want one, thank you though”

"I insist" the man pushes again, crowding Blaine more

Blaine panics a little but manages to keep calm"I said no thank you" Blaine manages to push passed the guy and gets back to Sebastian and tucks himself at his side.

“You okay killer?”

“Yeah, just tired and this man kind of freaked me out.”

“What did he do?” Sebastian asks concerned

“Nothing really, just was pretty determined to buy me a drink. There was something a bit creepy about him though.”

Sebastian looks to his friends, none of whom had heard their conversation, “Right guys, we’ve got a big day ahead of us so we’re going to have to call it a night.”

“Same, I’ve got work in the morning. I’ll come with you” Tristan says

“Same for us” Adrianne adds looking at Melanie

They walk out of the club and just turn the corner at the end of the street when Blaine feels someone grab hold of his free hand, “Going somewhere so soon?” The man from the club asks in a sinister way.

“Let go of him” Sebastian growls

The man just chuckles, “You can come too if you want” and takes hold of Sebastian’s arm.

Blaine steps forward trying to force space between the man and Sebastian, “Let go of my boyfriend’s arm.”

“We don’t want any trouble...just let them both go” Tristan steps alongside Sebastian.

The man glowers at Blaine, “Don’t you want to know what it’s like to be with someone with more experience” his eyes raking over Blaine’s body and licking his lips.

“I said let go of his arm” Blaine orders angrily, ignoring the man’s comment and punctuating each word.

“I’ll leave him alone if you come with me” he lets go of Sebastian to touch Blaine’s cheek.

“This is your last chance to let me go” Blaine warns, tilting his face away to stop the man from touching him.

“And what are you going to do about it little one? Your friends can’t stop me” the man says sinisterly

“You’ve just made a big mistake” Blaine threatens

“And what’s that?” The man chuckles darkly, still holding onto Blaine with one hand, tightening his grip.

In a split second Blaine swings and hits the man with a beauty of an uppercut with his free hand, sending him falling to the ground. “Underestimating me” Blaine growls at the man, “Now get up, turn around and walk away” Blaine commands, channelling his inner Red Leader from his fight club days.

The man does exactly what Blaine tells him to; when he’s sufficiently far away the group start walking again.

“Okay that was fucking awesome” Tristan congratulates Blaine

“Not really...I’d rather not have to hit someone.” Blaine chastises himself

“He totally deserved it though” Melanie reassures him before splitting off with Tristan.

“Do you need anything for your hand Blaine?” Adrianne asks when they get back to her apartment.

“No thanks, I’ll be fine”

“No, put some ice on it” Sebastian orders and goes to the kitchen to get some

“He’s just worried about you” Adrianne reassures Blaine

“I know. I hate that he’s been made to worry but I know it’s because he cares…it’s why I always worry so much.” Blaine chuckles

“You’re very good for each other” she comments

“Thank you” Blaine smiles

“I mean it. I probably won’t see you in the morning but have a wonderful time and I’ll see you on Friday.” Adrianne gives Blaine a kiss on the cheek before heading up to bed.

Sebastian comes back with a bag of ice wrapped in tissue paper and takes Blaine’s other hand to lead him up to their room and sits on the bed, pulling Blaine down with him.

“Humour me killer and put this on your hand for at least a little while”

“Of course Bastian, but I’m okay, I promise.”

“I should have been able to stop him”

“Bas, we’re both okay, that’s all that matters”

“I know but if anything had happened to you…”

“It’s not worth thinking about that. I just couldn’t believe he tried to get you too. That’s when I really lost it but part of me was hoping he’d get the hint and just leave.”

“You really are incredible B, even after everything you still try and give people the benefit of the doubt.” Sebastian kisses him, “I love you”.

Blaine smiles, “I love you too…and thank you for earlier”

“What are you thanking me for?”

“You know how you handled the whole Tristan thing” Blaine blushes

“He was trying to wind you up and now he knows I won’t be a part of it. How’s your hand?”

“It’s honestly fine...if you have the technique then it shouldn’t really cause issues.”

“Will you teach me?”

“Really?”

“Yeah...I’m not useless in a fight, but I couldn’t have done what you did tonight, so will you?”

“Of course I will. I was going to start sparring with Hunter when we get to New York because I shouldn’t really hit the heavy bag if I want to be a musician, so we can both show you the ropes. To be honest I probably shouldn’t box at all…but I don’t know what I could do instead.”

“You could start fencing again. That’s got to be good for stress relief and it wouldn’t be bad on your hands.”

“That’s a really good idea Bas”

“Well I am full of them”

“You were full of something else earlier” Blaine smirks

“What happened to my bashful school boy?”

“He started dating this bad boy”

“A bad boy huh?”

“Definitely…well at least on the outside...but he’s the best boy for me”

Sebastian rolls his eyes fondly, “Sap. If you’re finished with the ice just chuck it in the sink”

Blaine chucks the ice away then strips off to get into bed with Sebastian. After that evening's turn of events they both hold each other tightly as they fall to sleep. Blaine is hard to wake up in the morning, just as Sebastian knew he would be but they make it to the train station with plenty of time.

XXXXXXX  
“Bas this is a train to London!”

“Notice that did you” Sebastian smirks

“But I didn’t pick up my passport”

“I’m already ahead of you killer” Sebastian says as he waves Blaine’s passport.

The train ride is smooth and Blaine can’t believe how quick it is to get between the two cities.

“That was way quicker than I thought it would be” Blaine muses as they get off the train

“I know it only takes a couple of hours. Remember we’ve gained an hour too as England is an hour behind France. Let’s go dump our stuff killer, our hotel isn’t far from here and then we can get onto the main event.”

Sebastian leads the way to a hotel not far from King’s Cross Station we’re they leave their things before heading back out.

“Okay, we just need to get our travel cards and then we’re good to go” Sebastian tells Blaine as they get back to the station, but turns around when he doesn’t get a response. “Killer?”

“Over here Bas...look!” Blaine exclaims

Sebastian wanders over to Blaine to see a luggage trolley cut and fixed to the wall in the location that would have been the access to platform 9 3/4 making it look as though it was disappearing through the brick, so takes his camera out. “Say cheese B”. Blaine turns around with the most blinding smile and Sebastian snaps a few pictures.

“Let me take a picture of you with it” Blaine grins and snatches the camera.

“Right, come on then” Sebastian tugs Blaine away after his picture is taken. The tube ride goes without any complication and Sebastian manages to distract Blaine each time he sees a sign pointing to their destination. It’s just another moment that he’s grateful for their height difference. When they get to their destination Sebastian knows it’s only a matter of time before Blaine realises where they are so put his hands over his boyfriend’s eyes.

“Erm Bas?” Blaine asks in confusion.

“Are you ready for this B?”

“Yes!”

Sebastian chuckles slightly at Blaine’s exuberance and forces Blaine to walk a couple of paces forward before removing his hands.

“Bas where…oh my god!! No freaking way!!” All Sebastian can do is smile widely, he had successfully surprised Blaine in a way he never expected and managed to capture the moment on his camera.

“I take it you approve”

“Hell yes!” Blaine jumps up at Sebastian and gives him a kiss before taking his hand and walking towards to studio. While they wait in line   
to pick up their guide book Blaine keeps looking up at Sebastian, “Bas”

“Yes”

“By any chance does the black and green Henley you’ve decided to wear today mean anything?”

“Why, are you saying I’m showing where my allegiances lie?”

“Maybe” Blaine grins coyly

Sebastian laughs breathlessly and kisses Blaine’s temple, “Yes I totally wore this on purpose. You know I’d be in Slytherin, just like you’d be in Gryffindor…or if not then Ravenclaw…though you wouldn’t trample on someone else for your own success, so I’m going to stick with Gryffindor…you’re just an eccentric one.” Sebastian winks, “Now how about we take a picture in front of the entrance?”

“Definitely. Sam’s going to be so jealous when he finds out!”

They’re just leaving the Great Hall on their way to the Gryffindor common room when Blaine nudges Sebastian, “Look Bas, spiders…should we follow them?”

Sebastian shakes his head fondly “Uh no”

“Why, would you prefer it if they were puppies?” Blaine pouts through a laugh, which is greeted by a playful slap on his ass.

They are on their way down to Diagon Alley when Blaine has to ask his boyfriend how he even came up with the idea, “How did you think   
of this Bas?”

“Are you asking me to divulge my secrets killer?” Sebastian playfully raises his eyebrows

“Yes”

“Well since it’s so easy to get between Paris and London I wanted to bring you to the city so that bit was already set. Then when you went to Comicon I knew I just had to bring you here being the Harry Potter geek you are, and when you told me about signing up for quidditch I couldn’t believe it and knew I’d made the right decision.”

“You most definitely did. Can we do one thing while we’re here?”

“And what would that be?”

“Get a butter beer” 

“As if I’d bring you here and not get you a butter beer” Sebastian scoffs in mock offence, “Find us a table killer and I’ll get them.”  
Blaine finds a table with two seats and sits watching Sebastian in the queue, he knew he had a massive grin on his face but couldn’t help it. It’s soon wiped off though as he spots a guy obviously checking his boyfriend out. Sebastian makes his way back over to the table and Blaine can’t help but watch the guy’s gaze follow and linger. Sebastian has just settled the beers down when the man looks as though he’s going to make his move so Blaine reaches across the table and gives his boyfriend a passionate kiss.

“What was that for?” Sebastian asks breathlessly when they break apart

“For you being you…and you’re mine” Blaine says with a deep voice as he glares at the guy.

Sebastian soon clicks, “Were you jealous killer?” he smirks

Blaine shrugs his shoulders slightly, “I have to watch people check you out all the time. I just didn’t like the way he was leering so much   
and actually had the balls to approach when you’re sat here with me.”

“I like that you were jealous” Sebastian grins then takes a sip of his butter beer

“Why? It doesn’t feel nice.”

“Because it means you’re passionate about me…about us…Just as I know you like it when I get jealous.”

“That makes sense. Though you know you have nothing to be jealous about right?”

“I know, just like you don’t, but why do you think I pull you closer sometimes when we’re out together?”

“I just thought it was because you wanted me close”

“I do, but it also lets the people checking you out know you’re mine” Blaine shakes his head in disbelief, “Seriously B, people check you out just as much as they do me. After last night you have to realise that.”

“I’m sorry…are you okay after that? I know it shook you up more than you tried to let on.”

“It’s okay, you’ve got nothing to apologise for. It did shake me up, but I know he was just a drunken idiot and that everything is okay. I’m fine now, honest. What about you?”

“I’m okay. It kind of freaked me out a bit but I knew with you and Tristan around I wasn’t exactly in danger. Plus when he tried to involve you I forgot about myself anyway. You were my only focus.”

The rest of the tour seems to fly by and once it ends they head for the gift shop as there is no way they’re leaving without a few   
purchases. Blaine’s eyeing the wands while Sebastian wanders to a rack of Harry Potter glasses, “B, come here for a sec” Blaine makes his way over to where Sebastian is.

“What?” Blaine asks, standing in front of Sebastian who just puts a pair of glasses on Blaine.

“You’re Harry freaking Potter” Sebastian’s laughing so hard that Blaine has to push him out of the way to look in the mirror.

“Cute Bas”

“You definitely are...we’re bringing a pair home.”

They both choose a wand and Sebastian also picks Blaine up a golden snitch since he’d been crowned the best one at Comicon. When   
they get back to the hotel they both collapse down on the bed.

“Thank you for today Bastian, it was the best” Blaine cuddles up to him.

“It’s not over yet killer, but we do have time for a nap before we have to get ready and go out again if you want.”

“Definitely, I’m exhausted but I wouldn’t have changed a thing”

Sebastian sets an alarm and they’re both soon asleep, still fully dressed but with their shoes kicked off. If it wasn’t for the alarm they would have clearly slept much longer. Knowing they didn’t have too long before they had to go, they each take a quick shower to help wake themselves up before getting ready.

The trip to the West End on the tube was relatively quick and they were soon heading for the restaurant. Both ordered a drink with dinner, taking advantage of the different laws from back home. The meal was excellent; before Blaine had a chance to look at the bill to put down his share Sebastian had beaten him to it. “Bas you’ve done too much already”

“Would it make you feel better if I let you buy my ice cream at the show?”

“Hang on...we’re going to a show?”

“Yes”

“In the West End?”

“Yes” Sebastian laughs

“What are we going to see?” Blaine asks grinning from ear to ear

“You’ll have to see when we get there...come on” With each theatre they pass Sebastian can tell that Blaine’s buzzing, just waiting for them to stop. “We’re almost there” Sebastian tells Blaine and gives his hand a squeeze in reassurance. It’s enough to help Blaine relax a little until they finally stop. “We’re here”

Blaine takes in the theatre before him, “We’re seeing Phantom in the West End. Oh my god you can have all the ice cream you want! Thank you” Blaine stretches up to give Sebastian a kiss.

They both thoroughly enjoy the show and it’s all they talk about on their way back to the hotel. It’s late by the time they get back and with everything they’ve done that day plus the early start they both fall asleep as soon as they’re in bed. They have another early train in the morning, but it’s just what they both want as it is their last day in Paris before they fly out to Italy the next day.

They’re sat on the train and Sebastian can’t help notice Blaine staring at him, “You’re staring at me killer”

“I’m gazing”

“It’s creepy, and you’re not looking at me like you normally would so what is it?”

“I don’t want you to get annoyed”

“Just ask”

Blaine takes a deep breath, “Why haven’t you visited your mum this trip?”

Sebastian sighs then puts down his book, “I told you B, she’s never been a mum to me, I was an inconvenience to her. I actually bumped into her the day before you arrived. I said hello and she pretended as if she didn’t know me because she was on a date. I’m not going to waste my time on someone who doesn’t give a damn about me.”

“I’m sorry Bastian”

“Don’t be...I’m not”

“If you’re sure” Blaine replies unconvinced, “why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because I was too happy to see you or speak to you it never came to mind. Honestly B, it’s something I got used to a long time ago.”

Blaine knew not to press the topic anymore, “You should join mine and Puck’s club, Quinn’s a member now too.”

“And what club is this?” Sebastian asks amused

“The My Parent/Parents Suck Club. We founded it boxing then Quinn wanted in when she found out about it. If you want to join you’ll need to learn our secret handshake.”

Sebastian laughs, “You’re ridiculous...surely I get to join because of my connections with one of the founding members.”

“Yes, once you’ve learnt the handshake, come on it’s easy” Blaine shows Sebastian, “See you’re a member now.”

“You’re such a dork” Sebastian says fondly, “Hang on, I get why you and Puck are members but what about Quinn?”

“Oh” Blaine looks down, “She had a difficult time in her sophomore year...I’m not sure if I can say why though.”

“You don’t have to tell me killer, particularly if it’s not your place to”

Blaine messages Quinn to call him when she’s awake. “I’ll find out if I can before I say anything. It’s not exactly a secret; I mean everyone at McKinley knew it’s just…”

“I get it. There are things I’ve done that aren’t a secret but that I wouldn’t want spread further than they have to be…and don’t worry I know you’re not keeping things from me since this isn’t about you.”

“How did you know that’s what I was thinking?”  
“Because I know what a worrier you are.” Blaine gives Sebastian a kiss on the cheek then leans back into him for the rest of the train ride.  
When they get back to Adrianne’s they find her, Melanie and Tristan in the living room waiting.

“Did you have a nice trip boys?” Adrianne asks

“Amazing!” Blaine beams

“We’ll just go dump our stuff then tell you all about it” Sebastian tells them. They leave their things in their bedroom then head back out to the others to find two fresh cups of coffee waiting for them. “Thanks for the coffee” Sebastian says before taking a sip.

“It’s definitely needed” Blaine adds

“So I take it you liked the surprises then Blaine”

“No, I absolutely loved them. I can’t believe we actually went to the studios!”

“Which studios?” Tristan asks

“The Harry Potter ones, B’s a huge fan” Sebastian answers

“If you hadn’t guessed from the whole Comicon and quidditch tournament thing, I’m a bit of a nerd” Blaine laughs

“That’s cool...I sometimes read comic books” Tristan replies

“Really? Marvel or DC?” Blaine asks

“Both, but I’m more Marvel than DC”

“Same! Well actually I can go back and forth between the two.”

“Okay before we lose these two, or at least B into complete fandom, I think you all need to see this. Put these on killer…” Sebastian pulls out the Harry Potter glasses.

“Why?” Blaine looks at him curiously

“Just humour me”

“O…kay” Blaine says suspiciously and puts on the glasses

“Don’t you all think he could totally be Harry Potter?” Sebastian asks the group

“I don’t look anything like Daniel Radcliff…hang on is this a height thing, because even I’m taller than him” Blaine scowls making the group laugh.

Sebastian chuckles, “No...this isn’t a height thing, and I know you don’t look anything like Daniel Radcliffe, but there’s just something about you in those glasses that works as Harry Potter.”

“Yeah I kind of get what he means” Melanie says

“Me too” Adrianne adds

“Make it three” Tristan agrees

“Well it looks like I’m outnumbered so I’ll take your words for it” Blaine takes off the glasses, “So what’s the plan for today?”

“Well given that it’s your last day here for a while we thought we’d leave it up to you.” Adrianne explains.

“Could we just take it easy and hang out somewhere?” Blaine asks

“It’s a beautiful day, why don’t we have a picnic and chill in the park?”

“Works for me, killer?”

“It sounds perfect”

“Oh Blaine do you want me to sort out shipping for your guitar? I could have it sent to your apartment for when you’ll be back.”

Blaine furrows his brows slightly with a hint of sadness, “Oh I hadn’t even thought of that”

“It would make sense B, it would be more likely to get there in one piece than if we lug it to Italy and then home. Bring it to the park so you can get some playing time in.”

“You’re right. Thanks Adrianne that would be really great. I honestly hadn’t even thought about how I’d get it home.”

“It’s no problem and you should bring it with you today. We won’t make you sing if you don’t want to but the park with the Eiffel Tower in the background will be a perfect backdrop for it.”

“If you’re all sure my playing won’t bother you then I will.” They all quickly reassure Blaine that it wouldn’t bother them at all. At that   
point Blaine’s phone goes off, so he excuses himself, “Hi Quinn, thanks for calling me though isn’t it still really early there?”

“Hi sweetie, I was having trouble sleeping so thought I might as well just get up, so what is it you want to talk to me about?”

“What makes you think I just don’t want to talk to you?”

“Because you’re on holiday in a beautiful city with your gorgeous boyfriend and you messaged me, if you wanted to talk for a general chat you would have waited until you knew I was awake.”

“Did I ever tell you how much majoring in psychology suits you?”

“Yes, now stop stalling”

“I don’t want you to get mad”

“You know I won’t get mad at you so just talk to me Blaine, whatever it is is obviously bothering you.”

“Okay so Bas had a bad moment with his mother so to lighten the mood I said he could join The Our Parent/Parents Suck Club and told him how me and Puck founded it and then you joined when you found out about it.”

Quinn interjects, “And he asked you why I joined” 

“Yeah, I didn’t say anything other than you had a difficult junior year as it’s not my place to tell but I’m sorry I raised suspicions, not that   
Bas will press, just still.”

“Sweetie it’s okay”

“Are you sure? I mean I almost slipped up. I know when I was told I had no right to know and it made me feel awkward, and I know you weren’t exactly happy I’d been told at the time.”

“Honestly Blaine it’s fine. And for the record I only wasn’t happy about you being told because I didn’t know you then and someone who said they were my friend was spreading the gossip. I’m not ashamed of what happened. Sure I’m not exactly proud of it, well the way I acted, either but there is no way I’m ashamed.”

“Good because you shouldn’t be.”

Quinn smiles at Blaine’s sincerity, “I know, so by all means tell Sebastian”

“I don’t want to seem like I’m gossiping”

“Well you won’t be as I am telling you to tell him. I was talking to Sam the other day and he was on about having a final fling in New York with you guys, some Warblers and New Directioners I think for when Kitty comes to see you. If Beth or anything close comes up I’m not going to shy away from it, I know they aren’t the type of guys to gossip, just as I know Sebastian won’t tell anyone about it. It isn’t in their upbringing, or in Sebastian’s case care.” Quinn chuckles.

“You’re right about that. Bas may be many things but he isn’t a gossip for that exact reason. Unless it’s going to affect him or someone he cares about he has no interest in the stories that go around.”

“Exactly. Puck’s going to be getting up soon so I should go. Enjoy the rest of your holiday. Send me a postcard from Italy.”

“Where should I send it to?” Blaine asks cheekily

“Why Blaine Anderson what are you implying?” Quinn mocks shocked

“Nothing at all, just I don’t know if you are staying at Puck’s or will be heading back to yours...or moving in together” he teases

“It’s a good job I like you. For that I think you should send one to mine and his to be safe. Now go and enjoy yourself and I’ll see you soon!”

“Over and out Q”

Just as Blaine ends the call he sees Sebastian in the doorway, “How long have you been there?”

“Not long, just enough to know you’ve got to send Quinn a postcard.”

“Actually make it two; she wants one at Puck’s and at home now.”

“How is she?”

“Okay, but she couldn’t sleep which is why she was up. Do we need to get going?”

“Not quite yet, they’re deciding what kind of food to pick up and Adrianne’s finding her picnic basket and dining set so we can take can take some cider and have food that isn’t finger friendly if we want to.”

“Quinn told me to tell you about her junior year. I said I didn’t have to and that you wouldn’t mind not knowing but she gave me an order to. I explained to her I was anxious about saying anything as I know I found out when she’d rather I hadn’t at the time, but I guess she   
was going through it then so she wouldn’t have had the same clarity.”

“I’m guessing you don’t need to tell me who told you about it.”

“If I did I’d think something had hit you on the head on your way here. What can I say; Kurt and gossip go hand in hand. Come sit.” Sebastian sits on the bed opposite Blaine so they could face each other. “Quinn fell pregnant during her junior year” Sebastian’s eyes widen in shock for a moment. “She’s not ashamed of it but does regret how she acted at the time, though no one holds it against her, she was scared and didn’t know what to do. At the time she was dating Finn but Puck’s the father. Quinn told Finn he was the dad, which he believed even though they hadn’t slept together. Anyway it all came out in the open. Quinn’s dad disowned her; she’s still in contact with her mum but her dad can’t seem to get passed it, which is ridiculous. Quinn put the baby, Beth, up for adoption. Rachel’s birth mum, Shelby, is actually Beth’s mum and she keeps Quinn up to date and lets her see Beth occasionally. Shelby kind of went through something similar so is probably the best person the be raising Beth as she knows what Quinn is going through and how it was for Rachel to only find her birth mum as a teenager. So that’s why Quinn’s in the club.”

“I would never have guessed Quinn had gone through that.”

“I know she’s incredibly strong”

“She’s not the only one B” Sebastian takes Blaine’s hand in his and traces his thumb over it.

There’s a knock at the door, “I’ve found my picnic basket and have already packed the cider, are you guys ready to go?” Adrianne calls through.

Instead of shouting back Sebastian just opens the door, “As you can see we are. B was just talking to a friend about something.”

Blaine and Sebastian walk to the bistro hand in hand, “Oh Bas, I forgot to tell you. You know how I invited Kitty out to visit when we’re settled?”

“I do”

“Well there are plans afoot to make it a slightly bigger group, including Puck, Quinn, Wes and Beat. Anyone who is moving to New York will already be there. I wouldn’t be surprised if a few others join either but I hope it doesn’t get too crazy.”

“Sounds good to me though we’ll need to talk to the guys about where everyone would be staying. I know we’ve got room but I’d rather not have everyone at ours, as horrible as that might sound.”

“No, I understand. I was thinking we take Kitty, Wes and Beat then Puck and Quinn can stay with the others.”

“Works for me but any reason?”

“I invited Kitty so obviously she’s staying with us and I’d kind of like to have Wes with us, then it would make it easier if Beat stayed too so the others only had the couple to house.”

“Makes sense to me”

The group walk into the bistro and start picking items for their picnic.

“Well well well...if it isn’t Blaine Anderson again” Jean-Baptiste greets Blaine as he’s looking at cheeses.

“Hi. It’s my last day in the city so you don’t have to worry about bumping into me again until we’re in New York.”

Jean-Baptiste’s girlfriend joins them, “I would like you to meet Rose, my girlfriend, Rose this is Blaine.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you Rose, I hear you’re going to Columbia, my boyfriend will be going there too.” Sebastian walks over, “Bas this is Rose, Jean-Baptiste’s girlfriend.”

“Hi it’s nice to meet you. I’m sorry about the other day Jean-Baptiste I didn’t need to behave like an ass.”

“It’s fine. We both know I have my moments too.”  
“Would you two like to join us, we’re going to have a picnic in the park, and if you hadn’t guessed from the case on his back, we’re being treated to some music by my B, of course we understand if you don’t want to or have other plans.”

“That’s what we were planning on doing so we would be happy to join you” Jean-Baptiste replies and Rose nods in agreement.

After making introductions the larger group made their way to the park and sat talking and enjoying the food they’d purchased, washing it down with the cider Adrianne brought along. After a while Blaine can’t resist any longer and pulls out his guitar and soon gets lost in playing different melodies and chord patterns as they come to him while he soaks up his surroundings. It takes him a while to realise everyone else has stopped talking and are intent on listening to him.

Blaine looks up with a shy smile, “Sorry”

“What are you apologising for B?” 

“Disturbing all of you”

Sebastian rolls his eyes fondly, “When are you going to accept that people like listening to you?” Blaine just shrugs shyly and looks down in response.

“That was beautiful Blaine...I’m not familiar with acoustic guitar pieces, what is that one called?” Rose asks

 

“Oh that was just me messing around”

“Blaine Anderson, show choir hero, musician and maestro” Jean-Baptiste teases.

“I play the violin, but I could never just make something up on the spot, how do you do it?” Adrianne queries

Blaine thinks for a moment before answering, “I don’t know. I like just playing, it doesn’t always sound good but you can find cool progressions and bridges. Other times, like just now, I suppose I just play how I feel. Music’s another language.”

They stay in the park until late that evening until Sebastian feels Blaine starting to get heavy in his arms where he’s sat sideways on his lap and leaning against his chest. “Today has been wonderful but we better get back. I don’t want to have to carry him all the way, which is what will happen if he goes to sleep any further.”

“Couldn’t you just wake him?” Tristan asks

“If only it was that easy” Sebastian laughs then stands up, taking Blaine with him, “Come on killer, we’re going back.”

Blaine just grumbles in response and leans heavily against Sebastian throughout the walk, Sebastian taking his guitar for him. When they get back Blaine flops straight on the bed so Sebastian takes his shoes and jeans off, leaving him to sleep in his t-shirt and boxers. Their alarm goes off earlier than they would like the next morning, but they both manage to get out of bed and happily wake each other up in the shower.

Adrianne is in the kitchen when they go through, “I’m glad you guys are up, I’ve got an early shift this morning but wanted to see you.” 

She gives them both a hug and a kiss, “You’re more than welcome to come back at any time. It really has been a pleasure meeting you Blaine.”

“And it’s been a pleasure meeting you too. Thank you for sorting out shipping for my guitar again.”

“Honestly it’s not a problem at all. Sebastian, walk me out?”

Sebastian walks Adrianne to the door while Blaine starts a fresh pot of coffee.

“I’m glad to see you happy again” Adrianne tells Sebastian.

“It’s nice to feel happy again”

“He really is remarkable Sebastian, there’s obviously nothing he wouldn’t do for you.”

“I know. To be honest there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for him.”

“Good. So don’t mess it up” She giggles and gives Sebastian a final hug before leaving for work.

“Is everything okay?” Blaine asks as he boyfriend wanders back into the kitchen.

Sebastian smiles, “Yeah, she was just telling me not to mess us up.”

Blaine walks forward and wraps his arms around Sebastian’s waist, tilting his head back to look into his boyfriend’s eyes. “Don’t worry I won’t let you.” Blaine grins cheekily

Sebastian playfully slaps Blaine’s ass in response, which causes Blaine to arch his back and moan slightly, “Want something killer?”

“That depends, how much time do we have?”

“Enough”

“Good because having to keep quiet has been killing me”

Sebastian doesn’t say anything but just picks Blaine up, throwing him over his shoulder and taking him to the bedroom. Neither hold back as they make the most of the hour or so they have before they need to get ready to leave for the airport. Sebastian can’t believe how much he’d been missing the noises that come out of Blaine when he’s not trying to keep quiet and it quickly riles him up.

When Blaine goes to sit down at the waiting area in the airport he winces slightly.

“You okay B?”

“Yeah”

“You’re a terrible liar”

“I’m not lying, yes I’m sore but it was oh so worth it, and I kind of like the feeling.”

“Good because I love that you can still feel me”

“Oh I know you do, but be warned, later I’ll make sure you’re still feeling me tomorrow.”

“I’ll hold you to that”

“Please do” Blaine smirks

They board their plane and settle for the short flight to Florence.


	54. Italy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi!
> 
> I'm so sorry for the complete radio silence during exam season! I was hoping to be able to post one chapter but unfortunately the sheer volume of studying I had to do was insane and I didn't want to rush posting something and it be a let down. With that said, massive fingers crossed that you enjoy the chapter and that it was worth the wait. Things will now go back to normal in terms of posting.
> 
> As always, it would be wonderful to hear what you all think. Comments really do give a boost to my writing, particularly after such a break. Here's to the Seblaine Italian adventure!

When they land Blaine’s Grandpa is waiting for them in arrivals. “Grandpa!” Blaine greets him with a hug.

“Hi there little one” Blaine’s Grandpa lets go of Blaine and pulls Sebastian into a hug, shocking the taller boy slightly, “It’s good to see you again Sebastian. Are you ready for this?”

“Definitely”

They make their way out to Joseph’s SUV, putting their luggage in the trunk before climbing in.

“I’ve always liked this model” Sebastian says as he appreciates the Range Rover Sport he’s sat in.

“Do you know how to drive stick?” Joseph asks

“I do, my car at home is actually…I much prefer it to automatic”

“Then you’ll have to take it for a spin while you’re here. There’s a reason why I’m determined to keep driving these cars even if some try to tell me I’m too old.”

“That would be amazing, thank you”

“It’s nice to find someone with an appreciation for them. There are some places on the hills near our house where you can really test out the off road performance. Next question, do you horse ride Sebastian?”

“I know the basics but not really, why?”

“Because we there are some lovely hacks in our area that I know this one” Joseph gestures to Blaine “Won’t be able to resist. So if you want to join him you can or you can do what you want around the house and grounds, or let me know if you want to and we can go driving.”

“How did I not know you ride?” Sebastian looks at Blaine

“I guess it never came up” Blaine shrugs a little sheepishly.

“I think the real question is where have you put all your polo trophies for Sebastian to not know?”

“Polo?” Sebastian quirks an eyebrow

“Yes polo and I can ride”

“Very well” Joseph interjects

“Okay I can ride well and play polo. If you want to come out with me there are some gentle tracks around.”

“Sounds like a plan B”

When they get to the house Blaine and Sebastian both go straight up to put their things away before going to greet Blaine’s grandmother who is sat out by the small pond with the fountain.

“So where are all your polo trophies?” Sebastian asks as he wraps his arms around his boyfriend.

“With all my other trophies, in a box in my wardrobe”

“Why?”

“I guess I listened when someone repeatedly told me that having them up was a display of arrogance and made them feel uncomfortable, which made me feel bad for having them there.”

Sebastian rolls his eyes knowing Blaine can’t see, “Displaying your achievements by no means makes you arrogant and he would have only felt uncomfortable because he would have been jealous you'd done so much and been good at it. I know things come naturally to you killer but you also work damn hard and earn the results you get.”

“Thank you Bastian”

“For what? I didn’t do anything” Sebastian teases

Blaine can only smile and shake his head in response, “Come on…let’s go find Nona before she sends a search party”

They find Blaine’s grandparents in front of the pond just as Joseph said they would be with fresh lemonade already poured.

“There you are boys” Camille greets them receiving a hug from them both. “Now tell me about your trips so far” Blaine and Sebastian go onto tell them about their time in Paris and London. Blaine gives a short recap of Comicon but is sure to leave out certain details, like getting ridiculously drunk and the tattoo. 

A fairly plump middle-aged woman approaches, “Blaine is that you? You’ve grown so much since I last saw you. And what a handsome young man you are” she says to him in Italian.

Blaine replies in Italian, “Hi Rosetta, you’re looking well. This is my boyfriend Sebastian. Are Luca and Ricco still around?”

“Yes they are. I’m sure they’d like to catch up with you at some point if you have time.”

“Of course”

“I won’t disturb you any longer but I’ll see you later on Blaine, say hello to your boyfriend for me, he’s very handsome.”

Blaine smiles in response and turns to Sebastian, speaking English once again, “She said to say hello…she also thinks you’re very handsome.”

“Well she obviously has good taste then” Sebastian winks, “Who is she?”

“That’s Rosetta. Her family rent the smaller house from us...you would have driven passed it on your way here. She also helps around the house and keeps the place ticking over when we’re not here, though that doesn’t happen much anymore. Her family have been with us for years. She has two boys, Luca and Ricco who are two and four years older than Blaine. Don’t think she was being rude Sebastian but she can’t speak English; that’s the only reason why she didn’t greet you personally.” Camille explains

“That’s okay, not everyone can be a linguist like B”

“Oh as if you can talk” Blaine nudges his boyfriend.

They sit talking for a while until Blaine decides to give Sebastian a tour round before dinner. “Can I take a quad?” Blaine asks his grandparents.

“Yes if you promise to be careful, no racing around. Do you remember where everything is?” Joseph replies

“I do. Come on Bas”

“Is a quad bike really necessary killer?” 

“It is if I want to give you the full tour before dinner...there’s a particular place I want to show you.” Blaine jumps onto one quad bike, “Hop on Bastian”

“And why don’t I get my own?” Sebastian asks amused

“Ever think I like the idea of you pressing up behind me?”

“Then how can I say no?” Sebastian holds tightly onto Blaine as they make their way down to the stables, purposefully pressing his body into him. “Is this what you wanted to show me?”

“No we’re saving that place until last…I just wanted to see the horses”

“They are beautiful”

“They are. When you ride I love the freedom that you get, but also the total trust you have to put in each other. They trust you not to lead them to harm and you have to trust them to listen to you.” Blaine says as he scratches the nose of one of the horses.

“I’d definitely like to ride while we’re here B”

“Let’s go out tomorrow morning then” Blaine smiles, “Now let me show you my favourite place here.” They climb back on the quadbike and make their way down a small valley, crossing a shallow stream before heading back up the other side. Blaine stops at a tree that stands out on its own though is hidden from view by the brow of the hill from anyone on the other side of the valley; the canopy giving dappled shade, and kills the engine. “We’re here Bas”

Sebastian climbs off the quad and stands next to the tree, taking in the view. The valley, leading back up to the house and the rolling hills behind. “It’s beautiful. I can see why you like it here…it’s like you can forget there is a world beyond the hills it’s so peaceful, yet you get a sense of freedom at the same time.”  
Blaine steps behind Sebastian and wraps his arms around his waist, “Exactly, I knew you’d understand. I used to like coming up here to think. I’d bring a picnic, blanket and my book and would sit up here all day if I wasn’t doing something with the horses. I never brought anyone up here before…it was always my own little sanctuary.”

Sebastian turns around and wraps Blaine in his arms, “Thank you for sharing it with me”

“Always” Blaine grabs a blanket from the small storage area underneath the quad bike’s seat and spreads it out before sitting down, “Join me, we have time”

“And here I thought we needed a quad bike” Sebastian teases as he gets settled

“We did unless you felt like running here and back” Blaine lays back on the blanket, hands behind his head. Sebastian lies down next to him but on his side, watching his boyfriend. His eyes gaze down Blaine’s body and he notices the very top of the tattoo peeking out in the gap between where Blaine’s polo shirt has ridden up and the top of his shorts. Sebastian gently traces the tattoo with his fingertips, pushing Blaine’s shorts down to see the whole shape.

“Like what you see Bastian?” Blaine teases

“You know I do and not just because of what it represents…it really suits you B”

“Well you really suit me” Sebastian continues to trace Blaine’s tattoo, “Bas you’ve got to stop”

“Why? I can tell you’re enjoying it” Sebastian says palming Blaine’s cock causing him to moan.

“You better be planning on doing something about that” Blaine breathes

“No one would ever believe what an exhibitionist you are” Sebastian whispers seductively while nipping at Blaine’s ear lobe and undoing his shorts. Sebastian moves over Blaine’s body and sits him up to pull off his polo before moving lower and tugging his shorts and boxers off in one motion. A light breeze teases over Blaine’s now fully exposed body.

“Bas” Blaine gasps and tugs at Sebastian’s shirt. Sebastian removes his clothes then settles on top of Blaine once more, capturing his mouth in a heated kiss. 

Blaine runs his hands down Sebastian’s back and squeezes his ass, causing his boyfriend to grind down into him. “Please Bas”

“What do you want B? All you’ve got to do it tell me” Sebastian says while he peppers kisses on Blaine’s neck.

“You” Blaine breathes out

“How do you want me?” Sebastian asks assaulting the other side of Blaine’s neck.

“Inside me” Blaine stutters.

Sebastian reaches across to his shorts and pulls out his wallet, taking out a sachet of lube.

“It worries me you have that with you” Blaine teases as he runs his hands over Sebastian’s arms.

“Well you never know when we’re going to need it…when the moment will strike us. I like to be prepared.”

“Such a boy scout” Blaine stutters as Sebastian pushes the first finger in.

It doesn’t take long for Blaine to be stretched given their recent activities and Sebastian is soon pushing inside of him, throwing Blaine’s legs over his shoulders.

“Bas, move” Blaine breathes out and Sebastian starts with slow, long, deep thrusts. When Blaine throws his head back, arching his body, and releasing a loud moan Sebastian picks up the pace. He’s soon chasing his own release, being worked up from being so exposed out in the open, only the tree providing them with some shelter. Sebastian wraps his hand around Blaine’s cock and flicks his wrist, making him come instantly; shooting all over his chest. The clenching of Blaine’s muscles is enough to push Sebastian over the edge and he comes deep inside his boyfriend.

Sebastian stays still for a moment, catching his breath, before slowly pulling out and collapsing on the blanket next to Blaine. “That was something else killer”

“I know what you mean” Blaine shivers slightly as Sebastian nuzzles at his neck.

“We should get you cleaned up” Sebastian grabs hold of Blaine’s boxer briefs and uses them to wipe down his chest.

Blaine lifts his head to look at Sebastian, “And why did you need to use mine?”

“What can I say, I like the idea of you going commando”

“Yes but you won’t be able to do anything about it” Blaine smirks, then his face suddenly falls and his eyes widen.

“What is it B? Sebastian asks concerned

“My shorts are light Bas...I can’t go back with a wet patch” Blaine panics

“Shh it’s okay. We’ll stay up here for a bit longer and then I’ll clean you up again with my boxers so we both have to go commando. If we’re late I’ll take the blame.” Sebastian places a kiss on top of Blaine’s head. “Maybe I should start keeping condoms in my wallet too.”

“But I prefer it without Bastian”

“So do I killer but if we can’t keep our hands to ourselves when we’re out and about it will stop any worry about wet spots. There’s no other reason I’d have them B.” 

“I know Bas…I know you wouldn’t do that to me”

“Good because I wouldn’t…Just like I’d never ask you to have a threesome.”

“Why? Not that I’m complaining”

“Because the same thing applies, it would feel wrong to be with someone else, and I couldn’t cope watching anyone else touch you. It’s like cheating but in front of each other.”

“That’s exactly how I feel.”

“I know it’s not what anyone would expect from me but you mean too much to me killer.”

“Who cares what anyone else expects? All that matters is you and me. If anyone thinks of you that way then fuck them”

Sebastian’s eyes go wide at Blaine’s language, “Why Blaine Anderson what’s happened to you?”

“Well when it comes to us, we’re the only ones whose opinions really matter right?”

Sebastian smiles, “Right”

“Though don’t get me wrong I love that our friends and some family support us but love is love and I love you.”

“I love you too” Sebastian kisses Blaine tenderly. “Are you ready for me to clean you up now?” he asks looking down towards Blaine's ass so his meaning is clear.

“As long as you can resist a second round, normally I’d be for it but we don’t have time.”

“I know, and if I remember correctly you have a promise to keep to me tonight B”

“One that I plan on keeping, though if we’re going riding in the morning I won’t go too hard.”

“Ah I hadn’t thought of that”

“We can always postpone Bastian…we’ll have plenty of chances”

“Let’s just see what happens”

Sebastian cleans Blaine up and they both get dressed, stuffing their boxer briefs into their cargo shorts pockets. “Do you want to drive back to the house Bas?”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah just take it easy. My Grandpa once had an accident on one of these and ever since he’s been really cagey about me or Cooper riding them. Cooper got banned one summer because he was going too fast so didn’t have proper control. Plus there are fields of livestock around and you never know if you’re going to bump into a stray sheep."

“Are you sure he won’t mind me driving then?”

“Positive as longs as we don’t take silly risks.”

Sebastian grins then hops on after Blaine has put the blanket away. Blaine holds on tight to Sebastian as they make their way back to the house, the lowering sun making a stunning backdrop to the hills. They park the bike back in the barn, as Blaine gets off he looks to Sebastian nervously, “Erm Bas…can you just…I mean is everything okay?”

“Turn around then killer” Blaine turns so his back is to Sebastian, “No marks or spots whatsoever” Sebastian tells him as he wraps his arms around Blaine’s waist.  
They make their way through the house and find Blaine’s grandparents sat on the terrace. “Perfect timing boys…dinner has just been served” Camille says as she gestures across the table topped with different salads and a fettuccini dish. “Now Sebastian, I’ve no doubt you’ve sampled champagne a few times so now you can compare it to Prosecco.”

Joseph opens the bottle and pours everyone a glass, “Now dig in and help yourselves to whatever you want” They all start loading up their plates, “Are you   
looking forward to getting into your apartment?”

Blaine and Sebastian share a look before Blaine replies, “Absolutely”

“I take it you are too Sebastian?”

“Most definitely, it’s just a shame we won’t have time to give it our touch before we start school.”

“Is that something you’re looking forward to doing?”

“I want it to have our touch to truly become our apartment but I can’t say I like the idea of shopping for drapes or finding the time to actually do the work, plus painting a room isn’t exactly my idea of fun.” Sebastian chuckles 

Blaine laughs, “Yeah you know that’s not exactly how I’d want to spend any free time I get either.”

“No you’d rather spend it playing quidditch” Sebastian teases, Blaine sticking his tongue out in response.

“Have you got any plans for tomorrow?” Camille asks after giggling at the two boys

“Apart from going out for a ride in the morning, nothing” Blaine answers, “Have you got anything planned for us for this week?”

“We thought we could venture into Florence one day. It’s been so long since you’ve been there Blaine I’d be surprised if you can remember it and it would be nice for Sebastian to see some of the culture Italy has to offer. That is if you boys want to…we meant when we said this break is about you having a proper relax before you have to hit the ground running.”

“And we appreciate it” Blaine says before sipping his Prosecco, “Maybe we could do Florence on Monday?” Blaine looks to Sebastian.

“Sounds like a plan to me. And for the record, Prosecco ranks right up there with champagne for me. They’re subtly different but I couldn’t pick a favourite.”

They stay up talking until late before parting to go to bed. Blaine strips off and gets under the covers.

“Do you mind if we postpone Bas? I’m too tired to do a proper job.”

“Good because I’m too tired and full to let you”

“You do know you didn’t have to eat all that dessert right?” Blaine teases as Sebastian gets into bed, prodding his stomach.

“It’s a good job I love you” Sebastian nuzzles Blaine’s neck and pulls him close, “Now go to sleep killer”

XXXXXXX  
When Sebastian wakes up he finds the bed empty but sees a cup of coffee and a note on the bedside cabinet.

'You looked so peaceful sleeping I thought I’d go and tack up the horses ready. Love you. B xxx'

Sebastian sips his coffee before pulling on his more worn jeans and a t-shirt he doesn’t mind going riding in. After finishing his drink he heads downstairs to find Camille in the kitchen. “Morning Sebastian, I hope you slept well”

“Very thank you. It’s certainly peaceful here.”

“Good and I’m glad you find it peaceful, it’s the reason we basically live here full time now, we’ve never found anywhere else quite like it. Blaine’s already at the stables getting the horses ready for your ride if you want to head on down.” Camille wraps some warm stuffed ciabatta up and hands it to Sebastian along with a flask of cold orange juice, “Here take these with you, you can either have them before you go or stop on your ride if you want.”

“Thank you” Sebastian smiles

“No problem. You better get going” She teases firmly

As Sebastian approaches the stable block he sees a boy he thinks must be a few years older than him sat on the fence surrounding the small yard area around the stables. When Sebastian gets to the gate he pauses for a moment, watching Blaine tack up one of the horses in the yard, talking to her softly and scratching her nose after putting her saddle on. The boy, who’d been a few paces down, slides off the fence and walks over to Sebastian, “He’s beautiful isn’t he? I heard he was back for a visit but I’d never imagined the Blaine I remember would have grown up so much.” Sebastian doesn’t say anything but just continues to watch Blaine.

Blaine finishes tacking up the first horse and just as he turns to pick up the saddle for the second he spots Sebastian, smiles and winks. The boy chuckles, “This is going to be easier than I thought.”

Sebastian raises his eyebrows and turns to look at him, “I wouldn’t be so sure about that”

“Oh really?” The boy muses as Blaine wanders over

“Morning gorgeous” Blaine greets Sebastian and leans up to kiss him over the gate, “Are you going to help me or are you enjoying the view too much?” Blaine gives him another kiss then turns to the boy, “Lucca is that you?”

Lucca forces a smile to his face, “The one and only. I heard you were visiting so thought I’d come and say hello.”

“That’s nice of you…it’s good to see you. Lucca, this is Sebastian my boyfriend, Bas this is Lucca…he’s one of Rosetta’s sons.”

“It’s nice to meet you” Sebastian smirks before going through the gate, “Your Nona gave me breakfast for the both of us, do you want it now or do you want to stop on the ride killer?”

Blaine chuckles, “Great minds” and picks up a nearby back pack, “Well we can always add to our breakfast collection.”

“What is it with you and picnics?” Sebastian teases, putting the ciabatta and orange juice in the back pack before putting it down and kissing Blaine. They get a little carried away with the kiss and as Blaine wraps his arms around Sebastian’s shoulders, his boyfriend’s hands wonder down his back and grab his ass.

Blaine moans softly before pulling back, “That’s not playing fair Bas”.

“Oh I know” Sebastian smirks, “So which one am I riding?”

Blaine smiles then introduces Sebastian to the ready tacked horse, “Bas this is socks…she’s an amazing horse and won’t do you wrong. I learnt a lot on her…she’s so gentle and patient.” Blaine then leans close to Sebastian to whisper, “Don’t tell her or the others but she’s quite possibly my favourite.”

“Then why aren’t you riding her?”

Blaine picks up the second set of tack and starts getting the other horse ready, “Meet Star. He loves to jump and has a habit of trying to pull you off where he wants to go rather than following the trail you’ve chosen.”

“Okay I can see why you’re riding him now”

“Thinking about it Bas do you mind if we eat first? I don’t fancy having a back pack on if Star does decide he needs some jumping practice.”  
Sebastian smiles, “By all means killer”

They eat their breakfast, washing it down with the fresh ice cold orange juice Camille had given Sebastian before finding riding hats that fit.

“Are you ready to do this Bastian?”

“It’s now or never”

“You’ll be fine, riding a horse is like riding a bike…you never forget and Socks will look after you.” Both boys lead their horses out of the yard before mounting. Blaine leads the way up a trail into the hills. They ride side by side for a while just talking and taking in the beautiful scenery. “Are you ready to step it up a gear?”

“What are you thinking?”

“Just a trot then if you feel comfortable a short canter” 

“Let’s do this killer”

They both break into a canter, laughing and enjoying riding together before Blaine slows the pace back down to a walk.

“You’re a natural Bas” Blaine beams

“Well of course I am” Sebastian winks smugly, causing Blaine to roll his eyes fondly

They get to a flat open clearing next to a stream that has a lone large fallen tree, from the nearby woodland.

“Come on let’s give the horses a chance to drink. Are you enjoying yourself Bastian?”

“More than I thought I would” Sebastian notices Blaine’s face fall, “Not that I thought I wouldn’t enjoy myself, it’s just even better than I pictured killer.”

Blaine breaks into a grin once again. Star finishes drinking then seems to notice the fallen tree, “Are you okay here for a bit Bas?”

“Yeah sure”

“Let’s do this Star” Blaine says to his horse and rounds to line up for the tree, breaking into a canter before clearing the tree with ease. Sebastian can’t help but notice the way Blaine’s body pushes up, perfectly in line with Star as he jumps, eyes completely focused ahead.

“Show off” Sebastian teases when Blaine trots back to him, his boyfriend sticking his tongue out in response. “Careful, any closer and see what happens if you stick your tongue out again.”

Blaine walks Star so he’s in line with Socks and Sebastian and leans forward a little, sticking his tongue out once more. Sebastian quickly but gently bites it, sucking it into his mouth causing Blaine to moan into the kiss, which only breaks when Star starts to walk off. Sebastian laughs hard at the surprised expression on Blaine’s face but all becomes apparent as Star lines up for the fallen tree once more before breaking into a canter, Blaine steadies him and they both clear the tree with ease again.

“Maybe we should move on” Blaine says to Sebastian

They loop back to the stables after being out for a couple of hours on the horses, dismounting before entering the yard. “Do you want to help me sort them out Bas?”

“Just show me what to do” Both boys then go about untacking the horses and rugging them up. Sebastian stretches his back once the horses are locked back in their stables.

“Are you okay?” Blaine asks as he wraps his arms around Sebastian’s waist from behind.

“Just a little stiff”

“I’ll give you a massage later” Blaine promises

“I’d never say no to that killer” 

Blaine smirks against Sebastian’s back, “I know. What do you want to do now? If you’re hungry we could get something to eat or we could hit the pool.”

“After the breakfast we had I don’t think I’ll need to eat until dinner, so how about we grab some drinks then get changed and get in that pool. It will be a good way to cool down.”

“I’m not going to argue, it’s boiling”

They make their way into the house, heading straight upstairs to get into their swim shorts and grab towels before heading to the kitchen to get some lemonade and find Blaine’s Nona there.

“Did you boys have a nice ride?”

“It was wonderful, there’s some stunning scenery around…I wish I’d taken my camera.” Sebastian answers

“We can go again Bastian” Blaine turns to his Nona, “Star even behaved” he tells her before going to give her a kiss on the cheek but she pushes him away.

Camille chuckles, “You’re all sweaty get away from me! I take it you are heading to the pool.”

“Yeah we could both do with a cool down”

“I don’t blame you, before you get in though Blaine can you give your Grandpa a hand in the garage? He won’t admit it but I think he’s finding a couple of the spark plugs fiddly as he’s been out there for ages and is cursing like a sailor.”

Blaine laughs, “No problem, we’ll just go put our towels down” They leave the kitchen and head over to the loungers by the pool, “You can get in the pool if you want Bas” Blaine tells him after they lay their towels out.

“Actually I want to see my boyfriend playing the sexy mechanic”

Blaine rolls his eyes before taking Sebastian’s hand and leading them towards the garage.

“I take it your grandmother sent you” Joseph says, not looking up from the engine of his Range Rover.

“Would you believe me if I said no?” 

Joseph smiles, “Absolutely not…See if you can change these last two Blaine, but if she asks I did them” Joseph steps off the footstall to give Blaine access to the engine. Where the spark plugs are situated means Blaine has to lean right across the high engine bay, his feet leaving the stool and giving Sebastian an undoubtedly spectacular view of his ass.

After a few minutes Blaine manages to change them and nearly misses his footing as he moves to stand back on the stool, Sebastian quickly catching him. Blaine smiles dopily at his boyfriend, “Thanks”

“Always killer” Sebastian winks

Blaine turns to his Grandfather, “Well Grandpa, you managed to change the last two even if they were a bit fiddly.”

Joseph winks before handing Blaine a towel to wipe his face and hands on. “You boys go get in the pool now.”

Sebastian dives into the pool with elegance, surfacing where Blaine has sat at the side with his legs dangling in.

“Now who’s the show off?” Blaine raises an eyebrow

“You can’t tell me you didn’t enjoy the view” Sebastian moves his hands up Blaine’s thighs before grabbing his ass and pulling him into the pool. Blaine wraps his legs around Sebastian’s waist with his arms resting on his shoulders.

“You’re right, I can’t so I won’t” Blaine leans in and gives Sebastian a gentle kiss, neither realising the moment is being witnessed by Camille and Joseph.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen Blaine this happy” Camille muses while Joseph wraps his arm around her waist.

“That’s because I don’t think he’s ever looked so care free. He’s not got anybody putting pressures and expectations on him. I’m so relieved he’s not trying to cover up his scars, though I suppose Sebastian’s already seen them.” Joseph says good-humouredly.

Camille swats her husband’s chest playfully, “Oh by the way I heard from Lisa today. The apartment will be good to go for when they’re back. They’re just doing the finishing touches. The kitchen is finished including all appliances and gadgets, the music area is all set, Blaine will just need to sort his instruments on their stands and set up his drums and the bathrooms have already been upgraded. Everything is painted so it really is just final bits, like bed linen and towels that need to be picked up and sorted. All the boys will have to do is unpack their things.”

“I was worried we were overstepping, but with how they both said they want to put their own mark on it to make it their own, but don’t want to be having to spend what free time they do get sorting it out, I’m sure we’ve done the right thing. Particularly as the design is just what they described.”

“My thoughts exactly…Come on, let’s give them a bit of privacy, not that they know we’re here.” Camille leads her husband away.

That evening they all eat together out on the terrace again, laughing and talking, sharing stories. The more Sebastian spends time with Blaine’s grandparents, the more he can see where his boyfriend got many of his traits, like his laid back attitude and caring nature. 

Camille notices the time, “Not to be rude boys but we better all head to bed if we’re heading into Florence tomorrow. Oh and by the way, you need to pack an overnight bag.”

Blaine furrows his brow, “Why?”

“Well…generally people need overnight bags if they’re staying somewhere overnight” Joseph chuckles

“We’re staying there overnight?” Blaine asks

“I think he’s catching on Sebastian” Joseph winks, getting a playful pinch from Camille. 

“Yes we’re staying overnight. We thought that way we can enjoy the city a little more. Plus, we’d like to go to the new opera that’s just started with you. It features a lot of ballet so we thought it would be interesting…it’s still a classic opera, but is doing things a little differently…you will need to bring some formal wear with you though if you have any packed.”

“We do…what do you think Bastian?”

“It sounds wonderful, the last time I saw an opera or the ballet was with my grandmother when I still lived in Paris” Blaine squeezes Sebastian’s hand in strength and support, knowing that these memories are both happy and now painful for him.

A little while later Blaine and Sebastian have both settled in bed, being sure to set an alarm for the next day. They’ve wrapped their arms around each other like usual but Blaine can tell there’s something going on with his boyfriend. “What’s going on Bastian? And don’t say nothing because I can hear you thinking.” 

Sebastian chuckles, “I can’t get anything passed you can I?”

“Nope” Blaine grins, “So what is it?”

Sebastian shifts slightly so they’re now lying on their sides, chest to chest and eye to eye, “How come you didn’t live with your grandparents?”

“Oh…” Blaine bites his bottom lip

“Sorry…it’s okay…you don’t have to answer that.”

“No…it’s a fair question. I’m not sure I can give you the full answer, but it’s something I often wished could happen, well before Dalton. When I went to Dalton and met Wes and the rest of the guys, it really was my home. But I think it’s mostly because my grandparent’s jobs meant they travelled a lot, and I mean globally, not just across the states…and obviously with me needing to go to school that wouldn’t have worked. Also my grandparents wouldn’t have wanted to split the family up, I know they’ve always thought that it was really important for Cooper and I to have a relationship, which I actually understand now…and obviously that would never have happened if we were separated…I mean if we had been I doubt we’d have the relationship we do now. And weirdly…I don’t think my parents would have allowed it…after all it would have looked bad on them if their second son was basically given away.”

“Parents covering their asses by pretending to the outside world to give a damn is something I can fully relate to” Sebastian smirks softly before kissing Blaine tenderly, “Thank you for telling me.”

“Always…if I can’t talk to you about things then I don’t know who I can…like I said it might not be the full answer, but that’s what I understand about it…it’s not something I want to ask about anymore because I don’t see the point in bringing it up…plus everything turned out for the best…I’ve got you after all.”

“You are such a cheesy sap”

“You love it”

Sebastian purrs contently as Blaine’s hands massage his back as he leans in for another kiss. 

XXXXXXX  
They leave early for Florence the following morning, Blaine quickly falling back to sleep in his boyfriend’s arms when they settle in the car for the journey, even though it’s only a couple of hours. 

“I see some things don’t change” Joseph laughs as he looks in the rear view mirror at his grandson.

“Yeah…if he doesn’t wake up naturally you have to get coffee into him quickly” Sebastian only half jokes back

“So Sebastian, is there anything in particular you’d like to see today?” Camille asks

“What would you recommend?”

“The Cathedral is impressive and the gallery has an amazing collection, you can also take a river cruise, some of the boats serve food so we could always do that for lunch.”

“Sounds good to me…Whenever I’ve travelled to different cities I always enjoy getting to see things from a non-tourist point of view so I’m game for anything…is there anything B would like to do?”

“When he’s been before he likes walking the older streets and passage ways, taking in the architecture, you have to be careful not to get lost but I suppose GPS on phones makes that harder to do now.”

“Let’s do that then, wonder, maybe take in some of the piazzas…I’ve got my camera so I’ll be happy.”

When they get to the hotel Joseph pulls the car in to the front where a valet comes to move it to the underground parking once they have got their bags out.

“Come on killer…we’ll get some coffee in you” Sebastian wakes his boyfriend

“Bastian?”

“Yes B…we’re here…come on” Sebastian basically lifts Blaine out of the car and grabs their bag, not wanting any assistance from staff as they’ve only got one of their hand luggage bags between them.

“Wow did I really sleep the whole way?” Blaine asks, much more with it now

“Apparently you needed the sleep” Sebastian teases, knowing Blaine’s sleeping pattern means that on occasion he’d have a marathon sleep. He figured it was because his boyfriend was always on the go so much that when he actually properly stopped, his body took the advantage to recoup.

“Okay boys, let’s all go and freshen up and meet back down here in say half an hour” Camille tells them as she hands over their room key.

They spend the day wondering around the city, Sebastian giving his camera a good work out throughout the day. As planned they take a river cruise at lunch where they all have a light meal, knowing they’d be having their main meal that evening before heading to the opera. They go back to the hotel room with plenty of time to shower, and nap if they so wish, before heading out for the evening. 

“What do you think of the city Bastian?” Blaine asks as his boyfriend washes the shampoo out of his hair.

“It’s beautiful, the architecture is amazing. I have to say killer, I love how you light up whenever you get to explore the winding streets, you were the same in Paris.”

Blaine giggles bashfully, “You don’t get them in the states, and it always makes me feel like I’m on an adventure…I’m glad you’ve had a good day.”

“Of course I did…I was with you” Sebastian cringes at himself, “That was mega sappy wasn’t it?”

“The sappiest” Blaine smiles and rocks onto his toes to kiss his boyfriend, “What do you say we dry off then have a nap before we go?”

“That sounds like an excellent idea”

They both settle on the large king sized bed and Sebastian sets his alarm so they have plenty of time to get dressed before they need to be down in the foyer.

“Don’t you two look handsome” Camille smiles as the boys appear in the reception area to meet them, of course making Blaine blush lightly.

“I hope we didn’t keep you waiting” The curly haired boy replies

“Not at all…we actually only just got down ourselves” Joseph responds

At that moment the concierge appears and tells Blaine’s grandparents that their car has arrived so the group head out. 

“That was quite possibly one of the best meals I’ve ever had” Sebastian comments as they leave the restaurant later on.

“I’m glad you enjoyed it” Camille tells him kindly

“So much…thank you”

“Yeah thank you…it really was delicious” Blaine adds

When they get to the opera house they get settled into their box, Blaine and Sebastian look over the program together. “You can read a weird amount of Italian considering you’ve never studied it” Blaine comments

Sebastian raises an eyebrow at his boyfriend, “Well on paper there are some similarities to French, as you well know” he grins.

“I do”

“Plus I pay attention when you speak it...But I still need you to translate most of it”

“I know” Blaine grins

“I wouldn’t mind picking it up more though”

“Really?”

“Well yeah…it’s like when I helped you with French B…it’s nice being able to talk to each other in another language, particularly when one can already speak it, so of course I’d like to be able to speak Italian with you.”

Blaine smiles and gives his boyfriend a kiss in response, just as the curtain goes up.

After the show, they get back into the car service Blaine’s grandparents had organised to head back to the hotel, “Well what did you think then?” Joseph asks

“I really enjoyed it…the dancers were incredible” Sebastian replies

“And the orchestra…I’m going to have to tell Tabatha about them next time I speak to her…they were amazing. The singers too of course, but that was one hell of a score.” Blaine and Sebastian share a look then both laugh.

“Care to share what’s so funny?” Camille asks through a giggle, finding their laughter infectious.

“It’s just the things we’ve picked up on…I would pick up on the score and Bas would pick up on the standard of dancing…I’m not sure if you know but Bas is an incredible dancer.”

“We didn’t…did you start lessons young?”

“I did…by the time I was eight the only sports teams I was on were the lacrosse and swim teams. Everything else revolved around dance.”

“He’s the one that managed to end the Warblers beloved two step where me and Jeff failed.” Blaine adds

Sebastian looks to his boyfriend, “You two seriously tried? I wasn’t sure if they guys were messing around.”

“No…we really tried but we couldn’t get the council to budge one bit…I was really jealous that you managed to snap them out of it and I couldn’t be part of it.”

“You were and always will be part of the Warblers, Blaine Warbler” Blaine smiles back at his boyfriend while his grandparents just sit and watch the two boys interact, sharing occasional sideways glances with each other.

For all of them the rest of the week goes far too quickly. As they wanted Blaine and Sebastian manage to get in another horse ride so Sebastian can capture some of the scenery and he gets to go off-roading with Joseph. The rest of the time they spend simply relaxing around the grounds of the house, in Blaine’s private spot on the other side of the valley, and by the pool. They of course spend time with Blaine’s grandparents and Camille even shows them some interesting cocktail recipes one evening. Before they know it Camille and Joseph are saying their goodbyes at the airport. 

“Now call us when you get to your apartment remember Malcom will have both sets of keys for you at the front desk. Any problems and just ring us, though it should all be fine.”

“We will Nona, thank you” Blaine gives her a kiss on the cheek before giving her a tight hug.

“Thank you for having me” Sebastian tells them before he’s pulled into a hug by both of them.

“Our pleasure, you’ll have to come back” Camille tells him sincerely and Joseph agrees.

When their flight is called Blaine and Sebastian say their final goodbyes before heading for their plane.

“You okay killer?” Sebastian asks once they’re cruising through the air

“Yeah, that week just went too quickly, but I am excited to get to our apartment.”

“Me too…I’m glad we sorted out the shipping of our things before we came away. Knowing everything should be coming to us over the next two days will certainly make things easier.”

“Definitely, not that we’ll really have anywhere to put it”

“We’ll just have to cross that bridge…and start looking at furniture”

“I know” Blaine answers through a yawn.

Sebastian throws the blanket over the both of them, “Get some sleep B”

They both sleep for the rest of the flight, only being woken by an attendant before the start of their descent.


	55. Moving

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to the newly decorated Seblaine apartment...

After collecting their baggage they decide to get a cab rather than fighting through the subway with suitcases and jet lag. 

“Welcome” Malcom greets them, “I have your keys for you…if you could both just sign to say you’ve received them I’d be grateful. I hope you boys have had a nice summer so far.”

“We have, thank you” Blaine replies, “It’s good to be here though. Have you managed to take a break?”

“I had mine a couple of weeks ago”

“Did you go anywhere nice?”

“To visit my sister and her children in Canada…my wife and I haven’t been able to go for the last couple of years so we certainly enjoyed it. Now if you need anything let me know.”

“We will thank you Malcom.”

“You’re welcome Mr Anderson”

Blaine stops and turns at that comment, “Would it be okay for you to call me Blaine?”

“If that’s what you’d prefer then of course”

Blaine smiles, “Thank you” before heading to the elevator with Sebastian.

Sebastian unlocks the apartment door, “Are you ready for this B?”

“Absolutely” Blaine grins widely. They both walk through the door then pause in the hallway, “Is it me or does this look different Bastian?”

“If it doesn’t then it’s both of us, come on” When they reach the living room their eyes bug out before running around and looking at the whole place, which has been designed perfectly according to their wish list, including all the furniture and even blinds, bedding and towels, crockery and cutlery. Nothing has been forgotten. All of their things they’d wanted shipped are already there too, just needing to be unpacked.

“I think I need to call Nona” Blaine says dazed, still taking in everything.

“Definitely, though there’s one place we haven’t looked at yet B.”

“The roof” Blaine smiles before racing up there with Sebastian. The roof has been kept simple, with a patio heater and small store with a table, chairs and blankets in. They both head back down and call Camille and Joseph.

“I love you but you shouldn’t have” Blaine gushes as soon as the call connects

“We wanted to. This is our graduation present to the both of you. We just hope we haven’t overstepped and that everything is as you’d pictured it being.”

“It really is. I don’t know what to say” Sebastian answers, “It’s even better than I could have pictured. Oh and for the record, the folding glass door looks and works perfectly.”

“We’re glad to hear it”

“Now the only area we didn’t really touch was the roof. We’ve given you the basics but we didn’t know what plans you had for that space so didn’t want to take a guess. It’s important to us that this feels like your home so we didn’t want to impose our mark on it, so if you want to change anything we won’t be offended.”

“Nona it’s perfect” Blaine tells her

“Right down to the bedding…all the furniture is fantastic. I don’t know where you found it all but it’s exactly what we would’ve chosen. So thank you.” Sebastian adds.

“Well it was easy to do as you were both so clear on what you wanted, and now you don’t have to worry about anything before school starts apart from unpacking. Thank you for calling but go and enjoy your new place!” Camille orders

“Okay well thank you once again, you guys are absolutely amazing but ridiculous. I love you”

“We love you too little one, now get off the phone!” Joseph laughs before disconnecting the call.

“I can’t believe them” Blaine says to Sebastian, “What do you really think?”

“Honestly?”

“Yes”

Sebastian wraps his arms around Blaine’s waist, “I genuinely wouldn’t change a thing, it’s even better than I imagined it but at the same time it’s everything we pictured. And no I don’t think they’ve overstepped the mark as it really does feel like our own place now with the added bonus that we didn’t have to do a thing.”

Blaine swats Sebastian’s chest playfully, “Do you promise?”

“I promise killer” Sebastian chuckles, “What do you think?”

“That it’s amazing and even better than I pictured it could be when you were helping me imagine it all.” Sebastian kisses Blaine’s forehead, “Now Bas, we probably have about an hour before one of the guys calls us so what do you want to do?”

“From the look on your face you’ve already got an idea killer”

“I do but I don’t want to force it on you”

“When have you ever known me to be forced into something?” Sebastian raises an eyebrow

Blaine laughs, “Okay fair point. Well I’d like tonight just to be us in our new home. Maybe we could start unpacking and order some take out and just have a better look around as knowing my Nona there will be a few surprises lurking.”

“That’s exactly what I want to do, though I think you’re missing a few things from your plan.”

“Oh really?” Blaine smirks, “Care to enlighten me”

Sebastian nips Blaine’s earlobe, “You…me…christening every room”

Blaine tilts his head to give Sebastian better access, “There’s quite a few rooms Bas”

“Then we better get started”

Just as Blaine had predicted they were both interrupted about an hour later after christening a few of the rooms and discovering one surprise; the shower in their en suite had been upgraded so it has two shower heads and several jets and their bath tub was now big enough for two, complete with spa jets. After taking the call Blaine makes his way back to Sebastian, “I hope you don’t mind but I agreed to us going over to theirs for dinner tomorrow evening. I figured that way we can do what we want with the day before seeing them all. Plus I’d rather go and check out their place than them come here before having everything unpacked and where we want it. If you’d rather do something else though let me know and I’ll call Sam back as I said I’d need to double check with you.”

“That’s fine killer, plus Sam must be getting withdrawal symptoms from being away from you for so long” 

Blaine rolls his eyes playfully in response, “What do you say to ordering some food and doing some unpacking for a bit?”

“Sounds good to me, the sooner everything is sorted the sooner we can really enjoy ourselves.”

After ordering some food both boys start unpacking, stopping occasionally to double check with the other as to where they think some things should go. 

Blaine starts sorting his instruments out when Sebastian calls for him, “Killer come here, I think I’ve found another surprise”

Blaine walks into the main of the living room to find Sebastian with his iPhone linked to a docking station. “Look at this B” Sebastian says as he shows Blaine a touchscreen control panel, “It seems your grandparents have had a music system installed.” Sebastian then goes on to show Blaine how the system links speakers spread throughout the apartment so you can either have your music playing everywhere or select certain rooms. After searching around more they discover that the control in the living room is the master one while there are other stations in each room, allowing you to turn the music on and off and adjust volume as you want. There’s even a control next to the bed.

“Okay this is insane but totally awesome” Blaine beams

“Tell me about it. I’ve always wanted a system like this.” 

They continue to unpack until their food arrives and at that point discover that they really won’t need to buy anything for the kitchen or dining areas apart from groceries. They manage to get most things unpacked that evening with music playing in the background to help them along. By the time they go to bed the music area is completely organised and they only have their clothes and a couple of boxes left to unpack.

The next morning they go out for breakfast and do their grocery shopping on their way home. Once it’s put away they finish unpacking their things and put on some of the laundry they’d accumulated on their travels. “How about you say we finish christening the place then B? After all we can hardly invite people over until we have.”

“I know the perfect place to start” Blaine’s eyes light up with mischief and sexual desire as he takes Sebastian’s hand, leading him over to the baby grand piano.

“Are you serious?”

“Most definitely, I’ve thought about it quite a lot”

Sebastian picks Blaine up and sits him on the piano, standing between his legs, “Really?”

Blaine bites his lower lip and nods before leaning into whisper into Sebastian’s ear, “And so you know, it will be another first”.

Sebastian growls before taking Blaine’s mouth into a possessive, heated kiss. When he pulls back his eyes have gone completely dark with lust, “It will be for me too killer”

“For my piano or pianos in general”

“Pianos in general” Sebastian replies between kisses as he starts his assault on Blaine’s neck. They finish as a tangle of sweaty naked limbs on top of the dark top of the piano.

“Next time, remind me to put a blanket or something down first Bastian” Blaine says with a heavily sated voice.

“And why is that killer?”

“Because it’s going to be a bitch to polish now”

Sebastian can’t help but laugh hard at Blaine’s comment and finds himself being pushed onto the floor and looks up to see his boyfriend’s naked ass walking away from him, “And where do you think you’re going?”

“Kitchen, after all it’s the only room that hasn’t been christened and we can’t have that” Blaine winks over his shoulder then continues only to be swept up by Sebastian and carried the rest of the way. Once they are sure the apartment is fully christened, including the roof, they both head to the shower. When Sebastian leaves the en suite after sorting his hair he goes in search of Blaine only to find him polishing the piano.

“You weren’t joking were you killer?” Sebastian leans against the wall with his hip cocked.

“Considering now we’ve got everything where we want it, we won’t be able to stop the guys from coming round for much longer and I’d rather them not see my ass print on it.”

That perks Sebastian’s interest, “Really?” and he wonders over to have a look and learn behold there’s a perfect print of Blaine’s ass that quickly gets polished off.   
Blaine looks at Sebastian and can’t quite figure out the expression on his face, “What is it Bas?” Blaine asks cautiously.

“Well now I’ve downloaded all the pictures from our trip onto my laptop and an external hard drive, I have some space on my camera.”

“So…”

“Would you let me photograph you B?” Blaine doesn’t say anything but instead bites his lower lip and looks down to the floor. Sebastian tilts his head up gently,   
“Don’t worry about it killer it was just a thought.”

“It’s not a no” Blaine sees Sebastian’s eyes light up, “But nobody else could ever and I mean ever see or even know about those pictures. You could not have them on your phone, or even store them on your laptop. They would need locking away so they’re there for when you want to look at them.”

“Of course”

“And” Blaine pauses to take a deep breath, “You’re an incredible photographer so don’t take this in the wrong way but they couldn’t be tacky in anyway.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it, and I’ll have a think of some ideas and will run them passed you first. You’ll see everything okay? And anything you don’t like will be deleted.”

Blaine nods in agreement, “Though depending on some of your ideas Bas, it might just be easier if you take them without me knowing and then show me after.”

Sebastian quickly gets what Blaine means, “So now the piano is ass, hand and foot print free are you ready to go and see the bachelor pad?”

Blaine laughs then grabs his coat and keys, before locking up with Sebastian fixed at his side. They make their way to the guys’ apartment hand in hand.

Thad opens to door to greet them, “Well Nick owes me 20 bucks” Sebastian raises an eyebrow in question as they enter the apartment, “He bet you wouldn’t be here on time.”

“Why wouldn’t we be?” Blaine asks

Thad smirks, “He thought you’d get distracted”

Blaine blushes and Sebastian clips the back of Thad’s head, “Shut it Harwood…we had a great vacation thanks for asking.”

“The place looks great,” Blaine comments as he looks round

At hearing Blaine’s voice Sam sticks his head out of his bedroom door, “Dude!” And runs over to give Blaine a tight hug; lifting him off the floor.

Blaine laughs, “Miss me?”

Sam puts Blaine back down and answers smiling, “Nah not really”, making Blaine roll his eyes fondly.

“Where are Jeff and Nick?” Sebastian asks

“Oh they went out to grab some food, they should be back in a minute” Thad explains

“Come on, let me show you around, this place is so awesome I thought I’d be living in a box when I came to New York” Sam grabs Blaine’s arm and pulls him running off to his room.

“Okay your room is officially awesome” Blaine says as he takes in the comic book covers Sam has used to decorate one of the walls. “Oh I got something for you” Blaine pulls out a package from his bag and hands it to Sam, who quickly shreds the tissue paper.

“Oh my god where did you get this?!”

“Bas may have surprised me by taking me to London.”

“Wait…you went to London…and got me this…oh my god you totally went to the studios didn’t you?!” 

“Maybe” Blaine answers coyly

“You better have taken loads of pictures cos I really want to see it but there’s no way I’m going to be going to London any time soon.”

“Don’t worry there are tons of pictures”

“Good” Sam grins before putting the book of monsters on the floor, “Are you ready for this dude?”

“Totally”

Sam then turns the book on and it starts chasing after them as they run back into the living room and jump on one of the sofas. Thad and Sebastian come back into the living room from the kitchen and see what’s going on and start laughing just as Jeff and Nick come back with food. The sensors on the book pick up other people so it starts chasing after them.

“What the hell is that?!” Nick shouts as he runs with Jeff to the kitchen.

“It’s the book of monsters” Sam yells, “I forgot to stroke the spine”

When they all recover from laughing Sam picks the book up and turns it off and they sit in the living area to eat. While the other guys are distracted Sam leans over to whisper into Blaine’s ear, “Do you remember anything about our last night in LA now?”

Blaine whispers back, “No, do you?”

“No but the other guys were pressing so I just wanted to make sure we were still on the same page.”

“So can you enlighten us about Sam’s new haircut Blaine?” Nick tries to ask casually, but completely fails.

Blaine looks at Sam, “Well it’s a crop with longer layers at the front that can be styled up or left to give a kind of side fringe, but not so long that it looks like he’s reverted back to his Justin Bieber days. It looks good.” Blaine shrugs his shoulders casually and Sebastian starts laughing.

“Your rubbing off on him” Nick glares at Sebastian who looks far too pleased.

Sam’s phone goes off, “Does anyone mind if Rachel and Santana come over?”

“It depends, what version of Santana are we going to get?” Jeff questions

“What?” Blaine asks slightly concerned

“Santana’s been a queen bitch…and not her good kind of bitch. Something’s up with her but she won’t tell Rachel.” Sam answers

“Are you all sure it’s not just gayface getting on her nerves?”

“Nah it’s worse than that”

“Tell them to come over” Blaine tells Sam

They just finish eating when a knock goes, Sam goes to answer. Rachel squeals when she sees Blaine and runs to give him and Sebastian a hug.

“So you’re back then dwarf. Is there any particular reason why you’ve decided to dress like a predator today?” Santana snaps viciously at Blaine and hurt washes over his face, his eyes showing how much her words stung him, “Shit Blaine I didn’t mean that, come here” Santana gives him a hug.

“The puppy eyes of doom strike again” Sam whispers to Jeff

“I know something that will make you feel better” Blaine tells Santana

“I’m listening” she raises an eyebrow

“Come on” Blaine takes her hands and runs into Sam’s room, shutting the door.

Everyone looks at Sebastian, “I have no idea” so they all settle back down

Blaine and Santana sit on Sam’s bed, “This better be good Blainers”

“Well I thought you might want in on making Rachel insanely jealous”

“Continue”

“Bas surprised me by taking me to London, we went to the Harry Potter studios in the day but then at night we went to see The Phantom at the West End.”

“Holy shit please tell me you’ve got pictures” Santana asks excitedly

“Yes in and outside the theatre and we brought back programs”

“You can’t just tell her you went”

“What do you propose?”

“I think we should drops hints, hum the tunes and everything to make her on edge, and then show me the pictures and see how long it takes for her to click”

“Okay”

“One thing though…why are you letting me wind Rachel up, that’s not your usual thing.”

Blaine shrugs his shoulders, “Sam said you’ve been sad,” Santana raises her eyebrows, “Okay Sam said you’ve been a queen bitch, and not your good kind of bitch and that normally means something is bothering you, and I doubt it’s Kurt as you’d just unleash your queen bitch at him if he was the cause.”

“Well he’s not been helping…he seriously is getting on my last nerves…if I could afford it I’d move out.”

“Could you and Rachel get a place together?”

“I don’t know if she’d want to.”

“Well if you need a break from him you could come and stay with Bas and I for a couple of nights.”

“As charming as your offer is, I don’t want to get in the way of all your hot gay sex you’re no doubt having everywhere.”

“Who said you’d be getting in the way” Blaine deadpans and Santana laughs hard.

“Oh Frodo I love this side of you” Santana collects herself, “Dani and I broke up.”

“Oh I’m sorry”

“Don’t be” she snaps “Sorry”

“Don’t be” Blaine smiles

“We had fun but I knew it wasn’t going to be anything serious”

“Because you still love Brittany” Santana nods in confirmation, “She’ll find her way back to you.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because when two people are meant to be together they’ll find their way back to each other. It might just take a little time.”

“You’ve just reminded me of how lame you really are” Santana pulls him into a hug, “Thank you. Do you really believe that though?”

“I do. Look at me and Bas. If you think about it we are quite a lot like you and Brittany?”

“Because we’re same sex couples where one of us is a prime bitch and the other is like a puppy?”

“Exactly” Blaine smiles

“I still get to wind up Berry right?”

“As if me saying no would stop you”

Santana winks then they head out of Sam’s room. Sebastian looks to Blaine, who mouths ‘I’ll tell you later’. They join the group then Santana starts humming, ‘Phantom of the Opera’ and asks Sebastian if he and Blaine have a chandelier and if they’re worried about it dropping. Sebastian quickly catches on and chuckles to himself while Rachel just looks puzzled.

“So I hope you took some pictures of London” Santana says to Blaine and Sebastian

“Probably too many” Blaine smiles shyly and gets a kiss on the top of his head from his boyfriend. 

“Let me see” Santana looks at Blaine with wide eyes. Blaine scrolls through his phone looking for a picture of the two of them outside the theatre before handing it   
to Santana. “Oh don’t you too look so happy and in front of such a famous landmark” she starts humming again before Rachel leans over to have a look.

“Oh my god no way did you guys go and see Phantom at the West End!” She squeals 

“Yes way” Sebastian replies smugly. 

Blaine and Sebastian go on to tell everyone about their vacation and catch up with what the guys and girls have been doing since they last saw them.

“Oh what are the ideas for the New Warblers gathering?” Blaine asks

“The what?” Rachel questions

“New Warblers, it’s the New Directions and the Warblers, like Blam equals Blaine and Sam” Sam explains

“Well it sounds better than Nude Erections” Santana muses

“Please tell me you named them” Sebastian grins at her

“Actually I hadn’t joined when it was named”

“Mr Schue named the group” Rachel fills in

“Where’s Artie tonight?” Sebastian asks

“Oh he’s on a date” Sam answers

“Wow he moves fast” Sebastian says impressed and gets an elbow in his side from Blaine who’s leaning against him, but nobody else notices.

“So anyway did you guys have any ideas? Quinn seemed to suggest you did” Blaine continues, ignoring his boyfriend.

“Well we kind of thought we could get a few more back together before everyone has to go back to school, or in Puck’s case the air force.” Sam explains

“Okay so who’s in the group so far?”

“Puck, Quinn, obviously Kitty, Wes, Beat, Trent, Mike and you know Tina will get pissed if we don’t invite her.”

“One thing though” Blaine starts but Sam interrupts.

“Tina won’t be staying with you guys, but hide your vapo rub just in case” Sam says cheekily and Blaine shakes his head.

“So if everyone can come where are they going to stay? Artie’s not going to be able to have anyone in his dorm.” Rachel questions

“Bas and I talked about it and since we, well I, invited Kitty she’s going to stay with us, then we thought we could take Beat and Wes as well but we didn’t know anyone else would be coming at that point.” 

“Quinn and Puck can stay here…they can use my room and I’ll just crash on the couch if you guys don’t mind?” Sam asks Thad, Nick and Jeff.

“That’s fine by us” Thad confirms after looking at the other two.

“Okay so that leaves Mike and Tina. As much as I’d love to say we could have them we really don’t have any room.” Rachel explains

“Plus Tina and Hummel in the loft would result in them killing each other” Santana adds

“Are you sure you don’t want her staying with you?” Sebastian asks Santana cheekily, making her chuckle

“Best not…I don’t fancy cleaning up that blood spill”

“Well then I guess we’ll take Mike if you guys take Tina” Sebastian suggests to boys, “And Trent assuming Mike won’t mind sharing.”

“He won’t” Blaine quickly replies

“Well Tina could have my room if Nick or Thad let me crash in theirs” Jeff offers

“Shot gun not me” Thad says fast

“Awww Niff will be having a sleep over again” Blaine teases, “Okay so dates guys”

“How about they come next Thursday if they can get a flight that would land in the morning then they could go home Sunday” Nick suggests

Blaine looks back to Sebastian who nods, “Works for us, Rachel, Santana what about you?”

“That works” They confirm

“Hey will Dani be joining us?” Sam asks and Blaine takes a deep breath

“Actually we broke up, but I don’t want to watch Bridget Jones or eat a load of ice cream and don’t you dare show any pity or be sorry for me. We had fun and that was that.” Santana says to them all and Blaine smiles at her.

“Would Brittany be able to make it?” Rachel questions and Blaine has to stop himself from shaking his head in exasperation.

“Actually Rach, Britt’s still traveling at the moment so no, but she said she’d come to New York when she can” Blaine answers and receives a grateful nod from his   
Latina friend, “Right get to your phones guys.”

They all start calling people to confirm the plans for the next week and are pleased when everyone can make it. Sebastian also calls Hunter who confirms he’s in New York and to just let him know the plans for when all the guys are in town as he’s up for whatever. It gets late so Blaine, Sebastian and the girls all decide they better head home.

“So dude when are you going to make me pancakes?” Sam asks Blaine

“Is that your way of asking if you can come over for brunch tomorrow?” Blaine quirks an eyebrow

“If Trouty’s coming for brunch the rest of us are too”

Blaine looks to Sebastian who wraps his arms round his waist, “That’s fine by me but I’m putting this out there now, nobody is to give our address out to anyone. If someone asks for it you tell us and we’ll give it to them if we want them to have it or not…clear?” Sebastian says firmly, looking at them all in turn and everyone nods in response so Sebastian gives them all their address. “Come round for 11 then.”

“You don’t need to bring anything” Blaine adds, “Well if you’re all happy with pancakes if not bring your own.”

When they get back to their apartment Blaine and Sebastian strip and crawl into bed. “This has to be the comfiest bed in the world” Blaine muses.

“So are you going to tell me why you elbowed me earlier or do I already know?” Sabastian asks, pulling Blaine to him.

“I just don’t get why you were so impressed that Artie could move on from someone he claimed to be in love with so quickly.”

“I’m not, I just didn’t think Artie had it in him and well now they have split up there’s nothing holding him back.” Blaine just looks at him, “That won’t happen to us killer” Sebastian pulls Blaine even closer, “For one thing, we’re not going to split up.”

“And how can you be so sure?”

Sebastian cups Blaine’s cheek, “Because I love you, and I know you love me and nobody else could ever keep me on my toes as much as you do, not to mention you have the most spectacular ass of all time, so why would I get rid of you.” Sebastian smirks and Blaine shakes his head fondly. “So unless you’re thinking of getting rid of me?”

“Absolutely not…I’ve got you now and I don’t plan on ever letting you get away” Blaine dismissed earnestly with a smile, “Most spectacular ass of all time huh?” he adds cheekily.

“Yes…let me show you” Sebastian flips Blaine over so he’s lying on the bed chest down and gets to work.

XXXXXXX  
The next morning, Blaine and Sebastian have just finished getting dressed after their late shower when they hear the doorbell go.

“Next time we’ll have to set an alarm so we don’t cut it so close” Blaine says as they walk into the living room.

“That’s part of the fun” Sebastian winks and slaps Blaine’s ass as he goes to answer the door.

It seems everyone has turned up at once, “You didn’t tell us you had a doorman!” Santana’s voice booms through. Blaine can hear Sebastian chuckle and soon everyone walks into the living room. “Holy shit” Santana breathes out and the rest hum in agreement.

“Sam there’s something I think you should see” Blaine tells him and points to the music area with his head. On the wall is Sam’s painting of ‘Let freedom sing’ and Camille had designed the wall behind to be a continuation, with some of the patterns escaping onto the surrounding wall. 

“Did you seriously make a feature wall out of my painting?” Blaine nods excitedly in response, “You’re the best friend ever!”

“It’s because your art work is amazing Sam, never forget it.” Sam just pulls Blaine into a hug as a silent thank you.

The rest of the group wander over so they can have a look and Rachel gasps seeing all the instruments. “I take it some of these are yours Sebastian?”

“Actually no”

“Though Bas is an exceptional pianist”

“You’re just as good as me if not better killer so that makes you one too”

“So you play all these Blaine?” Rachel’s asks with wide eyes, “How did I not know this?”

The door goes again so Sebastian excuses himself, “That will be Hunter” Blaine explains, “He’s already in the city too so we invited him along, I hope you guys don’t mind.”

“Of course not” Sam says as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world and everyone else agrees.

“So are you opening a music store?” Hunter smirks as he sees everyone standing in the music area.  
Santana takes in the full drum kit, “Can you actually play?” she asks Blaine as she traces a finger lightly over one of the symbols and Sebastian laughs. “I take it you’ve seen him then”

“You could say that, one night in Paris he did an impromptu drum duet in a club with one of my friends. Would you all like to see?”

“Bas no” Blaine whines as everyone else shouts yes.

“Sorry killer but you’re outvoted” Sebastian goes and connects his phone to the TV and plays the video.

“Well I would never have thought you had an inner rock god underneath all your prep-boyness Frodo.” Santana comments when the video finishes. All of the guys bar Hunter laugh. “Right what are we missing now?”

“Just a little performance from glee club” Sam smiles coyly

“Please tell me you have that on video too”

“But of course” Sebastian smirks and starts finding it.

Blaine stands up, “Well I’m going to start cooking”

“Is he alright?” Rachel asks

“Oh yeah he’ll be fine…he’s not good at watching himself back, though he’ll have to get used to it, or taking positive feedback so he’d just rather not be in the room for it.” Sebastian explains then plays the video of ‘I believe in a thing called love’.

“Okay I am strictly only into girl parts, but even that made mine tingle.” Santana breathes, “And I think you’ve broken Rachel…is that drool.”  
“Santana!” Rachel shrieks

“Guys we’re almost good to go” Blaine shouts through

Sebastian stands up, “Come on, you heard”

“Where are we going?” Thad asks

“Well if you follow me Harwood you’ll find out” Sebastian states with a lot of ‘duh’ in his voice.

“I’m going to need a full tour of this place after I’ve eaten” Sam muses as he looks round the kitchen/diner.

“And you’ll all get one…” Blaine tells him as he brings over two large plates of assorted pancakes before getting an individual plate for Rachel, “…After we’ve eaten. These are your ones Rach” he says before handing her the plate.

When they’ve finished they all clear the plates and help clean up before getting a tour from Blaine and Sebastian. 

“I hope you realise no college students should live like this” Santana says as they’re shown the roof space.

“Trust us we know how lucky we are” Blaine tells her as Sebastian wraps his arms around him.

“How does it measure up to your place then Hunter?” Sebastian asks

“Not too shabby Smythe” Hunter winks

“Okay what are we missing this time?” Santana asks

“I live in a similar building, just a couple of stops closer to Columbia and actually my apartment is just a one person equivalent of theirs in some ways, so basically high spec but not quite the amount of rooms.”

“I have never been so jealous of people with real walls” Santana moans, “All your places are crazily nice. You’ve done well Trouty.”


	56. The New Warblers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's a long one! As always I'd love to hear your thoughts.

“Are you sure you’re okay driving to the airport with Jeff to pick everyone up?” Blaine asks Sebastian Thursday morning.

“Positive B, like Jeff said his car has space and you told me you wouldn’t feel comfortable driving mine in the city yet.”

Blaine looks down and bites his lower lip, “I know I need to get more comfortable at driving stick in the city Bas but I’d rather go out with you on our own a few times before having other passengers.”

“I know and there’s nothing wrong with that, are you okay getting the last bits set up?” Sebastian kisses the top of Blaine’s head 

“Yeah, is the plan still for everyone to get settled first then to meet here later?”

“It is, I was talking to Thad earlier and we’re thinking pizza would be a good idea as it will be a treat for anyone who hasn’t had New York pizza, though it will never measure up to the ones we had in Florence.”

“No but some come close” Blaine glances at the clock, “You better get going Bas” and leans up on his toes to give his boyfriend a kiss on the lips, “I love you”

“I know” Sebastian winks and grabs his keys

“I know that means you love me too” Blaine calls after him

“I’d hope so by now otherwise I’d have to question your status as valedictorian” Sebastian teases before leaving the apartment. 

Blaine finishes checking the guest rooms and making sure all the beds are made and that there are enough towels for everyone. He’s just finished brewing a pot of coffee when he hears the front door so heads out into the living room. When Kitty comes into view she folds her arms over her chest and looks Blaine up and down, “Fuzz ball”.

Blaine mirrors her action then deadpans, “Wild cat” before they both break into a grin and Kitty lets out a squeal before running over to Blaine and jumping at him, wrapping her legs round his waist, making him laugh.

“Alright Kitty you’re not the only one who wants to see him” Mike teases as he walks over.

Blaine swings her so round so she’s on his back, “Hey man it’s good to see you” and gives Mike a hug.

Wes and Beat both walk forward and give Blaine a hug too. “I think you’ve lost him for the weekend Sebastian” Beat teases.

“Oh please, he spent most of the school year picking me up and throwing me about and it never got in the way of Mr Grab-ass.” Kitty playfully scolds.

Blaine tilts his head back to look at her, “Mr Grab-ass really?”

“I call it like I see it fuzz.” Kitty ruffles Blaine’s hair, “Now where am I staying? I had to sit next to an obese man who smelt like a skip.” Blaine looks at her disapprovingly, “Seriously, he should have paid for two seats…he was using half of mine.” 

Sebastian can’t help but let out a small laugh while Blaine just shakes his head before picking up Kitty’s bag and shows her to the room she’s staying in, giving her a piggy back the whole way.

Blaine goes back into the living room after making sure Kitty has everything she needs, “There’s fresh coffee guys if you want any or anything else, just help yourselves” he says kindly before sitting against Sebastian. Wes and Beat get up and get everyone a cup, assuming the two coffee addicts will want some. They sit talking for a while until Kitty comes back in to the room, hair still wet from her shower, “Feeling better?” Blaine asks.

“Yes I no longer smell like an obese man’s sweaty armpit. For the record your shower is amazing. Now what do I have to do to get a drink round here?”

“Go to the kitchen and get one, there’s water, juice and soda in the fridge or coffee in the pot and don’t look at them because they won’t get it for you either.” Blaine tells her firmly.

“Jeez Mr Bossy is out today, don’t get your puppets out” Kitty teases before going to the kitchen.

“You know I wouldn’t have pictured you two being friends” Mike tells Blaine

“Most of what you see is a front. She’s been a really good friend to me and actually is one of the reasons why six hour Cheerios sessions were bearable.”

“Please I’m the only reason” Kitty scoffs as she comes back into the room with a glass of juice having heard the tail end of the conversation.

“So what puppets were you talking about Kitty?” Wes asks and Blaine goes bright red, turning his face into Sebastian’s chest.

“The ones Blaine made in crafts club…they were actually very good” Kitty replies too innocently before taking a sip of her drink.

“And why do I feel like there is more to that story?” Wes presses

“Oh I don’t know, maybe because he had a few gas induced hallucinations”

“Please stop talking” Blaine mutters against Sebastian’s chest 

Kitty laughs, “So when are the others getting here and will Santana and Rachel be joining?”

“They will, plus Hunter and Artie…everyone is due here about 6”

“Great, Sugar sent me with a gift for you and Sam, apparently you’ve got to open it together in private” Kitty tells Blaine, who un-hides his face. 

“What, what the hell is it?”

“She wouldn’t say and she wrapped it so I couldn’t look without you knowing, oh and I’ve got something for you too” Kitty jumps up and runs to her room, quickly returning and passing Blaine a gift bag.

Blaine looks inside, “Seriously? Do I even want to know how you got this?”

“What is it killer?” 

“My Cheerios uniform...well one of them” Blaine answers, pulling it out of the bag, “Considering it was in the contract that if anything happened to our uniforms Sue could shave our heads, how did you get hold of it as I know I gave them all back?”

“The answer is in the bottom of the bag” Kitty tells him

Blaine looks in and finds a tape recorder so presses play.

“Young Burt Reynolds” Sue’s voice comes through

“What are you talking about his name is fruity fonzie or pocket gay” Roz’s voice follows

“Whatever, you were not completely useless, so to remind you of a time when you weren’t a complete failure I have decided”

“We have decided”

“Will you just shut up, I’m the Principal…I have decided to let you keep a uniform as a reminder of a time when you didn’t mostly suck. You are welcome. Although yours is one of the only faces I don’t want to punch on sight, don’t come back to visit anytime soon. And despite all the weirdness between you, I thought you’d like to know that Becky has gotten into college.”

“Why does he care about Becky?”

“Of course he cares, it’s like he has this disease that compels him to give a damn and she’s my best friend so I’m going to tell people about it.”

“Hang on your sister; daughter and best friend all have Down’s syndrome”

“Yes”

“Say whaaaaat?!”

The tape then cuts off.

Mike’s the first to speak after a moment of silence, “So Sue actually likes you huh?”

“Wait which one was Sue?” Wes asks

“The first voice you heard,” Blaine replies, “And I guess she kind of did, if Sue can actually like anyone.”

“Oh please you were her second favourite to Becky” Kitty chastises

They all sit talking until the door goes, Sebastian jumps up to get it and it’s clear everyone, including Rachel, Santana, Artie and Hunter have arrived together. 

Tina goes racing passed Sebastian into the living room, “Blainey Days!” and she runs and jumps at Blaine, giving him a fierce hug.

“Hi Tay-Tay, remember I need to breathe!”

“Oh sorry” she quickly lets go

“Woah Anderson! Sweet pad!”

“Thanks Puck”

“Hey sweetie, look at you, you’re so tanned!” Quinn gives Blaine a kiss on the cheek

“Yeah you’re blacker than Jake” Puck comments and everyone laughs, “So when can we order food because I’m starving.”

“Look Nick, you’ve got a friend” Sebastian sniggers

“Haha very funny” Nick replies sarcastically

“Actually Bas has got a point, you two are always hungry.”

“And don’t try to argue Nick…there are too many people in this room who know you too well.” Jeff adds

After they order pizza they all go to settle down but Kitty grabs Blaine and Sam, “Blam come with me” and pulls them into her room.

“What’s that about?” Tina asks

“Apparently Sugar has sent B and Sam a gift they need to open together in private.” Sebastian answers as Kitty joins them all again, “So what is it?”

“I don’t know I left them to open it on their own.”

All of a sudden they hear laughter and excited chatter coming from Kitty’s room but can’t make out what they’re saying. It all goes quite then Blaine and Sam come out in matching outfits consisting of zip up hoodies, zipped all the way up, and pants, Blaine’s outfit being red and Sam’s blue.

“She sent you matching outfits? I knew you guys were lame but seriously?” Santana says critically.

“Oh no guys really?” Kitty whines while Tina laughs

Artie pauses the game he’s playing with Puck to look at them, “Oh no, why did she have to do that? Wasn’t it you two who said we should put things back in the closet?”

“Are you seriously telling my boyfriend to go back in the closet?” Sebastian asks amused

All the time Blaine and Sam just stand together smiling watching everyone else.

“Okay what are we missing?” Quinn asks

Sebastian moves to unzip Blaine’s hoodie, but Blaine quickly grabs hold of him, revealing a fluorescent net gloved hand.

“Okay what the hell is…” Santana starts

“Don’t ask” Kitty cuts in but it’s too late, Blaine and Sam strip out of their hoodies revealing ‘Choose life’ t-shirts and start singing, ‘Wake me up before you go go’. Just as the first verse ends to lead into the chorus they pull their trousers, which turn out to have Velcro seams and finish the rest of the song in small 80’s style shorts they have on underneath. Everyone gets pulled in apart from Santana, Sebastian and Hunter who stand at the side sharing looks with each other.

When they finish singing and dancing everyone, apart from Blam, who run off to get changed, collapse laughing.

“So did Mr Schue get you doing a Wham week then?” Rachel asks

“Please he was never there, that was from guilty pleasures week.” Tina answers

“And before you ask, Blam came up with it. They seriously were running the club.” Kitty adds and the boys reappear.

“I didn’t think you were going to reveal your guilty pleasures from that week” Sebastian comments and Blaine sits back into him on the sofa.

Blaine shrugs his shoulders, “Well that was mine”

“We never did anything that fun” Rachel remarks

“Seriously Berry what would have been your guilty pleasure anyway? Another Barbara number? More musicals? Let’s face it you should feel guilty about most of your music choices.” Santana says flatly.

Food arrives and when they’ve all finished and cleaned up they all settle back down in the living room, some people taking cushions from the sofas and settling on the floor. From where Kitty’s sat she watches Tina seemingly get closer and closer to Blaine where he’s sat leaning heavily into Sebastian, who’s in the corner of the sofa with his arms are wrapped around his boyfriend. It’s obvious Blaine is getting a little uncomfortable with the situation and Sebastian seems to be getting a bit annoyed so Kitty pulls out a small water pistol. “Tina”

When Tina turns to look at Kitty she gets squirted with water, “Kitty what the hell?!”

“Back off Blaine, seriously you’ll be on Sebastian’s lap too in a minute.”

“But what’s with the water gun?” Tina demands obviously annoyed.

Kitty shrugs, “To train our cat not to climb the drapes we squirted her with water each time she went to.”

“I am not a cat Kitty!”

“No so hopefully you’ll learn faster, but so far it’s not looking good.” Kitty squirts her again.

“Kitty!”

“What? You still haven’t moved…so far my cat’s ahead of you.” Kitty says nonchalantly

Sebastian meanwhile is hiding his face behind Blaine’s shoulder and silently laughing, which only increases as Tina finally moves away and gives him and Blaine some room.

“Oh look it’s working” Santana comments and that’s enough for Sebastian’s laugh to fully escape, which sets everyone else off, including Blaine.

“I’m glad I’m such a source of entertainment for you all” Tina grumps when everyone finally calms down.

“Don’t be like that Queen T” Blaine placates her

“Yeah and remember we’re laughing with you not at you” Santana says through laughter which sets everyone else off again, Tina even finding it a little amusing.

“So what’s the plan for tomorrow?” Puck asks

“That depends, we’ve thought of a couple of options” Blaine starts

“With the weather forecast it would actually be a perfect day to spend in the park, we could take a couple of coolers of food and drink and just spend the day relaxing and hanging out together. Or if you’d prefer we could go site seeing, though the weather for the rest of the weekend is a little sketchy so it would be better to do that then.” Sebastian finishes.

“Could we take a Frisbee?” Sam asks

“We could take whatever you want Sam I Am” Blaine answers

“Well within reason, no paintball guns” Sebastian teases squeezing Blaine and looking at Sam, Mike and Puck purposefully so everyone knows who he’s talking to.

That peaks Hunter’s interest, “So what’s the story with the paintball guns?”

“Actually I’d like to know that too” Wes joins in

“I think we all would” Quinn adds looking at Puck

“We had a game of paintball” Puck tries to say innocently but fails

“And where was this game of paintball and at what time of day, or should I say night was it?” Sebastian asks clearly amused.

“The golf course between Lima and Westerville and the middle of the night” Puck answers casually 

“Really Blaine?” Wes raises an eyebrow but obviously finds it funny.

“Yes, but to be fair I didn’t know it was a golf course”

“Until…” Sebastian encourages

“I fell into a bunker” Blaine finishes and everyone laughs again

“Man that was so funny” Puck starts crying with laughter, “What made it even better was he’d just got out when Sam came running over to help and ended up knocking him back in”

“We just got him back out again when we all had to make a run for it as the night guard was coming our way.” Mike continues as Puck tries to catch his breath through his laughter.

“We had to stop Blaine from going and apologising” Puck finishes

“Now that I do believe” Wes laughs

“It’s almost as funny as that time I caught Blaine in the choir room” Tina says and Sebastian feels Blaine tense dramatically in his arms. Blaine then lunges forward at Tina as she pulls her phone out but she moves it out of his reach.

“You promised you deleted that!” Blaine’s voice raises clearly not amused.

While Tina is distracted Kitty grabs her phone, finds the video and deletes it, “Done”

“Kitty you had no right” Tina protests

“And you had no right to vapo-rape him or stalk him and do what you did or show everyone or go to do it again just now. Anyone who knows what I’m talking about agrees.”

“Agreed” Sam and Artie chorus

“Yet you all laughed when I showed you” Tina narrows her eyes at them

“And then we apologised to him afterwards, as did you and promised to delete it. Seriously stop being such a stalker hag.”

Tina goes to snap back but Sam steps in, “Tina we were all having a laugh and you went to take it too far, we’re all here to have a good time with each other as a group before we lose our lives to college or work or whatever. Just enjoy being with your friends and chill, you know Kitty did the right thing and I know you’re having a hard time with the fact we’re in New York together and you feel like you’re going to miss out on everything, but Brown isn’t that far away. Just take it easy this weekend and don’t try to force anything.” Sam says calmly, obviously having a soothing effect on her. 

“So do we get to go drinking one night?” Puck asks trying to get the light-hearted mood back.

“I know this great bar” Rachel suggests, “Everyone should be able to get in.”

“It’s a karaoke bar isn’t it?” Santana challenges her

“Maybe” Rachel smiles

“Sounds like fun” Jeff beams and a few others nod in agreement

“Fine” Santana huffs, “But then I’m getting anyone who doesn’t have one a fake ID so we can go to a real bar after.”

“So Saturday night for that then?” Blaine suggests and they all agree.

After finalising other plans for the weekend they all split for the evening, agreeing to meet back at the Seblaine apartment, as Santana had dubbed it, before heading to the park together.

Blaine and Sebastian get settled in bed, “So what video was Tina going to show them B?”

“The one where she caught me dancing in the choir room”

“After she told you she was going home”

“Exactly...I only got so annoyed because it felt like an invasion of my privacy, she specifically said she was leaving then followed me anyway then filmed it and showed everyone.”

“Hey, I understand if you remember I wasn’t happy with her at the time as she wouldn’t back off.”

“Can you keep quiet Bas?” Blaine asks while walking his fingers down Sebastian’s spine.

“I think the question is can you keep quiet killer?” Sebastian answers as Blaine rolls them over so he’s straddling Sebastian’s hips. Somehow they manage to keep quiet as they had a full apartment and although they thoroughly enjoyed themselves made sure they would be in a fit state for the next morning.

XXXXXXX  
When they get to the park they choose a more secluded area that’s not too far off a path and spread blankets out to make room for them all to lounge out on. They play Frisbee for a while and sit talking, helping themselves to things from the coolers as they want them. At one point Blaine is lying on his front reading his book next to where Sebastian is sitting talking to some of the others when Kitty comes over and lies down face up on top of Blaine, her head resting against the back of his.

“Erm Kitty?” Blaine asks as he looks up from his book.

“The ground wasn’t comfy” Kitty explains and then shifts to get settled, starting her sun bathing again, “You don’t mind do you?” She asks Sebastian

“As long as my B is comfy it’s fine. I know what a good pillow he makes” Sebastian says quietly to her and winks.

Blaine’s just gets properly back into his story when a voice that nobody wants to hear cuts through, “Getting confused again are you Blaine?” Blaine just rolls his eyes and keeps his gazed focused on his book. “Well that’s rude, what happened to your manners Blaine aren’t you even going to say hello?”

Blaine folds the corner of the page he’s on and puts his book down. Kitty shifts so he can properly sit up, “I was actually waiting for a proper greeting to make a response to.”

“Well it looked to me as if you were otherwise engaged, how does Sebastian feel about all of this?”

“I was just using him as a cushion because the ground was uncomfortable to lie on. After some of the moves we used to do for Cheerios it was nothing and Sebastian was fine with it as long as Blaine was comfortable as he’s the person who matters most to him.” Kitty firmly tells Kurt.

“Why are you even talking?” Kurt snaps at her

“I was just explaining the situation to you, not that it’s any of your business. A little bit of advice, I know you’re gay and all but you might want to brush up on your anatomy as you seemed to think us lying that way was something more.” Everyone in the group snickers slightly at Kitty’s comment.

“What are you doing here Kurt?” Rachel asks 

“Well as it’s such a nice day we thought we’d take a walk through the park” Kurt says, pointing to the boy who’s just appeared next to him with his head. “Now I can see what your plans for the day were.” Kurt says snidely to her but Rachel doesn’t bite knowing that Santana is right in that he wants a reaction out of her.

“Oh I didn’t realise you two are together again.” Rachel says to the boy

“We’re not; well I mean we’re taking a step back and taking it slow, seeing if it could lead somewhere. We may have rushed into things a bit too quickly before.” The boy replies a little shyly.

Santana and Sebastian share a look. “Gosh Kurt aren’t you going to introduce us? You’re telling Blaine off for being rude and yet your friend is just left to stand there.” Santana manages to ask innocently.

Kurt doesn’t say anything but just stares daggers at her. The boy next to him doesn’t seem to understand what’s going on so steps forward to introduce himself. “I’m Chandler”

Wes, Kitty, Tina, Mike and Sam’s heads all snap up, knowing that’s the guy Kurt had been sexting with before leaving for New York.

“Hi Chandler, I’m surprised we haven’t met yet, I’m one of Kurt’s roommates” Santana continues feigning innocence still, “Though I heard so much about you, when was it you two started dating again? If that’s the right way of putting it, sorry I hope I’m not sticking my foot in my mouth.”

“That’s okay” Chandler assures her, oblivious of the situation, “We actually met in Lima before graduation and then when we got to New York decided to meet up, I guess it all started from there really. When college started really picking up we ended up taking a break but the rest you know.” By now everyone has worked out who Chandler is.

“Well it’s nice to finally meet you” Blaine says a little sarcastically but not enough to be noticed by anyone other than Sebastian.

“I’m sorry I’m not sure who you are” Chandler apologises

“That’s Blaine” Kurt snidely fills in knowing Chandler had been getting rid of trash when he first approached so wouldn’t have heard.

Chandler’s demeanour immediately goes frosty, “Oh.”

“Problem?” Sebastian asks bitterly

“That’s Blaine’s new boyfriend” Kurt fills in for Chandler

“Then I feel sorry for you” Chandler says to Sebastian

“And why would that be?”

“After the way Blaine treated Kurt I just hope he doesn’t do the same to you” 

“Pray tell me, how did I treat Kurt?” Blaine asks

“I think you know what you did, do you really want to get into it in front of everyone.”

“Actually they know everything that happened, I have nothing to hide” Blaine stands and everyone else does too, Puck helping Artie back into his chair from where he'd been stretched out on one of the blankets.

“So they know about how you cheated on Kurt?” Chandler asks smugly and Kurt can’t quite believe what is happening as he watches everything unfold, unable to stop it as if it were a nightmare.

“They do. They know I made a completely stupid decision when I was at a low when I should have reached out for help, but they also know why I didn’t. Though now I think about it considering that only happened after you two started dating I’m not really sure if what you’d call it.”

“What?”

“Oh I’m sorry, when did you think Kurt and I split up?”

“Don’t listen to him!” Kurt blurts out but Chandler doesn’t do what he says.

“Around Easter last year after you hooked up with a guy from school, just before I met Kurt”

Blaine shakes his head and sincerely looks to Chandler, “I’m so sorry, I guess I always thought you knew. Kurt and I didn’t split up until late August.”

“No, that’s not right”

“When I found out about all your texting before he graduated he told me he asked you not to message him anymore because he had a boyfriend.”

“He never said that” Chandler looks to Kurt, “Kurt?”

“Don’t listen to him, he’s lying” Kurt tries again

“Really because it doesn’t seem like he is.” Chandler looks to everyone else with a questioning look in his eyes.

Santana steps forward, “I’m sorry but Blaine is telling you the truth” and everyone nods in agreement.

“I’m really sorry. I genuinely thought you knew. Otherwise I never would have said anything.” Blaine tells Chandler, who can see from his eyes and hear from his voice he’s being completely honest.

Chandler looks to Kurt, shaking his head and walks off.

“You little bitch!” Kurt shouts at Blaine, “Are you happy now?”

“What of course I’m not happy, that poor guy looks heart broken.”

“Well it’s all your fault!”

Rachel tries to calm Kurt, “No Kurt, it isn’t Blaine’s fault, you should have been honest with Chandler from the start…I’m sorry Blaine, I didn’t realise it was the same guy.”

“You’ve got nothing to be sorry for Rach.” Blaine tells her

“I know what you’re doing” Kurt snaps at Blaine

“What am I doing?” Blaine asks, managing to stay calm but is obviously a little exasperated. 

“You couldn’t bear to see me with anyone else” Blaine frowns, “Just admit it Blaine I know you still have feelings for me.” 

Blaine goes wide eyed, “What?!”

“It’s okay” Kurt says more calmly, “Just admit it and we can be together like I told you we could when you got to New York.”

Blaine turns round to all his friends, “Am I missing something here?” but they just all shake their heads. “Kurt I’m with Bas...I love Bas and considering what’s just happened why would I even contemplate thinking about getting back together with you. You lied about me to someone else to form a basis for a relationship.”

“But we’re Kurt and Blaine we’re meant to be together”

“No, definitely not…did you even care about Chandler? Do you actually care about anyone other than yourself?” Blaine snaps starting to get riled up.

“Of course I do…I love you”

“Do you, really? Because from I remember I don’t think you actually ever did, you loved the idea of me being there, but not so much me.”

“The meerkat will never love you like I do” Kurt threatens

“And I’m so grateful for that. Also why do you say meerkat like it’s an insult, have you ever seen one? They’re adorable” Everyone including Sebastian is caught off guard by Blaine’s comment and can’t help but smile at the way he’s finally starting to speak his mind and stand up for himself more.

Kurt doesn’t listen to Blaine though, “Don’t say anything else…I know you find it easier to let your feelings out in song” he says too sweetly, his sole focus on Blaine.

“Well as you seem to think I’m only capable of saying how I feel through song, to quote Taylor Swift we are never ever getting back together.” Blaine says with a raised voice, getting more frustrated as it’s clear Kurt isn’t listening to him yet again. Everyone else who has been watching the scene unfold can’t help but laugh, Blaine again catching them off guard.

“You should be thanking me Blaine!” Kurt shouts at him

“What for, because I’m being completely honest when I say it was really all about you wasn’t it? I transferred schools for you, I gave up so much but it was never enough and you have the tenacity to stand there and say you love me. If you loved me I should never have had to change the way I did, change who I am…and you shouldn’t have wanted me to! But I never should have let you and I should never have let you push the guys out of my life! I know I’m far from perfect but at least when I make my mistakes I admit to them without anyone calling me out first and I don’t try to cover them up.”

“God Blaine you can be so stupid sometimes! That’s exactly why you should be thanking me. I showed you that you’re not the centre of the universe. That the world doesn’t revolve around Blaine Anderson. You needed to see that and that’s exactly what I did. It’s not my fault if you couldn’t handle it.” Kurt barks bitterly.

Blaine takes a step back and shakes his head, “Do you know what? I already knew that, I didn’t need you to show me too…Please if you see me again, don’t come up to me, and don’t talk to me.” Blaine turns to his friends, “Can we go guys?” everyone nods and starts packing up while Sebastian wraps his arm around Blaine’s shoulders.

“That’s it Blaine run away, again, that’s all you’re good at after all isn’t it” Kurt snaps maliciously. Blaine sees red and turns round quickly, forcing Sebastian’s arm from his shoulders. “Oh come on Blaine don’t look at me like that, we both know it’s true. You ran away from your bullies, you ran away from me once before and you’re running again now. Let’s be honest it’s the only thing you’ve successfully done repeatedly.”

Anyone who knows about the Sadie Hawkins attack is livid but they manage to keep back, letting Blaine take lead of the situation.

Blaine takes a deep breath before speaking calmly but is obviously angry, “Kurt last time I left you when you forced your way into my house was because it was like talking to a brick wall, this time is no different and quite frankly I don’t want to waste anymore of the time I have left with these guys as a group arguing with you. As for running from bullies, you ran too if you don’t remember, sometimes that’s all you can do. You’d think you would understand that and not judge people for it.”

“Please you wouldn’t know what it’s like to be properly bullied” Kurt snipes

Wes and Sebastian move to stand closer to Blaine, “Come on B, we should go” Sebastian tries seeing how worked up Blaine’s getting and knowing he’s more likely to blurt something out he’ll regret when he gets like this, but Blaine doesn’t budge.

Kurt keeps pushing, “How would you with mummy and daddy’s money there?”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about” Blaine says quietly but full of anger, his voice shaking with emotion as his fists clench at his sides.

“Oh really? So you didn’t run at the first sign of trouble” Kurt asks completely patronizingly 

“No more than you did”

Kurt scoffs and looks a little smug, “Oh please, my bully threatened to kill me”

“And mine tried!” Blaine shouts

“Oh don’t tell me you’re meaning that little beat up after that school dance…don’t be so dramatic! Lots of people get ruffed up but don’t transfer schools. You ran Blaine.”

“I woke up after four days with a metal plate in my head!” Blaine screams and everyone gasps, including Kurt, who reaches out to touch Blaine. “Don’t touch me!” Blaine spits, tears in his eyes.

“You never told me how was I supposed to know?” Kurt starts again

“Do you remember when you asked me to go to your junior prom and I said I wasn’t sure and you kept pushing for a reason and having a go because I wasn’t supporting you?” Kurt can only nod in response having never seen Blaine so angry and upset. “I told you it was because the last school dance I went to I got the crap beaten out of me…do you remember what you said?” Kurt shakes his head. “Well I do, you told me it was perfect, why was the fact I was beaten to shit so perfect, because let me tell you none of it was!” Blaine shouts again before finally submitting to his tears and crying. 

Sebastian pulls Blaine into his chest, glowering fiercely at Kurt. “Sebastian; get him out of here” Wes orders

“As if we’d stay here” Sebastian says with disgust directed at Kurt and walks away with Blaine tucked into his side.

Wes goes to turn back to give Kurt a piece of his own mind in only a way Wes can but what happens next nobody expects as Kitty moves forward and punches Kurt hard, square on the nose, “Get out of here” she growls at him and he quickly moves when he sees her flinch again.

Sam grabs Tina’s phone from her when he sees her pull it out of her purse. “Sam what are you doing?!”

“Stopping you from doing something stupid, do you really think it’s a good idea to try and talk to Blaine right now?” he argues back.

“Everyone sit!” Wes shouts over the group trying to get some order back. Nobody argues and they all settle on the floor. “Sam is right. Nobody should contact Blaine.”

“And what gives you the right to tell us what to do?” Tina challenges

“Oh my god Tina just shut up” Sam snaps, upset at seeing his best friend go through what he had, “Wes knows everything okay, he was the very first person Blaine spoke to about it so actually in this situation what he says goes. The same goes for Sebastian. I know Blaine’s told him everything so if he or Wes tell you to give Blaine space you do it.”

“It sounds like you know too”

“I know enough, but I’m not stupid enough to think I know everything” Sam says more calmly.

“Did anyone else already know?” Tina asks

“Does it matter?” Santana challenges 

“You knew didn’t you?” 

Santana nods, “As much as Britt and Kitty”

“Why couldn’t he talk to me about it?”

“Maybe because of how you’re reacting now?” Kitty surmises 

“Plus it’s not something Blaine likes to talk about. Just because we know doesn’t means he talks to us about what he went through…and I think those four will tell you circumstance played a big factor in Blaine opening up to them.” Wes tells them all and Sam, Kitty and Santana all confirm Wes is right and that Britt would agree.

“What exactly happened to him Wes?” Rachel asks obviously shaken.

“I’m sorry but it’s not for any of us to say”

“Isn’t it obvious? He got the living crap beaten out of him” Puck retorts

“That’s not going to help Puck” Quinn calms him

“Look I know you probably all have a lot of questions, but no matter how hard this is on you think about how hard it is on Blaine. He’ll tell you more if he wants to and you’ve got to respect his decision if he doesn’t and don’t push him to or he’ll close up completely. And if…if he decides to tell you then be prepared that you’ll probably only get a summary of what happened and that it’ll have to be good enough for you. Plus if he tells you then you cannot react in a big way. Do not change the way you act around him or you’ll probably end up losing him as he wouldn’t be able to bear it.” Wes explains.

“Makes sense to me” Thad says and the rest nod in agreement

“So Tina if you don’t think you can cope, talk to me, but Sam’s completely right when he says you need to leave Blaine alone. This really isn’t something you should try to talk about with him.”

“He’s okay though right?” Quinn asks full of concern

Wes smiles at her, “He will be, right now Sebastian is exactly what he needs.”

They pack everything up and head back to the guys’ apartment.

Sebastian’s laying on his side on their bed with Blaine pulled impossibly tight into him, his face hidden in the crook of his boyfriends neck as he cries, letting out all the hurt and anger. Blaine’s sobs subside enough for him to talk. “I can’t believe I was that fucking stupid Bas” Sebastian just continues to rub up and down Blaine’s back with one hand and cards the other through his curls, knowing that Blaine just needs to talk at his own pace. “I already had enough people make it clear I didn’t really matter, why did he have to as well? He told me he wanted me at McKinley to make his senior year special. How did I not see that everything was a lie?”

“He probably did B” Sebastian feels Blaine tense so continues quickly, “For him having you there but stopping you from shining so he could was probably how he could make his senior year special. Plus that way he had you there when he wanted to. And B, you do matter…so much.”

“I don’t understand how he can claim to love someone then do that, why did he have to make me feel so bad anytime I opened my mouth, why try and take singing and music away from me? And why the fuck was I stupid enough to let him?”

“Because you would never think anyone would do that, let alone someone who says they love you…you’re too kind hearted B and it doesn’t make you stupid. And he was jealous of you. You could see it when you were in West Side Story and he was watching from the wings, he knows he doesn’t have your talent.”

“Wait you came to see me in West Side Story?” Blaine lifts his head to look into Sebastian’s eyes.

“I did, on opening night just like you invited us to.”

“Why didn’t you come and see me afterwards with all the other guys then?”

“Because Kurt had already seen me and I didn’t want him to give you anymore hassle than I knew he would.”

Blaine sniffs, “He never said anything about seeing you there.” After a few moments of silence Blaine sits up bolt right all of a sudden when realisation dawns on him. 

“What is it B?” Sebastian rubs Blaine’s back but Blaine just shakes his head. “Come on killer talk to me.”

“You really don’t want me to talk about this”

“Actually whatever it is I’d rather you talk to me about it than keep it bottled up.”

“I doubt that” Blaine mutters

“Hey” Sebastian scolds

“Sorry Bastian, I didn’t mean that against you.” Blaine flops back down so they’re lying in their original position with Blaine’s face buried in the crook of Sebastian’s neck. “It was around that time he was getting really insecure about you.”

“I know. That’s why I didn’t hang around after. I cared about you too much even then to give you that grief, though I admit I loved winding him up, I never wanted it to come back on you.”

“I think he could see that I liked you too. I mean I was always attracted to you but then when I started to get to know you, the real you away from everyone else I was getting more drawn in.”

“I know killer you’ve told me before.” Sebastian kisses the top of Blaine’s head, “So what is it? You know you can tell me anything, even I don’t like what I’m hearing.”

Blaine takes a deep breath, “That night was my, well our, first time.” Sebastian manages to keep his breathing steady so as not to spook Blaine. “He basically did a complete 180 on where he stood about…you know…because it had only been a couple of weeks before he was going on about how not ready he was but now I know why he had a sudden change of heart. He knew we were getting close and everything else he’d been trying to stop us from talking hadn’t been working and things had been getting rocky so…”

“He did something he knew would mean a lot to you to make you stay.” Blaine just nods.

“I know we can’t know for sure but it would make a lot of sense, and explain why nothing else happened for a long time after. It’s why the thing with Chandler doesn’t add up to me…Kurt was always so…well…prudish why all of a sudden would he start having hook ups? I don’t care what he does anymore, I’m with you and wouldn’t change anything, I love you more than I thought it was possible to love someone…”

“But with so many unknowns your brain feels muddled and you’re questioning if there’s something wrong with you, which I can assure you there isn’t.”

“Exactly…you know me so well Bastian” Blaine kisses the crook of Sebastian’s neck.

“No more than you know me killer. I’m just going to grab some water then I’ll be right back, do you want some?”

“Please” Blaine rubs his eyes

Sebastian gets to the kitchen and pulls his phone out and dials for Hunter knowing he won’t make it obvious that it’s him who’s calling. “Clarington, do me a favour I need to talk with you and Santana but you need to get somewhere nobody will be able to hear and we need to talk fast.”

“Okay give me a minute, I’ll call you back.”

“Hey killer do you want some ice?” Sebastian calls through to buy some more time.

“Please” Blaine shouts back just as Sebastian’s phone starts ringing.

“What can we do for you Sebastian?” Santana’s voice comes straight through when the call connects. 

“I need you two to do something for me but nobody can know and that includes B.”

“We’re listening” Hunter says

“I need you to find out more about what happened with Kurt and Chandler”

“Okay but why?” Hunter questions

“Because I feel like something isn’t fitting together quite right”

“You mean the fact that Hummel is a massive prude who’s completely squeamish about sex yet apparently starting hooking up with someone quickly, but is still harping on about getting back together with Blaine?” Santana questions

“Yes exactly; do me a favour and really make sure that whatever you do doesn’t get back to anyone else or B. If you need to use your under-boob again go for it.”

“What?” Hunter asks

“Santana can explain later, but trust me she can get info, she got it out of me, though to be fair I wasn’t in the best mind set then. I’ve got to go or B will get   
suspicious.”

Sebastian ends the call and quickly grabs two glasses of water with ice before walking back to Blaine. “I can see you got yourself comfy.” Sebastian smiles when he   
sees Blaine has changed into sweats and put his old Dalton lacrosse jersey on. Blaine shrugs sheepishly, “And here was me thinking you didn’t like wearing my lacrosse jersey.”

“Oh I like wearing it, just not when it’s covered in mud and soaked in sweat.” Blaine teases before taking a sip of his drink and setting the glass down. Sebastian wraps Blaine in his arms once again. “I’m going to have to tell them all about Sadie Hawkins aren’t I?”

“You don’t have to tell them anything killer.” 

“But if I don’t they’ll all just be speculating about what happened.”

“Honestly you don’t have to say anything you don’t want to B.”

“Maybe it would be easier if they knew what actually happened. I wouldn’t tell them everything, just what I told Tana, Britt and Kitty…not as much as I’ve told Sam or Wes that’s for sure.”

“You know they’ll probably want to ask some questions.”

“I know but I’d rather them ask me than talk about me behind my back. I wouldn’t answer anything I’m not comfortable with. Are you okay though Bas? I’m sorry this keeps happening.”

“It’s not your fault and you’re more than worth it. But killer…what did he mean when he asked if you’re confused again.”

Blaine blushes, “I was invited to a party at Rachel’s in my sophomore year, before Kurt even transferred to Dalton. Well Puck broke into her dads’ liquor cabinet and we all got pretty wasted, well apart from Finn and Kurt…there was a game of spin the bottle.”

“Go on” Sebastian pinches Blaine’s side

“Rachel and I kissed and we got kind of into it, until we were broken up. Then for a couple of days after I wondered if maybe I was bi because I really liked the kiss. So we went on a date, she kissed me and then it quickly dawned on me that I am in fact gold star gay.”

“Why am I only just hearing about this now?” Sebastian asks chuckling.

“It’s not funny Bas” Blaine giggles

“Come on B even you know it is…you’re laughing yourself.”

“She was my first kiss and it felt nice, but then I realised that kissing feels nice and that was that.”

“She was seriously your first kiss?”

“Yeah” Blaine blushes more

“Oh B you’re adorable. How did Rachel take your admission that you’re completely gay?”

“Actually she was ecstatic as she thought it would be good song writing material” Sebastian can only laugh; that was such a Rachel reaction. 

“I’ve got one more question and you know you don’t have to answer and please don’t take this the wrong way but…If he didn’t really know about Sadie Hawkins then what did you tell him about…I…I mean did he never ask about…”

“My scars?”

“Yeah…sorry” Sebastian smiles shyly

“It’s okay…I guess he never noticed them so I never said anything” Sebastian’s glad Blaine’s face is nuzzled in his neck at that moment as he can’t stop the frown from washing over his face. The last thing Sebastian ever wanted to think about was Kurt Hummel having sex, particularly with Blaine, but this just proves even more that he never appreciated Blaine and all that he is. He’s caught out of his daze by his boyfriend, “Do you mind if I call Wes and ask him to come round Bastian? I want you here too though.”

“Of course not, but do you mind if I ask why?”

“I think he might be able to give a bit of clarity on certain things”

“West Side Story night?” Blaine nods in response

When Wes arrives at Blaine and Sebastian’s he’s more than a little anxious to see Blaine which obviously shows on his face when Sebastian answers the door.

“Clearly I’m not the one you want to see” Sebastian raises an eyebrow.

“Don’t take it personally”

“I won’t…come on”

Sebastian guides Wes to his and Blaine’s room where Blaine is sat on the bed, still wearing Sebastian’s lacrosse jersey.

“It suits you Blaine” Wes smiles then walks over to Blaine and gives him a hug. “So not that I don’t want to be here but why was I summoned?”

“Because I’ve had an epiphany but I’m not sure if it’s me being irrational given the situation or not, and I need to hear what you think about it as I know you’ll have an opinion.”

Wes sits on the edge of the bed, “Okay what is it?”

“Bas told me he was there for the opening night of West Side Story” Wes nods, “Wait you knew he was there?”

“Yes but I didn’t say anything because it wasn’t my place to. I only know because Jeff and Nick wouldn’t stop going on about your performance and mentioned a couple of times how Sebastian was completely in awe.”

“So considering what else you know about that night, what do you think?”

“Are you asking me why I think Kurt did a complete 180 on his opinion on sex?” Wes says plainly in a way only a doctor or future doctor would and Blaine nods in response. “Honestly I think he did it because he knew Sebastian was there and wanted to tie you down more. He knew you and Sebastian were getting close and from what I’ve been told since, you two obviously had sexual chemistry between you so I think it threatened Kurt to a point where he’d do anything to keep you. I could tell you were starting to get feelings for Sebastian just by the way you talked about him on the phone, even if you didn’t realise it at the time. So Kurt used what he knew would mean a lot to you, particularly as things between you had been getting strained and you were unhappy not only with how your relationship was turning out but at McKinley as a whole. Plus the fact nothing happened for a long time after then backed up my theory.”

“You used to talk about me B?” Sebastian asks smugly

“Shut up” Blaine mumbles, “It’s not as if Thad didn’t catch you watching some of my performances from the archive.”

“I’m going to kill him” Sebastian huffs

“No you’re not” Blaine grins back before turning to Wes, “Thanks for being honest with me.”

“Always…are you okay?”

“Yeah it doesn’t matter now anyway”

“Still…”

“B I understand that it could still be upsetting for you as you thought it meant a lot when it was actually an act of manipulation. I’m not going to think it’s because you still have feelings for him…I’m not that naïve so you don’t have to hide it.” Sebastian tells him honestly.

Blaine smiles at his boyfriend, “Thank you” then leans over to give him a tender kiss.

“I’m going to tell them about Sadie Hawkins Wes, well as much as I told the three girls.”

“You know you don’t have to.”

“I know but now they all know a bit I’d feel like I’m constantly lying or sneaking around if I didn’t tell them, plus I don’t want to put pressure on those of you that know to keep it a secret.”

Wes nods in understanding, “Do you want me to make a call to get them to come round?”

“Please, but I need you two right with me”

“I think it would take an army to stop Sebastian from being with you Blaine” Wes muses then leaves the room to make the call, knowing the couple need some privacy.

Blaine turns to his boyfriend, “Talk to me Bas, I know you’re not okay.”

“Considering I just found out I’m the reason he slept with you I’m ecstatic.”

“Bas...”

“What? It’s true. I’m the reason he slept with you and probably why everything dragged on longer than it should and you spent a year feeling completely isolated and miserable. I knew he was a bitch but not even I realised how manipulative he is...Santana said the same.”

“Bastian this isn’t your fault. I shouldn’t have let it happen; I knew something wasn’t right but I didn’t question it at the time. But none of that even matters. The first time we were together there was no hidden agendas, no ulterior motives; it was just you and me. And I know it sounds cliché but it wasn’t just two people having sex, we made love which was a first for both of us and if you can stop cringing at those words you know it’s true. I love you Bastian, so frigging much.”

“I love you too killer” A lone tear slides down Sebastian’s cheek and he cups Blaine’s face in both hands, pulling him into a kiss, pouring all of his love into it. They only stop when Wes calls through that the guys are on their way.

Blaine changes into jeans, puts on one of Sebastian’s hoodies and makes his way into the living room with his boyfriend and they get settled on the arm chair. Blaine sits between Sebastian’s legs with his tucked up to his chest. Wes answers the door when the others arrive then takes his place on one of the arms of the chair while the rest get settled. It doesn’t escape Blaine or Sebastian’s attention that Santana has a firm hold of Rachel while Sam has one on Tina. When everyone’s sat down Blaine looks to Sam who gives him a reassuring smile and nod.

“So I just wanted to say sorry for the way the day turned out” Blaine starts. Everybody goes to talk but are stopped by Wes and Sebastian’s glares. “And I know you probably have some questions considering what I said. So I’ve decided I’m going to tell you, but please let me get it out. If you have questions afterwards ask as I’d rather you do that now than talk about me behind my back, but I may not answer. Also, just because I’m telling you this does not mean I want to talk about it later on and I’d appreciate it if this goes no further than this room.”

“Basically don’t ever bring this subject up to B, if he wants to talk to you about it he will and if any of you say anything to anyone about this outside of this room you will have me, Wes, Satan, Kitty and Ken after you and I know you don’t want that to happen. Though you should probably know if you don’t already that Brittany knows as well” Sebastian adds. 

Blaine takes a deep breath and Sebastian’s arms wrap around him possessively and protectively. “So when I started high school I was outted by some guys who used to be my friends. After that there wasn’t a day went by that I wasn’t bullied. Then the school organised a Sadie Hawkins dance. There was one other guy out at the school, he was a junior and had a similar build to Sam. He was the only person who would talk to me or try to stop anything from happening to me so we went to the dance together as friends. We actually had quite a good night so I thought it had been a turning point. I was so wrong. We were waiting in the parking lot for Charlie’s dad to pick us up when a group of guys approached us, three of them were seniors and three were juniors. My ex-friends were also with them but ran away when things got serious, but didn’t bother to get any help. Charlie tried to fight them off but he was one against six, three of whom were bigger, more like Puck’s size. They knocked him out then turned on me saying I needed to be taught a lesson for making Charlie act gay. You see they never had a problem with him before because they didn’t deem him to act in a gay way, but they’d seen videos of me performing and had decided a dancing singing gay was too much.”

Blaine takes another deep breath and Sebastian gives him another squeeze, “One of the guys took out a bat and they started. I woke up in hospital four days later with a metal plate in my head. My arm needed pinning back together and my right knee had been broken along with my ankle and five ribs. I never heard from Charlie again, his family moved state and I had no way of contacting him, but one of the nurses told me he’d been released a couple of days after we were brought in as he had a mild concussion and some superficial cuts and bruises.” Blaine finally looks up as he’d been looking at the floor throughout the whole account to see tears in his friends faces, even those who had been told before, he looks back to Sebastian who gives him a kiss and Wes squeezes his shoulder in reassurance. “So like I said if you have any questions ask, but you need to do it now as after tonight I’m not going to want to talk about it.”

“What happened to the guys who did that to you?” Rachel asks

“Nothing”

“What do you mean nothing?” Tina questions

“There wasn’t any evidence. The dance had just finished so any witnesses placed the guys in the hall around the time of the attack, though they also placed me in there too. So apart from my word, which was deemed questionable because of my injuries, there was no evidence” Sebastian, Sam and Wes can’t help but notice Blaine purposefully leaving out the fact that his parents didn’t want to press charges as they felt it was Blaine’s fault for going with another boy.

“I think all of us who went to Dalton with you knew something had happened for you to transfer mid semester and from the way you acted, but I don’t think any of us could have imagined that.” Jeff says and the others agree. “You could have told us.”

“It’s nothing against any of you, but I seriously don’t like talking about it. I have to live through it each time I do and well I never wanted any of you to think any differently of me.”

“We never could. Well apart from the fact that you’re even stronger than we thought…and we all knew you were strong Blaine.” Thad reassures him.

“Is that the trauma you mentioned when you helped me after my car crash?” Quinn asks and Blaine nods in confirmation.

“Thank you for never pushing me about it Quinn.”

“Never” she winks

“What did they do before the dance?” Tina asks catching Blaine slightly off guard, “You said they bullied you before so I guess that was the climax, what did they do before?”

“I don’t want to talk about it, but I’d take Azimo and Lipoff any day. They made those two and the rest of the hockey team look like teddy bears.” Tina goes to talk again but stops when Sam pinches her side as a signal to not push the subject. “So is there anything else anyone wants to ask?”

“I take it that’s why you took up boxing” Hunter comments

“It is”

“And I can see you’ve been giving lessons since”

“What?”

“Kitty punched Kurt”

Sebastian breaks into a wide grin, “Seriously?!”

“Yes” Kitty says smugly

Blaine sighs, “Kitty I taught you so you could defend yourself.”

“And I did against his obnoxious shirt and cologne, not to mention that voice.”

“Kitty” Blaine chastises lightly, “Show me your hand”

Kitty rolls her eyes before getting up to show Blaine, “Hunter already looked at it and I iced it the whole time we were at the guys’ apartment.”

After assessing her hand Blaine looks her in the eye, “Good. And by the way, good technique” he then winks at her and she gives him a kiss on the cheek.

“How can you tell killer”

“You see the way her knuckles aren’t pink” Sebastian nods, “It shows she hit in with the correct part of her hand.”

“Square on the nose” Kitty adds proudly

Santana starts giggling, “What?” Blaine asks

“Maybe Kitty’s song should have been another one bites the dust” Everyone who was there that day giggles.

“Okay what are we missing?” Artie asks

“Hummel seems to think a couple’s song should be the one that was being played or sung when they met, so he decided his and Blaine’s was Teenage Dream, which he went on about after he heard Blaine perform his rearranged version when they were here looking round colleges. Then I realised that if everyone went by that rule mine and Dani’s would have been another one bites the dust, which I supposed ended up being true.” Everyone laughs, “So as you’re the only couple here at the minute what would yours be?” Santana asks Blaine and Sebastian who both look at each other and the guys who were there who are all smiling.

Blaine looks back at Santana, “Uptown girl” and everyone bursts out laughing. “It was what they were singing when I went to give them tickets to West Side Story.”

“That’s hilarious, I demand a re-enactment.” The Latina demands as she dries her eyes from laughing so hard.

“Me too” Rachel adds

“And me” Tina joins in

“And me” Sam smiles

Nick looks round, “We don’t have everyone, but if Blaine, Wes and Hunter can pad out the harmonies I’m up for it.” All the other Warblers agree.

“Jump up then killer we need to push that sofa back.” They move the seats and coffee table to make a performance area.

“Just to warn you guys, you better use all the girls or there will be hell to pay” Blaine tells them and takes his position. They all perform ‘Uptown’ girl, re-enacting the first meeting of Blaine and Sebastian as best they can.

“And they couldn’t take their eyes off each other then either” Jeff quips when Blaine and Sebastian kiss at the end of the song, “Though the kissing obviously didn’t happen.”

“We can hear you” Sebastian mutters as he breaks the kiss

“I should hope so or we’d all be in trouble” Jeff retorts and Blaine sticks his finger up at him.

“Wes did you just see that?” Nick mock gasps

“I don’t know what you’re talking about” Wes pretends

“It’s not worth it Nick, you know Blaine’s his favourite” Thad laughs

“That’s a point, Harwood I’ve got a bone to pick with you” Sebastian glares and Blaine laughs, “What’s this you’ve been saying to killer about me watching the archives?”

“Nothing that’s not true” Thad teases and Blaine grabs Sebastian around his waist, holding him in place.

“Where did killer come from anyway?” Santana asks as they finish moving the furniture back and all settle back down, Blaine sitting sideways on Sebastian’s lap on the arm chair, his legs hanging over one arm with his back leaning against the other.

“When I started Dalton there were loads of rumours going around about why B left and one of them was that he had to leave after breaking too many hearts, hence killer.”

“Wait you didn’t just make that up?” Blaine looks at Sebastian

Sebastian kisses Blaine’s nose, “Absolutely not” 

“Guys?” Blaine asks the other Dalton boys

“It’s true Blaine” Jeff tells him and is backed up by Nick and Thad.

“Just like when I asked about you I was told you were sex on a stick and sings like a dream and well when I met you I wasn’t disappointed.” Blaine gives Sebastian a small kiss.

“Guys we’re right here” Tina laughs

“Oh trust me they know” Sam replies

“Have you seen your fair share of boy on boy action?” Santana teases

“Eww gross, that’s my best friend you’re talking about, ask Stacey or Stevie and they’ll tell you Blaine’s like a brother, hell even my mum told someone she has four children without thinking when someone asked her the other day. So don’t try putting images in my head.” Sam’s comment brings a smile to Blaine’s face as it only further backs up what the Evans’ told him at graduation, but he turns his face slightly to hide the small blush he knows is forming on his cheeks because he knows his best friend and that Sam’s ramble is because he’s trying to cover the fact, and forget, that he’d caught the two of them on more than one occasion.

“So what’s he like in the sack Sebastian, I bet he’s a tiger” Puck prods purposefully winding Blaine up.

“Puck!” Blaine and Quinn shout at the same time, staring at him while Sebastian nods enthusiastically behind Blaine making everyone laugh.

Rachel who’s been a little lost in thought all of a sudden asks, “What archive were you talking about?”

“There’s an archive of every Warbler competition performance since the 1960s.” Wes explains

“Not quite every” Hunter cuts in causing everyone to look at him, “The performance of the last Nationals win is missing.”

“That’s when you were in your freshman year right Blaine?” Rachel asks again

“It is, I’m sure if you all want to see it Wes’ dad would send a copy over”

“Are you sure?” Wes looks at Blaine

“Actually I am” 

“Then I’ll go ask him”

“What am I missing killer?” Sebastian whispers into Blaine’s ear

“You’ll see” Blaine kisses Sebastian on the jaw.

“I wish we had an archive like that” Rachel comments

“We went one better last year” Artie tells her, “We’ve got an archive of most practises too. In fact there’s one nobody in this room has seen that I think you’d all appreciate. Can I link up to your TV?” 

“Sure” Sebastian replies

“What is it Artie?” Sam asks

“Mr Schue vs Finn, battle of the boy bands, the extended edition. For those of you who don’t know, Mr Schue’s first wedding ended up with Mrs Schue running away after she kissed Finn. They then used to argue a lot in glee club; we must have snuck out at least 10 times in the days following while they were going at it.”

“12” Sam interjects

“And then it ended with us guys being pulled in to take part in a 90s style boy band battle.”

Artie then plays a video of the Backstreet Boys/ N*Sync performance. There’s a brief pause at the end with a black screen until Ryder’s and Jake’s faces appear on camera.

“Here we hunt for Blam in their natural environment” Jake says mimicking a voice of a wildlife presenter.

“They failed to return to the choir room so we were selected to find them” Ryder continues

The camera turns to Artie, “This could be dangerous” he deadpans, before they sneak into the auditorium.

On the screen you can see Sam tangled in the ropes Blaine used for the dance routine while Blaine’s stood laughing at him.

“Blaine it’s really not that funny. Help me get out of this thing” Sam orders and tries to struggle free, only getting more tangled and causing the ropes to hoist him higher.

Blaine tries to jump to reach Sam but he can’t, “Sam I can’t reach you, don’t move again or you could end up on the ceiling” Blaine says through his laughter, “Wait there” Blaine runs off and comes back with a broom lifting it so the handle is near Sam’s hands before he starts laughing even harder, doubling over in the middle; moving the broom out of Sam’s reach.

“What now?” Sam huffs loudly, clearly exasperated.

“You look like a piñata” Blaine manages to force out while he’s in hysterics and collapses to the floor. 

The video then cuts out and everyone in the room is laughing hard, but particularly Blaine who’s got tears streaming down his face.

“Oh you think that’s funny do you?” Sam challenges and jumps up, picking Blaine up from Sebastian’s lap and holding him to his shoulders before moving into the space behind the sofas and starts spinning.

“Sam no!” Blaine shouts, “You’ll only make yourself dizzy too.”

“It’ll be worth it. I’ll only stop before if you say I’m Wolverine!”

“Never!”

“You asked for it dude!”

“Actually technically I didn’t”

After a minute of fast spinning Sam puts Blaine down and holds onto the sofa obviously dizzy while Blaine just drops to the floor like a dead weight.

“Shit is he okay?” Santana asks, leaning over the sofa to see Blaine just staring into space, his eyes rapidly moving from side to side.

“He will be…he’s just not so good at being spun…it’s like his kryptonite. It makes no sense though as he never gets dizzy doing all that cheerleading or dancing stuff.”

“That’s because you can spot” Blaine groans then starts trying to crawl but falls onto his front. “Bathroom”

“Okay maybe I over did it” Sam says quickly grabbing hold of Blaine’s arms and dragging him to the main bathroom. The next thing they all hear is Blaine throwing up. 

Sebastian gets up and storms to the bathroom and Sam comes scuttling out, hiding behind Puck. “What do you think you’re doing Evans?”

“Hiding, Sebastian’s pissed and you’re the only one big enough to hide behind.” Sam says peeking out.

“Well you did just make Blaine throw up” Quinn points out.

When Blaine’s finished being sick he heads to the en suite with Sebastian and jumps into the shower before putting his sweats and a clean t-shirt on before the couple join everyone in the living area again.

“Sam you can come out from behind Puck, Bas isn’t going to hurt you”

“How did you know where I was?” Sam asks as he comes out from his hiding place

“Because Puck’s the only one big enough for you to hide behind” Blaine chuckles

Wes gets a message from his dad with the video of their Nationals performance from Blaine’s freshman year. “Does everyone want to see the Warblers last nationals win then?”

Everyone chimes yes so Wes get the TV set up while the others settle down. The first two numbers are typical Warbler performances, albeit with extremely complicated harmonies and side step, and two lead vocalists that none of the others recognise since it had been their graduating year. Then for the final number the Warblers arrange themselves on the steps as Blaine steps down stage and gives the most heart breaking performance of ‘Sorry seems to be the hardest word’ any of them have ever heard, only being emphasised by the support still on his wrist.

Sebastian excuses himself to the kitchen to wipe away his tears in private, understanding the true meaning of the performance while others congratulate Blaine about how his voice was strong even at that age, though how it’s got even stronger with more depth. Sebastian collects himself then grabs a can of soda from the fridge to try and cover up his true reason for leaving, but knowing Blaine had been singing that song to his parents and brother really got to him.

When Blaine sees Sebastian enter the living room once again he goes over and stretches to wrap his arms around Sebastian’s neck, while his hands settle on Blaine’s waist, only making his t-shirt ride up more, revealing skin as Blaine’s sweats are a little big and hanging low.

“Holy shit what is that?” Santana gasps loudly, directing everyone’s gaze to Blaine’s side.

Blaine quickly pulls his t-shirt down, “Nothing” and turns in Sebastian’s arms so they’re wrapped round his waist.

“Really because that definitely looked like a tattoo”

“Oh my god!” Sam shouts realising when Blaine got it done, “Hair, you, that…what did we drink that night?!” He stutters

“Hang on, are you saying you two got drunk and ended up with one of you getting a haircut and the other with a tattoo” Puck laughs and looks between the two,   
“You better have been celebrating something good.”

“Well yeah, I was on the wining quidditch team and Blaine was the best golden snitch. Of course we went to celebrate; we just can’t remember anything about that night.”

“I can’t believe you got a tattoo Frodo, please tell me it’s embarrassing.”

“If I did I’d be lying, I actually kind of love it.”

“I love it more” Sebastian nuzzles Blaine’s neck

“Show us then” Kitty challenges and everyone else joins in.

Blaine lifts his t-shirt and pulls his sweats and boxers low on that side to fully reveal the tattoo.

“It’s a treble clef” Rachel comments

“A backwards one” Wes adds

“It looks like an ‘S’ Santana points out.”

Tina clicks, “Aww that’s so romantic, it’s combining your love for music and Sebastian.” She coos completely embarrassing Blaine.

“So does everyone fancy going out for dinner?” Nick asks trying to take some of the attention off his curly haired friend and everyone shouts yes.

“You better get sorted then killer” Sebastian says giving Blaine’s ass a playful slap as he moves towards their bedroom. 

Blaine’s just getting his shoes from by the front door when there’s a knock and then a ring. Being puzzled as to who it could be he opens the door slowly then immediately beams, throwing his arms around the person on the other side. “Oh my god! What are you doing here?! I didn’t think I’d see you for ages yet!” he says excitedly and grabs their hand, dragging them towards the living room where all the others are.

“What’s up bitches?!” Brittany shouts at the others as she enters the room with Blaine

“Oh my god Britt what are you going here?!” Sam practically shouts and runs to give the girl a hug, quickly followed by Kitty.

“Oh look the whoresome foursome are back together.” Artie muses

“The what?” Wes asks

“Kitty, Britt, Sam and Blaine, everyone knows about Sam’s strippergate and the other three were all cheerleaders. Sue dubbed them the whoresome foursome.” Tina explains

“Wait I thought you B and Sam were the trio?” Sebastian asks Tina

“We were, add Artie and you have the quartet.”

“And me, Tina and Blaine were the vallies, even before it was made official. I think it’s because it was only ever going to be one of us who got valedictorian, but then when we all got it the name became even more appropriate. Then you had the tricks, which was Blaine, Britt and Kitty, then the last group was the golden triangle which was Sam, Britt and Blaine.”

They all start heading out as Sebastian turns to Wes and Hunter, “I’m sure the link in all of that didn’t escape you two.”

They both shake their heads and chorus Blaine.

On the way back from their meal they decide to take a walk through the park. Brittany skips up to Blaine, who’s walking hand in hand with Sebastian. “Blaine Warbler I want to pin-wheel.”

“Really Britt? I don’t know.”

“Pretty bird, make him pin wheel”

“What’s a pin wheel?”

“See we have to show him!”

“Okay okay when we get on to a flat bit again.” Blaine laughs

When they get onto the flat Sebastian stops the others. “What’s going on?” Santana asks

“Britt wants to pin wheel”

“They managed to do that?” Santana looks shocked

“Oh they nailed it” Kitty tells her

At that point they all look on to see Brittany go into a head stand and Blaine walks up to take her ankles in his hands, she then grabs onto his. They then both bend and tuck their heads in to make a wheel shape and rock before rolling along the grass next to the path for 20 or so feet before elegantly breaking out of the wheel and walking back to the others.

“How the hell did you two manage to nail that?” Quinn asks wide eyed

“Because we’re both magic” Brittany beams

Sebastian wraps his arm around Blaine’s waist as they all start walking again and leans to whisper into his boyfriend’s ear so nobody else can hear, “Today’s certainly putting a lot of ideas in my head killer, it all started when I saw how easily you moved around on those ropes.”

Blaine wraps an arm round Sebastian’s waist in return, “And where would you propose on hanging them?” Blaine whispers back and Sebastian can feel him smirking against his skin.

“Hmmm maybe I’ll just have to make do with tying you up. Though now I think of it there’s something I want to try with that.”

“And what would that be?”

“That would be telling killer, you’ll find out when we have the place to ourselves again. There’s no way you’ll be able to keep quiet.”

“You seem very sure.”

“It’s a fact B”

They carry on walking together unaware the rest of their friends have dropped behind to watch them. “Does anyone else find seeing little moments like this amazing but weird at the same time?” Thad asks

“Not really” Sam and Brittany reply but everyone else agrees with Thad.

“I never thought Sebastian would be that guy when I first met him” Beat admits

“And then he met Blaine” Santana adds and they all look at her, “Oh come on, he obviously had feelings for Blaine when slushiegate happened.”

“It’s why we think he ended up lashing out so much” Nick says gesturing to Thad and Jeff, “We just didn’t know anyone else thought the same.”

“But if that’s what you all thought then why do you find these moments odd?” Rachel asks

“Probably for the same reason you do Berry, because although they can be affectionate there’s something intimate about them right now and we don’t normally get to see it. They’re both very private people.” Santana explains and everyone nods in agreement

“Why don’t you two find it odd?” Rachel questions Sam and Brittany

“We both lived with Blaine; I guess we got to see more of these moments when they didn’t realise we were around. But just like now they’d be in their own little world.”

“Pretty birds good for Blainey…he makes him happy and stops him from being too hard on himself. And Blainey’s good for him too. They both actually love each other for who they are and neither of them have ever had that before.” Brittany adds

“How did I forget how wise you are Britt?” Santana says lovingly 

“Blaine says I’m so wise because I see things other people don’t. So I’m wise and a math genius.” Brittany smiles proudly

“Of course you are” Santana can’t help herself and gives Brittany a kiss on the cheek.

They all stop at the guys’ apartment before splitting off to where they’re staying, Brittany going to Blaine and Sebastian’s to share with Kitty.

XXXXXXX  
The next day they spend the morning and some of the afternoon site seeing before all splitting off to nap and get ready for their night out, all meeting at the Seblaine apartment so they can go together.

“Right everyone; remember the date of birth on your IDs though as we’ve all dressed up so nicely there shouldn’t be a problem. Plus I know the manager.” Santana tells them, “Still if you don’t want to be done for drinking underage don’t get carried away, we still all have to get home at the end of the night remember. If you want to drink get buzzed but not completely drunk.” Santana tells them and they all leave, starting the night out at the karaoke bar Rachel suggested as it’s still quite early.

They grab a couple of tables and pull them together so they can all sit as a group. “Well I guess I can see whose side you are truly on.” Kurt sneers at Rachel.

“Kurt this isn’t about choosing sides; you’re the one who’s making this into an issue.”

“If Finn were here”

“Don’t you dare” Puck jumps up, “Just because you may have been linked to Finn by marriage does not mean you knew him better than anyone and does not give you the right to use his name like that. And for your information Finn and these guys were friends, including Sebastian. All Finn wanted for Rachel was for her to be happy, which is why he sent her to New York instead of marrying her so don’t you dare try and use him to make her feel bad.”

“Puck, he’s not worth it” Quinn soothes him

“Move on Lady Hummel” Santana glares and everyone stands

“This isn’t over Rachel” Kurt threatens, before walking off having felt very outnumbered and uneasy given what had unfolded the day before. He of course wanted to talk to Blaine, but with everyone else around, knew it would have to wait.

“We can leave if you want to Rach” Blaine takes her hand

“No because if we do then he’ll think he’s won”

“There’s the Rachel Berry I know” Blaine winks at her and she smiles

The next thing they know Kurt has taken to the stage and is challenging Rachel to a sing off by the bar’s rules. ‘Defying gravity’ starts.

“Seriously?” Rachel goes wide eyed

“Don’t rise to it Rachel” Quinn tells her

“You already beat him with this once” Santana adds

“Killer?”

“When these guys were in New Directions they used to have diva-offs basically every other week. Kurt challenged Rachel to a sing off with this song, needless to say she won.” At that Kurt just manages to hit the high F but it’s not very good. “You can’t sing that song as well Rachel or people will think you’re being petty and didn’t you say most of them here go to NYADA?”

“They do. So what do I sing?”

“Oh there’s a certain song I remember got you the highest scoring solo at Nationals last year.” Blaine smirks

“Frodo’s right Berry you’ve got to do it. Damn Anderson I like that you’re letting your feisty side out more now.” Santana then turns to Sebastian, “Whatever you’re doing keep it up.”

“He’s just finally more comfortable being himself around other people more rather than what they expect him to be” Sebastian says to her quietly and Santana nods in understanding.

Rachel gets up and takes her place on the stage and the music starts. Blaine cuddles into Sebastian’s side, “I take it we’re in for a treat killer”

Blaine looks back at his boyfriend, “You have no idea”

Rachel completely kills ‘It’s all coming back to me now’ blowing all the Dalton boys and Kitty away. While they’d all heard her sing before, they hadn’t heard her sing like that.

“I think it’s safe to say you won that round too” Santana congratulates her, “And I caught the exact moment his face fell” she smirks waving her cell.

“Let me see” Sebastian puts a hand out excitedly for Santana’s phone.

Santana passes her phone to Sebastian, “I think you’ll appreciate the next picture too, that’s his face when Blaine turned to give you a kiss at the end.” Sebastian can’t help cracking up. “Well now that drama’s done with what do you guys say to moving on?” Santana asks when she sees Kurt go into the bathroom knowing this is their chance to lose him for the night. Hunter, Thad and Sebastian realise what she’s doing so the four work together to get everyone ready and out before he reappears.

The bar Santana takes them to has a dance area in front of a stage which has a DJ on but people are also periodically going up and performing. The group get a couple of rounds of shots and a drink each before finding a table with enough seats they can all crowd round.

“Shut up Blaine did not rap for New Directions at competition” Kitty says scandalised

“Yes he did” Rachel giggles “And he was really good. Blaine, Kitty doesn’t believe you can rap.”

“Why?” Blaine pouts

“Because you’re you…you’re too adorkable to rap.”

“Actually Kitty he nailed it” Santana says

“I’m with Satan on this one and you know we wouldn’t lie about it, even if it is B.”

“No way, if you can rap prove it.” Kitty demands

Blaine throws back Sam’s shot he just bought back from the bar, “Fine” and heads to the stage.

“This is going to be good” Sebastian grins

“Do tell” Santana raises her eyebrows

“Because he’s such a lightweight he’s a little more than buzzed so all his walls are down. I seriously have no idea what he’s going to pick but when I’ve seen him in a club when he’s like this before I’ve never been disappointed.” Sebastian smirks

The music starts and Santana spits out the mouthful of her drink she’d just taken. Blaine performs ‘Right round’ rapping effortlessly and moving purposefully with the music, teasing the crowd and Sebastian with his movements. He even gets the gathered audience to sing part of the chorus with him at one point. By the time he’s finished, the dance area around the stage is completely packed.

“Well there’s no hiding what he was referring to” Hunter jokes

“Yeah imagine if he had returned to Dalton, you could have sung about giving blow jobs and he could have sung about receiving them.” Kitty retorts quick as lightening and everyone laughs hard.

“You might need to help you boy get back through the crowd.” Artie tells Sebastian and points to where Blaine has basically been surrounded by a group of mostly women but also a few men.

Sebastian jumps up and Sam immediately follows to help. They manage to get Blaine back to the table and can’t help but notice that his shirt’s obviously been pulled at. “Puckerman do you think you can get us some booze?” Sebastian asks

“Of course”

“How does everyone feel about taking this back to ours then?”

“If it means we can let loose without having to worry I’m in” Artie praises and the others all agree.

“I’ll help Puck” Hunter gets up and leaves with him

Hunter and Puck get back to the apartment just after everyone else and walk in on an ongoing argument.

“No Kitty” Blaine tells her firmly

“Yes or I’ll shave your eyebrows off and considering they take up half your face I know you don’t want that.”

“Come on Blainey days it will be fun”

“Yeah come on dude we totally need to get the white chocolate and smooth caramel moves back out there.”

“I will find out who came up with that name” Blaine argues

“No you won’t” Sam grins

“What have we missed?” Puck asks

“For once I’m not actually sure” Sebastian answers while the argument goes on.

“Fine” Blaine reluctantly relents after a few more minutes of arguing, knowing this is one time he won’t win and not wanting to risk actually losing his eyebrows.

“Trust me you’ll thank me for this later” Kitty winks at him before moving the furniture to make room for the performance. Sam links Blaine’s phone up to the sound system and lines up the backing track.

“Mr Grab-ass, you need to sit where your boy can get to you. Trust me you won’t be disappointed.” Kitty purrs and Sebastian can only raise a questioning eyebrow as she gets herself settled to be white chocolate’s victim.

Tina, Blaine and Sam perform ‘Jumpin jumpin’ but nobody, other than Artie and Kitty who’d witnessed the routine before, was prepared for Sam and Blaine to give lap dances to Kitty and Sebastian respectively part way through at the ‘bounce’ section of the song, losing their button ups in the process. By the end of it the trio have everyone up dancing with them.

“Holy shit” Santana exclaims when the song finishes 

“Well Blaine we’ve certainly seen a different side to you tonight” Beat teases and everyone bar Sebastian agrees. Blaine blushes fiercely and turns to hide his face in his boyfriend’s chest.

“How can you still be blushing?” Jeff laughs

“Because that’s the way my B is” Sebastian winks then kisses the top of Blaine’s head. “My question though killer, is who did you do that to the first time you performed it?”

“Marley”

“Well I suppose that’s alright then” Sebastian teases then leans down to capture Blaine’s lips in a kiss, “And you’ll have to go that again in a more private setting and with far less clothes” he whispers into Blaine’s ear, “But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to show you how much I appreciated that dance or your performance tonight.”

They all end up staying over, those who couldn’t fit on a bed crashing out in various places on the sofas and floor.

XXXXXXX  
A loud knock sounds on the apartment door before anyone is awake. Puck, who’d crashed where he was sat in the chair in the living room, comes to so gets up to answer when it’s clear nobody else has stirred. 

“Squ…you’re not my baby brother” Cooper frowns at Puck

“I’m glad you noticed. Cooper right?”

“Yeah…did you got to McKinley with Blaine?”

“Yeah I was in the year above. What are you doing here so frigging early?”

“I thought I’d come and surprise him…and see this place” 

“Well I’m the only one awake…come on”

Puck leads Cooper into the kitchen, “You guys have a party last night?”

“What gave it away? The empty bottles or everyone crashed out?”

“A little of both…sorry if I woke you”

“I’ve had worse wake ups” Cooper looks at him questioningly, “I’m in the air force.” Puck explains before turning and starting the coffee pot.

As the sound of voices and smell of coffee wafts through the apartment one by one everyone starts to wake up and wonder to the kitchen. Sebastian wakes up and pulls on some sweats after hearing voices, before giving his Blaine a kiss, who is still dead to the world. He steps over Sam who was still out cold in the hallway outside the bedrooms and heads to the kitchen, “Cooper? What are you doing here?”

“Surprise!” Cooper beams

“Well yes but you didn’t answer my question”

“I came to surprise you and check out your place”

Sebastian grabs some coffee, “Well you should have called, after everyone catches their planes today those of us who are staying in New York, plus Wes, are heading to Hunter’s family’s place in the Hamptons.”

“Who’s Hunter?”

“I’m Hunter” he says wondering into the kitchen, “Who are you?”

“Cooper Anderson. You might recognise me”

Hunter looks Cooper up and down, “No, should I?” then turns to get a drink

Cooper’s smile falters a little but soon picks back up, “So who are we still missing?” At that moment Santana, Rachel and Brittany walk through wearing sweats and t-shirts Blaine had given them to sleep in. “Okay surely there can’t be that many more of you”

“Just B and Sam”

“Great” Cooper smiles wickedly and goes to move

“You’re not going anywhere Cooper” Sebastian tells him firmly and surprisingly he actually listens.

Sebastian pours an extra cup of coffee and leaves the kitchen, waking Sam up on his way back to Blaine. He can’t help but smile when he opens their bedroom door to see Blaine sprawled out on his front on Sebastian’s side of the bed, snuggling into his pillows. Sebastian puts the coffee down then sits next to his boyfriend, stroking his back gently. “Hey killer, it’s time to wake up.” Blaine doesn’t even flinch so Sebastian peppers some kisses on his back. “B come on, I have coffee for you.”

“Where did you go? I turned over and you were gone” Blaine grumbles very quietly, voice heavy with sleep and eyes still firmly shut.

“Kitchen, hence the coffee” Sebastian chuckles then places a kiss on the top of Blaine’s head, making him grin dopily before slowly opening his eyes.

“We’ve got a visitor killer”

Blaine blinks and furrows his brow in confusion, “We’ve got lots of them Bas”

Sebastian can’t help but smile at Blaine who’s taking even longer than normal to become coherent. “Well we have an extra one. Your brother is here.”

“No Cooper’s in LA”

“B he’s sat in our kitchen” Blain frowns again, rubbing his eyes and rolling over before slowly sitting up. The covers slip down, revealing his morning erection. 

“Happy to see me?” Sebastian smirks. Blaine follows his eye line before blushing and quickly pulling the covers up. “You might want to do something about that before seeing everyone” Sebastian licks his hips as he passes Blaine his coffee.

“Then you might want to put a shirt on” Blaine retorts, finally starting to come to and taking a sip of his drink.

“That’s not quite what I had in mind”

“I know but we seem to have a full apartment”

“That didn’t stop you last night” Sebastian raises an eyebrow

“Yes but they weren’t waiting for us”

“Touché”

“Cooper should have called”

“I told him, and Hunter didn’t recognise him though he took it better than I thought he might.”

Blaine laughs breathlessly, “Bas can you pass me some shorts? I think all my sweats are out on loan.” Sebastian gets Blaine a pair of lounge shorts and one of his Dalton lacrosse t-shirts the team used to use for running and fitness sessions.

“Don’t look at me like that killer, I know you like to wear it when you want to be comfy. Come on, you can crash in the living room again. I think Cooper’s arrival pretty much woke everyone up too soon.” 

Blaine gets dressed before heading to the kitchen with Sebastian.

“Squirt!” Cooper greets him

“Don’t call me that” Blaine grumbles and looks round, “Why are you all in here? You realise there are comfy seats in the living room.” He then turns to head back and gets settled on the arm chair, only to be shifted by Sebastian, but they’re soon sitting how they had been the previous evening.

“Why were we all in there?” Tina asks

“Because we’re idiots” Santana grumps 

“Coop, why are you here?” Blaine asks his brother

“Jeez, you’ve all asked me that, you could give a guy a complex”

“Well normally people call instead of just turning up, particularly if they have to fly 6 hours”

“I wanted to see you of course”

“And the apartment”

“Not denying it…what’s this about you heading out later today though?”

“Well if you’d called first you would have known”

“What am I going to do now?”

Hunter looks to Sebastian who nods, “You could come with us” Hunter suggests, “There’s more than enough space.”

“There squirt I get to come with you…how great is that!?”

Blaine flops his head onto Sebastian’s chest, “I think what you meant to say then was ‘thanks Hunter that’s very kind of you considering you’ve never met me before and I turned up unannounced’.” 

“But now you’ve said it for me” Cooper grins goofily 

Santana stands up, taking Rachel with her, “We better go back home to shower and pack. Blaine do you mind if we wear your clothes, I don’t think either of us want to get back into ours from last night.”

“We’ll drop them off before we go to the guys for our lift out of the city, though we won’t have chance to wash them” Rachel adds

“That’s fine”

“Won’t someone freak if he sees you two dressed like that?” Thad asks

“If he’s stupid enough to mention it then he will get what’s coming to him” Santana says as she puts her hair up in a ponytail. 

“If you can, get a picture, it would be nice to see my handy work” Kitty requests

“Done” Santana confirms before her and Rachel head out. 

“What am I missing?” Cooper asks after the girls leave

“Nothing” Blaine responds a little too quickly.

Cooper looks round the group, “No seriously what’s going on?” 

“I punched his ex” Kitty replies smiling devilishly, “For good reason”

“What did he do?” Cooper asks Blaine directly

“Nothing worth going back over, just drop it Coop.” Blaine stands, “I’m going for a shower.”

Brittany jumps up and follows him, “Wait Blaine” she calls out as he’s about to close his bedroom door, “Are you okay?” Blaine lets her in the room and they both settle on the bed before he then goes on to tell Brittany exactly what happened. “I don’t like him” she frowns after listening to the latest Kurt run-in and how Blaine ended up telling everyone else about Sadie Hawkins.

“Don’t say that Britt”

“Why? It’s true. And you know I’m wise so it’s for a good reason.” Blaine smiles at her friend and gives her a hug. “Do you think you can help me with something narwhal?”

“And what would that be?”

“I need to get lots of lilies and put them in the room Santana’s going to be staying in at Hunter’s”

“You’re still coming too right?”

“Of course I am silly. I need lilies because they’re the lesbians of all flowers and I want to tell her I still love her.”

Blaine can’t help the stupidly big grin that creeps over his face, “You’re going to make her very happy. If you don’t mind could we tell Hunter? I have a feeling he’ll be able to help a lot. Plus we should probably check it’s okay to put all those flowers in his parent’s house.”

“Good idea” Brittany jumps off the bed and runs to get Hunter, grabbing his hand and pulling him along without saying anything.

Everyone left in the living room look to Sebastian, “Don’t look at me…I know as much as the rest of you.”

“Hunter I need lots of lilies and I’m hoping I can put them in the room Santana will be staying in at yours.”

Hunter looks to Blaine who smiles in reassurance, “Okay but why?”

“I forget you’re a shark. Lilies are the lesbians of flowers and I want to tell Santana I love her.”

Hunter looks to Blaine again before answering, “Go for it, so I’m guessing you need a florist near where we’re staying.”

“That’s about it” Blaine confirms

“What kind of lilies Brittany?”

“White ones”

“Okay, do you trust me to get them for you and have them delivered?”

“Yes”

“Then leave it to me”

“Really?” Brittany asks excitedly

“Really” The next thing he knows Hunter has armfuls of Brittany and is given a kiss on his cheek through an excited squeal.

“We’ll leave you for your shower now narwhal” Brittany gives Blaine a kiss on the cheek and drags Hunter back out to the living room with her.  
Just as Blaine heads back into the living room the door goes so he answers it to see Santana and Rachel stood there still dressed in his clothes, but with packed bags. Santana looks angry while Rachel is obviously trying to hold back tears, which escape as soon as Blaine pulls her into a hug.

“What happened?” He asks Santana as Rachel cries against his chest

“Fucking lady Hummel happened that’s what. If I didn’t need to get her out of there he would be dead by now.” She answers, her voice growing with volume. “Can we use your shower? I didn’t want to hang around long enough to have one at that place.” She spits

“Yeah of course, come on I’ll get you both towels. Santana are you okay taking the main one and Rachel, you can use the one in the en suite.” Blaine makes his way back through with both girls, none of them stopping to answer the questioning looks on everyone’s faces. After Rachel steps into the en suite Blaine just sits on the bed, his legs tucked up to his chest and his forehead resting on his knees.

There’s a quiet knock at the door, “Killer it’s me, is it safe for me to come in?” When Sebastian doesn’t get an answer he opens the door slowly to make sure he doesn’t walk in on Rachel changing or something. The sight of Blaine like that breaks his heart a little, which only increases when he realises Blaine’s shoulders are shaking slightly. Sebastian sits on the edge of the bed and rubs up and down Blaine’s back. “Killer look at me” Sebastian orders softly. Blaine slowly lifts his head to reveal swollen eyes and tear stained cheeks, “Hey no more tears okay?” Sebastian wipes Blaine’s cheeks with his thumbs before giving him a kiss. “What did he do?”

Blaine sniffs then cuddles into Sebastian, “I don’t know but I haven’t seen Santana look that mad before and Rachel was crying Bas and it’s all my fault.”

“No, it’s not.” Sebastian tells him firmly

“But if it wasn’t for me he wouldn’t be acting out and hurting them”

“That’s not your fault killer.”

“He’s right it’s not” Santana says as she comes in the room, “Sorry to interrupt but I didn’t want to go back out there yet.”

“That’s okay” Blaine smiles

“So Satan what happened?”

“Kurt went off on one” Rachel answers as she comes out of the en suite in clean clothes, her wet hair pulled into a bun. “And Blaine it really isn’t your fault. Please don’t cry”

“But he made you cry”

“He did but I don’t want him making you cry too”

A quiet knock raps at the door, “Can I come in?”

“Is it just you Britt?” 

“Yes”

“Then come in” Brittany joins them on the bed and gives both girls a hug. 

They all sit in silence until Rachel speaks up, “I can’t live there anymore. I can’t cope with him trying to make me feel bad about getting the first leading roll I auditioned for, or trying to tell me who I should and shouldn’t be friends with, or trashing the ones I do have…I’m so sorry Blaine.”

“Why are you sorry?”

“Because he’s doing to me what he did to you and I should have noticed it”

Blaine shrugs his shoulders, “I hid it and even if I didn’t you’d have nothing to be sorry for”

“So what are you going to do?” Sebastian asks

“Move in with me” Brittany cuts in, “Both of you, come and be happy”

“You’re staying in New York?” Santana looks at Brittany full of hope

“I am and I’m going to need two roommates; remember I’m a math genius so you can’t argue because I’ve worked it all out.”

“Have you already found somewhere?” Rachel asks

“Yep…it’s still in Bushwick but closer to here and not near where you live now so you won’t have to see him if you don’t want to. I can move in soon after we get back from the Hamptons.”

“It sounds perfect” Santana tells her

“It does, but we can’t break our lease” Rachel says glumly 

“Why the hell not? I’ve been working extra shifts and you’re earning more now so why can’t we give him our shares for the next two months, when the lease ends anyway and just move now.”

“You’re right” At that Rachel’s phone starts ringing but she ignores it as she immediately recognises the ring tone. 

“I know what will make everyone feel better” Brittany muses and they all just look at her, “Blaine singing of course”

Blaine shakes his head, “I don’t think so Britt”

“Actually I could really listen to you singing Teenage dream right about now. It’s like each time you do it you’re sticking it to him. Plus it’s actually really beautiful.” Santana says

“And I never got to hear your audition piece Blaine Warbler” 

“It was amazing” Rachel tells Brittany with a smile

“See just the idea of you singing is making them happier so imagine what will happen when you actually sing to them?”

“And I know for a fact Wes and the others who haven’t heard them want to killer” Sebastian adds knowing singing will help Blaine get his own release.

“Come on then!” Brittany jumps up and herds them all back into the living area

“Is everything okay?” Sam asks a little worriedly

“Of course, Rachel and Santana are coming to live with me and we’ve convinced Blaine to sing to make everyone feel better, but we’ve already put requests in so you’re too late.” Brittany answers and Sam just looks to Blaine.

“I’m not entirely sure what’s happening right now” Blaine replies to Sam’s silent question.

“You don’t have to, just sing” Brittany tells Blaine as she moves him towards the piano and pushes him down onto the seat by his shoulders.

Blaine then proceeds to play Teenage dream and Hit me baby one more time, again blowing everybody away, particularly those who hadn’t heard the pieces before.

“Did you really arrange those?” Cooper asks and Blaine just nods in response, “I had no idea you could do stuff like that.” Blaine shrugs shyly.

“You’re truly very talented Blaine” Hunter says sincerely

“Thank you” Blaine says shyly, “There’s erm actually one none of you would have heard that four of us worked on.”

“When he says four of us worked on it he means we all liked the idea and what he put together.” Sam adds and grabs one of Blaine’s acoustic guitars. 

“No you all had input on the vocals” Blaine argues

“Artistic input” Artie teases as he wheels closer to the piano

“Less talking more singing” Santana playfully snarks at them and Tina sits by Blaine on the piano bench and the four sing the acoustic version of ‘Loser like me’. Throughout the performance the older McKinley members are obviously touched and do a couple of the actions from the original performance, including the ‘L’ symbol on their foreheads. The Warblers who had been in the audience also recognise the song.

When they finish everyone gives a small round of applause and Santana walks over to Blaine and kisses his cheek. “I hope you know I officially hate you now…damn magical Hobbit making our song 10 times better” and playfully shoves him.

Blaine blushes profusely before noticing the time, “Not to be a buzzkill but we better get you guys back to the airport.”

After some emotional goodbyes Sebastian and Jeff drive everyone back to the airport while the others filter off to get ready for the trip.

“Hey we all better go and get ready” Thad says

“Yeah you’re right”, Sam agrees. “Come on Cooper you’re riding with us”

“I’ll just ride with Blaine and Sebastian”

“No can do, we’ve packed up their car so there’s no space for you, come on” Sam tells him firmly as he knows Blaine needs some time alone with his boyfriend and the grateful smile he gets in return lets him know he did the right thing. By the time Sebastian is back from the airport Blaine has cleaned the apartment, done some laundry and packed their bags.

“Jesus how long was I gone for?” Sebastian asks as he looks around

“Not long, I just put some music on and got to it”

“So are we all good to go?” Blaine nods, “Great, and you’re still driving killer”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I wasn't able to get this up yesterday as I originally hoped - I was visiting a friend I have not seen for some time and got back later than I had envisioned. I hope you enjoyed this chapter :).


	57. The Hamptons

By the time they arrive at Hunter’s family’s Hamptons retreat Blaine’s laughing and feeling carefree again, thanks to Sebastian and the chance to really put his left foot down, blowing some of the cobwebs away. The others had arrived just ahead of them and can’t help but notice the difference but know better than to comment on it and are just happy to see him properly smiling again.

Hunter shows everyone to where they’re staying purposefully putting Blaine and Sebastian in a more secluded section of the house and showing Santana and Brittany to their rooms last. When Santana opens her bedroom door her eyes go wide and Hunter excuses himself to leave the two girls alone.

Santana looks at Brittany with wide eyes, “Are these all lilies?”

“Yes, they’re the lesbian of flowers”

“So you put them in here?”

“Well technically Hunter did, but it was my idea...I love you Santana Lopez…will you be my lily?”

Santana surges forward to tightly embrace Brittany as tears swell in her eyes, “I’ve always been your lily. I love you too Brittany, so much. I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy, you’re coming to New York and we get to be together.”

“Well you make me happy.”

After a while they both change into their bikinis and slip on cover-ups before going outside to find everyone else. They soon see everyone, some splashing around in the lake of the grounds while others lounge around. Blaine spots them walking hand in hand and his face lights up.

“I take it from the stupid grin on your face you knew what Brittany had planned” Santana questions him mock threateningly.

“Maybe” Blaine replies, still with a giant smile, “I’m so happy for you guys.”

“I thought we were going to hang out by the pool” Brittany frowns

“Well it turns out Hunter’s great-grandfather had a fondness for free swimming, so much so that he had this lake built specially for it. It’s got sand at the edges, and Hunter’s granddad since added a filter, so it’s basically a giant swimming pool.” Blaine explains

Both Brittany and Santana take off their cover ups, “Aren’t you going to join us narwhal?” Brittany asks as she notices everyone else is now in the water.

“Later” Blaine smiles tightly, but Santana knows not to push so goes with Brittany.

While he wanted nothing more than to get some sun and mess around he feels extremely self-conscious because his tan made his scars more obvious. Even though the guys all know what happened the idea of them seeing his scars makes him anxious. Blaine’s sat with his legs stretched out in front of him when he notices two shadows cross them and looks up to see Wes and Sebastian looking at him. “Aren’t you going to come and join in?” Wes asks, “It’s not like you to miss out on the shenanigans, but while they’re all messing around, you’re sat here with your shirt still on.” 

They both crouch down, “Come on killer, you know you want to” Sebastian squeezes Blaine’s knee.

“I know but…”

“They aren’t anywhere near as bad as you think they are B.”

“Yet you noticed them”

“But nobody would be looking anywhere near as closely as I do killer” Sebastian smirks, “And if you remember it took a while for me to notice some of them…and I only did because I was paying really close attention” Sebastian winks and Blaine blushes slightly

“What are you worrying about Blaine?” Wes asks to confirm his suspicions and doesn’t miss the way Blaine squirms at his question.

“Scars”

Wes nods in understanding, “You know Sebastian wouldn’t lie to you about them…and what about when you did the calendar, you had your shirt off then.”

Blaine shrugs, “I covered them and Bas can’t even deny that they’re a lot more noticeable at the moment…scars don’t tan.” He sighs heavily.

“True, but everyone knows now killer and I know that doesn’t mean you want them to see but I doubt they’ll really notice and if they do it’s not as if you’ll be asked questions, none of them are that stupid.”

“Sebastian’s right Blaine, it’s not as if they will be looking for them and if they do notice they aren’t going to ask about them.”

Sebastian can see the internal struggle going through his boyfriend’s mind but after a few moments Blaine nods, “Okay. But will you tell me if you think they’re really noticeable Wes? No offense Bas but you’ve seen them before.”

“None taken killer, we both know I could map out your body” Sebastian smirks making Blaine blush fiercely, “But you better hurry up, looks like the guys are coming over”

Blaine looks to see most of the group approaching so quickly takes his shirt off and looks at Wes questioningly. “They really aren’t that noticeable Blaine, honestly…yes you can see them because of your tan but they really aren’t bad, and remember I’m purposefully looking for them.”

Blaine smiles “Thank you, both of you” and gives Sebastian a kiss on the cheek. Sebastian doesn’t miss his opportunity and grabs hold of Blaine’s waist and hoists him over his shoulder before running down to the lake. “Bas!” Blaine shouts out, grabbing everyone’s attention and making them laugh before they head back to join the couple in the water.

Sebastian uses their height difference to his advantage and takes Blaine out deep enough so he can’t stand up so he has to hold onto him. “I hate you” Blaine pouts as they hold one another tight.

“So much so that you have your legs wrapped around my waist” Sebastian teases before kissing him, removing the pout from his face. “I thought this was the best way to protect you” he says while tracing his fingers along Blaine’s skin where he knows some of the scars are.

“Bas…”

“Just remember, you’re perfect just the way you are killer, perfectly imperfect.”

“You must think I’m an idiot for letting them bother me so much”

“No, as you have every right to feel the way you do. They’re a reminder of what happened, but they’re also a reminder of what you’ve overcome…of how much of a fighter you are…and you know scars are hot right.” Sebastian adds teasingly to lighten the mood, making his boyfriend smile fondly. Blaine tightens his arms around Sebastian’s neck before kissing him. When the kiss breaks Sebastian moves his hands down Blaine’s back and adjusts where he’s resting slightly.

Blaine then tightens his legs enough to cause a soft groan to escape Sebastian, “You should probably take us a bit shallower or I’ll be tempted to take care of that. And that’s not something I want to get caught doing by our friends or my brother.”

“And if they weren’t here?”

“I guess we’ll have to sneak out late one night and you’ll have to find out”

“I’ll hold you to that killer”

“Good” Blaine smirks before unwrapping his legs and swimming off pausing briefly to look back at Sebastian, “Catch me if you can”, and starts swimming again, he laughs as Sebastian grabs hold of his ankle, “I forgot you used to be on the swim team”. 

“Hmm I thought you might” Sebastian gives him a quick kiss before they continue their way to the shallows where everyone else is playing Frisbee.

People who end up close to Blaine at points in the game notice the more prominent scars but don’t say anything; it isn’t hard to figure out where they came from. Unfortunately Cooper isn’t quite so subtle, he dives for the Frisbee and comes up close to Blaine and can’t help but stare. Blaine knows it’s not the tattoo he’s looking at; he’d already had his fun when he first saw it. Cooper frowns, hints of disgust washing over his face and that’s when Blaine can’t take it anymore so quickly excuses himself, running out of the water and grabbing his shirt and tugging it on, on his way back to the house.

“You fucking idiot” Sebastian growls at Cooper before taking off after his boyfriend

“Not cool dude” Sam shakes his head at the older Anderson

“I…I hadn’t seen them before” Cooper stammers

“Neither had we but we managed not to react to them” Santana crosses her arms over her chest

Cooper goes to find his brother but Wes stops him, “Cooper, let him cool down first before you try and talk to him.”

“Wes is right…and I guess the timing wouldn’t have helped either” Sam comments

Cooper frowns, “What do you mean?”

Wes goes on to explain the latest argument with Kurt and how Blaine then told those who didn’t know what happened to him afterwards since he’d basically outted what happened to him.

“He seriously only told most of you the other day? I hadn’t really thought about it before but I guess I kind of assumed you would have all known anyway.”

“Why? He doesn’t like talking about it and it’s not exactly something you just drop into conversation.” Santana tells him frankly 

“That’s true…man I’m such an idiot” Cooper pulls at his hair

They all leave the water and settle on towels they’d spread out across the grass. “So you’d really never seen them before?” Wes asks Cooper, clearly referring to Blaine’s scars.

“No…I…I never even considered that he’d have any”

“They beat him up with the aid of a bat and you didn’t think he’d have any marks from it?” Sam questions seriously, in a little disbelief.

“They used a bat?” Cooper’s eyes go wide

“Shit, I thought you would have known. You’ve seriously never talked to him about it?”

“What can I say? Worst brother in the world goes to me. My parents never offered details and when I visited after he’d been released home he was still pretty high on pain meds, but he didn’t look too bad. I suppose I never appreciated how serious it was.”

“How much do you know about the injuries?” Wes asks cautiously 

“I know his arm was busted, and his knee, the casts gave that away and I’m guessing they’d messed up his hair or something, that kind of thing happens in those sorts of attacks right, because he wouldn’t take his beanie off. Though I didn’t really spend any time with him and after what I’ve seen I’m obviously missing something.”

“Blaine’s the only one who will tell you anything as none of us will break the trust he’s placed in us” Wes looks round the group to reinforce his statement, “But you can’t press him Cooper, he’ll come to you when he’s ready. To be honest until he is you won’t get passed Sebastian anyway” Wes adds trying to lighten the mood, though he’s completely right.

Meanwhile Blaine’s pacing in his and Sebastian’s room, “Did you see the way he was looking at me?” Blaine snaps at his boyfriend, but Sebastian doesn’t reply knowing Blaine’s not done yet. “He looked disgusted Bas! So much for them not being that fucking noticeable” 

“Hey I didn’t lie to you if that’s what you think, you know I wouldn’t do that and neither would Wes.”

“No I know” Blaine groans “I just…GOD!” Blaine ends up shouting in frustration. “Why does it have to keep coming up? I know it’s a part of me but why does it have to keep haunting me like this?”

“You just need to remember killer you are so much more than those bastards who did that to you. Plus telling the guys meant that you could splash around with everyone and if you didn’t notice, no one else stared and there were no awkward questions. By opening up you’re stopping it from haunting you.”

Blaine lets the words muddle round his brain for a while, “I guess you’re right…It still doesn’t change the way Cooper looked at me though.”

“How much does he know B?”

Blaine shrugs his shoulders, “I guess I don’t really know. I always assumed my parents would have told him everything but maybe not…I mean they were so ashamed it wouldn’t be beyond the realm of possibility that they didn’t even want Coop to know. He would have seen casts, and he must have known something was going on with my head because I used to wear a beanie all the time as I hated looking in the mirror and seeing where the doctors had to shave my head and the stitches and staples.”

Sebastian wraps his arms around his boyfriend and rests his chin on his head, “You know I won’t push but maybe you should talk to him about it.” Blaine lets out a big sigh, “Like I said I won’t push, it’s up to you killer.” He places a kiss on the top of Blaine’s head.

“I’m grumpy because you’re right” Blaine grumbles into his boyfriend’s collar bone.

Sebastian can’t help but let out a chuckle, “What do you want to do now then?”

“Just stay here a bit longer. Cooper’s not going to take it well, I know he feels bad for not being there for me and this is just going to make it worse.”

“Do you know what you’re going to tell him?”

“Not everything, not like I told you, but I know I’m going to have to tell him more than the others.”

“About the before?”

“A little yeah…maybe…I know I’m not going to tell him everything I remember about the attack, but I guess I’ll let him know I do…maybe…I don’t know Bas.” Blaine whines, obviously panicking a little.

“Just say what feels right at the time B…Do you want me there?”

“I want you close”

They shower then change into clean clothes before cuddling on the bed for a while. “I’m really nervous Bastian” Blaine quietly confesses.

“I know killer, I can feel how tense you are…let me help you with that” Sebastian nips at the shell of Blaine’s ear.

“I’m not sure…”

“I’m not going to force you but it would help relieve some of your tension and help you relax a little, which surely will make it easier to talk.”

“Okay” Blaine breathes out and Sebastian gets to work, pushing Blaine’s t-shirt up to kiss down his chest, nipping as he goes, before slowly undoing his shorts and taking his cock in his mouth. From that point on, Sebastian doesn’t tease knowing that’s not what Blaine needs in that moment. After Blaine’s fully spent Sebastian puts him back into his boxer briefs and shorts before moving up his body to kiss him. “Hmmm…I do feel better” Blaine says slightly dopily.

Sebastian laughs a little, “Ready to do this then?”

“Just give me a moment and you might want to sort your hair” Blaine tells him sheepishly. After Sebastian’s finished with his hair he turns around to see Blaine stood watching him. “I’m going to need you right there Bas, I know he’d probably prefer it if it was just the two of us but I need you there…I’m not sure how he’s going to react.”

“B, you do what you need to. This isn’t a time where you should be even considering other people’s feelings. If you want me there then there I’ll be.” Sebastian extends his hand out to Blaine, “Come on then killer” and gives him an encouraging smile. 

They find everyone else out on the deck sunbathing and Blaine tightens his hold on Sebastian’s hand before moving towards his brother, “Hey Coop do you want to come for a walk with us?” Blaine asks a little nervously.

Cooper’s eyes immediately open and he sits up, smiling tightly, “Sure thing squirt.” Cooper puts his polo back on and slips on his flip flops. As they start walking Blaine looks back to Wes who gives him a reassuring smile. They walk in silence to the other side of the lake, stopping to sit on a bench up a slight mound overlooking the water. Sebastian sits next to Blaine with a hand comfortingly pressing on his lower back.

“Can I start by saying I’m sorry?” Cooper asks his brother

“It depends what you’re apologising for” 

“Too many things” Cooper just shakes his head at himself

“It was the disgust on your face when you were looking at them that hurt the most”

“I wasn’t disgusted by your scars Blaine”

“Then what was it?” Blaine fixes his eyes on his brother, hurt obvious in them

“Honestly, I was disgusted at myself. It hit home how much I let you down at that time. I knew you’d been hurt, I saw the casts, but I guess I never took it all that seriously. I was an asshole to you when I came home to visit. So I’m sorry.”

“What did mum and dad tell you?”

“That it was nothing to worry about” Sebastian presses his hand more firmly into Blaine’s back when his breathing hitches at Cooper’s admission. “I’m not going to push you to tell me baby brother but I want you to know I’m here if you want to.” At that Blaine leans forward and gives his brother a hug, it really means so much to him knowing Cooper wouldn’t push him. Cooper‘s quick to reciprocate, pulling Blaine into a bone crushing hug, his arms wrapping around his shoulders.

Blaine tries to pull back but is stopped, “Err Coop can you let go now?”

Cooper smiles shyly and reluctantly lets go, “Sorry”

“It means a lot that you don’t want to push but my annoyingly smart boyfriend might have pointed out that by people knowing I’m already not being haunted by it as much.” 

Blaine knows Sebastian is smirking right now even though he can’t see him. “So I think we should talk about it. But just because you know doesn’t mean I want to talk about it again, if I feel like it, I will. And you have to understand that only Bas knows absolutely everything, Wes and Sam a lot of it then the others basically know a summary of what happened including injuries. And to be honest you’ll probably get something in between.”

“You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to” Cooper says earnestly 

Blaine looks back to Sebastian and reaches out for his hand, pulling him closer so his boyfriend is sat pressed up behind him with his arms wrapped round his waist. “You’ve got to let me just get through it Coop, you can ask me questions after I’ve finished but I might not answer them, but if you interrupt I don’t know if I’ll get through it.” Cooper just nods in confirmation and understanding and Blaine takes a deep breath. “Okay well you know how mum and dad feel about me being gay. In the summer before high school I decided to tell my friends, I guess I kind of didn’t want to feel like I was lying anymore and if I’m honest was probably hoping that I’d have someone to talk to about it.”

“Unfortunately they felt the same way as mum and dad so did everything they could to avoid me. When high school started I literally had no one, but then things got much worse when they outted me. There wasn’t a day that I didn’t get bullied. Nobody did anything apart from this one guy, Charlie. He was a junior and also out, but he was a similar build to Sam and without him the football team would never have won anything so they left him alone. So when Sadie Hawkins got organised I asked him to go with me as a friend. We actually had a great night dancing and laughing and everyone left us alone, I thought it was a turning point.”

Sebastian knew it was coming up to the difficult point so gives Blaine a squeeze to give him strength. In response Blaine wraps his arms over Sebastian’s and takes another deep breath. “Charlie’s dad was late picking us up, so we sat in the car park waiting. These six guys came over, three of them were seniors and the others were juniors. My ex-friends came with them but they ran when it all kicked off, but did nothing to get help. The six guys knocked Charlie out then dragged him to the side, they said he got hurt because of me and that I needed to be taught a lesson. One of them took out a bat and then it all started. I woke up in hospital four days later. I stayed there for another month. I’ve got a metal plate in my head where my skull was damaged, my arm needed pinning back together, my knee and ankle were shattered and I had five broken ribs. I thought I was going to die and…well a few times I nearly did. One of the nurses told me Charlie was released after a couple of days as he only had a moderate concussion and some superficial bruises, but I’ve never heard from him since…his family moved state.” By this point all three of them have tears streaming down their faces and Cooper lunges forward to hug his brother, also pulling Sebastian into the embrace.

Eventually Cooper pulls back and they all wipe their eyes. “I’m so sorry, I had no idea…how could I have been so blind to it all? I can’t believe mum and dad didn’t tell me.”

“They were ashamed…I think they wanted as few people to know as possible.”

“What happened to the guys who did it?”

“Nothing…there was no evidence. My injuries made my statement questionable and witnesses said they were inside the gym at the time, but then again they also said I was. Anyway mum and dad didn’t want to press charges…they said it was my fault because I went with another boy.” Cooper sees red and Blaine can’t remember a time he’d seen his brother look that angry before. Cooper takes his phone out and abruptly stands. “Cooper what are you doing?” Blaine asks panicked.

“What do you think I’m calling them…they had no fucking right” He snaps.

“Cooper no!”

When he turns, Cooper is stopped dead in his tracks at the look of fear in his brother’s eyes so quickly puts his phone away. “I’m sorry…I’m sorry…I won’t talk to them about it…I promise…I promise.” Cooper pulls his brother into another hug.

They sit together for a while longer just talking. Blaine also catches his brother up on the latest Kurt run in. Wes and Sam approach, making their presence known so as not to interrupt anything, “Yo dudes, Hunter’s done a grill if you’re hungry”

Blaine looks at his watch, “Wow I had no idea that was the time”

“Let’s get you some food killer…don’t look at me like that you’ve hardly eaten today.” Sebastian pulls his boyfriend up and wraps an arm round his waist as they head back to the house. Sam keeping close to Blaine’s rights side.

Wes approaches Cooper, “So how are you doing?”

“I’m shocked and angry at myself and our parents. I can’t believe the way they dealt with the whole thing and I also can’t believe how blind I was to it all. Was I seriously that self-centred? I should have noticed there was something more going on. I’m never going to make it up to him.”

“Be here for him now Cooper”

“Always…I also can’t believe what that rat of an ex said when Blaine first mentioned it to him.”

“Yes and now he’s realised how special Blaine really is he doesn’t want to let go. Just prove you’re not going anywhere Cooper and Blaine will let you in more, it just takes him time and given everything he’s been through, it’s not surprising.”

The two stop talking as they get close to the house so their conversation is not overheard and get some food. Cooper is relieved to see his brother sharing a lounger with Sebastian and laughing at whatever Sam’s saying to him. After they've eaten they all sit around talking. Hunter had put out beer and wine for everyone to help themselves. Blaine just finishes his second beer when Brittany comes up to him, “Have you got your red iPod narwhal?”

“Yeah it’s on the drawers in our room…you can go get it if you want it.” 

At that Brittany skips off and soon comes back with Blaine’s iPod and a set of portable speakers, she sets them up, cranking the volume up as she selects a playlist. ‘Mr Brightside’ starts and Brittany jumps over to Blaine and pulls him up, “You have to dance with me, it’s your song.”

“Well I’ve just lost him for the night” Sebastian laughs breathlessly as he watches the two of them with Santana, who came to join him.

“How did we get so lucky lurch? Like seriously we’re both assholes, how have we got them in our lives?”

Sebastian raises an eyebrow, “Does wine make you philosophical?” 

“Shut up”

Rachel, who’s sat next to Sam, is twitching in her seat, eager to dance, “If you want to dance Rach go join them.” Rachel shakes her head, a little embarrassed. “Well I’m going to so are you coming with?” At that the two of them go and join in; jumping up and down with Blaine and Brittany throughout the song. Taylor Swift ‘Shake it off’ comes on next and Jeff and Nick join the dancing group, messing around.

“Why aren’t you two love birds joining your better halves?” Hunter asks Santana and Sebastian.

“Well I can’t speak for Satan but I’m enjoying the view.”

“I’m with lurch on this one.”

When Blurred lines comes on next Sebastian stands up, “Excuse me Satan and gents, but I’m not going to sit this one out” he winks at them then goes to dance with Blaine, their hips periodically grinding against each other throughout the dance, alternating between dancing chest-to-chest or with Blaine’s ass pressed against Sebastian’s crotch. By the end of the song everyone is dancing. They all continue to dance through Uptown Funk and Living on a prayer, laughing at Blaine and Sam’s air guitaring. At the end Blaine gives Brittany a kiss on the cheek and whispers ‘thank you’ in her ear. They all settle back on the loungers, Blaine sharing the same one as Sebastian with Sam’s lounger pulled up tight next to it, effectively putting Blaine in the middle of the two boys. He and Sam each take an earbud of the headphones attached to his phone and start listening to the latest podfic in the Star Wars fanfiction series they’ve been listening to. 

Blaine isn’t even aware he’s starting to drift off until Sebastian nudges him gently, “You’re falling asleep killer; you should go up.”

“No I want to sleep here tonight. It’s so peaceful Bastian.” Blaine replies with his eyes still closed.

“I’m not moving either” Sam murmurs, also with his eyes closed.

“Stay with us Bas” Blaine quietly asks as he turns into his boyfriend’s body.

“Okay, but I’m going to get some blankets, you’re already snuggled in my hoodie and it’s not even cold yet.”

Brittany decides she also wants to stay out, so that means Santana does too so she helps Sebastian collect blankets. By the time they get back the other three are asleep so   
Sebastian carefully takes the headphones and Blaine’s phone from where it was placed between Blam and covers Sam with a blanket before spreading one over Blaine.

“Are you going to be okay out here?” Cooper asks Sebastian as he’s on his way to bed.

“Yeah we’ll be fine” Sebastian replies as he gets under the blanket with Blaine, who automatically turns into his body and cuddles onto him.

Cooper smiles down at them, “Yeah…you will”, then walks off.

“I’ll leave the patio heaters on Sebastian” Hunter tells him, helping Sebastian spread another blanket over Blaine and therefore the taller boy too, as he and everyone else head off to bed.

“Thanks. I don’t know why but he gets cold easily.”

“No worries, the forecast is clear so you should all be fine. I’ll see you in the morning.”

After the others have gone Sebastian rolls over so he’s chest to chest with his sleeping boyfriend and wraps him safely in his arms, placing a kiss on his forehead and whispers, “I love you so much killer and I’m so proud of you, I know today wasn’t easy for you, but you bounced back like always. You’re amazing B.” 

Sebastian kisses Blaine’s forehead again and is startled and a little embarrassed when he replies, “Not as amazing as you. I love you too Bastian, more than you could imagine.” Blaine’s says lowly, his voice heavy with sleep.

XXXXXXX  
They sleep peacefully underneath the stars and for once Blaine wakes up before his boyfriend so kisses him awake.

“Not fair doing that here killer” Sebastian tells him as he comes to

Blaine whispers into Sebastian’s ear, “It’s okay…you can ravish me in the shower after breakfast.”

“You’re going to be the death of me” Sebastian chuckles lowly

“Yeah but what a way to go” They are brought out of their moment when Sam snorts loudly, waking himself and the girls up. “Oh Sammy” Blaine laughs fondly at his friend.

Sam stretches then sits up a little, “I slept awesome…up for some broga this morning?” he grins.

Blaine smiles, “Absolutely…just let me put some different shorts on”

“Yeah I need to put some others on too. I’ll see you by the lake in 5, soldier” Sam salutes before jumping off.

“Do you want to join us Bastian?”

“Join you in what?” Thad asks as he and Hunter appear

“Broga” Blaine replies, “Sorry I need to go change” and excuses himself.

Sebastian decides to join so also goes upstairs to change into yoga appropriate shorts. On their way back down they bump into Sam, “I see you’re joining us too then dude”

“I am Sam I Am.”

“Cool the more the merrier” Sam enthuses and they go and get settled by the lake.

Sebastian soon gets into the flow of the session with the other two; his years of dance training giving him more than enough flexibility and coordination. They only do a 30 minute session but Sebastian can see why his boyfriend kept it up.

“Okay that’s more relaxing than I thought it would be…and also harder” he admits and Blaine and Sam both smile. Sam walks a little ahead of them to the house so Sebastian takes the opportunity to talk lowly into Blaine’s ear. “Though having to watch you go in to downward dog and not be able to do anything about it was torture.”

“Well then it will help teach you patience” Blaine smiles cheekily only to have his ass slapped in retort.

On the terrace there is a selection of breakfast foods so the boys help themselves and join the rest of the group.

“So plans for the day” Hunter starts, “I’m going to watch a couple of my friends in a polo match, which you can come to if you want, or you can hang around the house.”

“Can I come?” Blaine asks and Hunter nods

“Well not to be predictable but make that two for polo” Sebastian says

“Actually three” Wes adds

“Coop do you want to come?” Blaine asks his brother hopefully

“Nah polo isn’t really my thing you know?” Cooper replies completely clueless and Wes and Sebastian have to stop themselves from sighing with exasperation as neither miss the way Blaine’s real smile swaps for his ‘show smile’. They’re the only two who can spot it, Sam gets close and on occasion manages to but Blaine can still sometimes throw him off, but there’s no throwing Sebastian and Wes.

When Blaine, Hunter, Sebastian and Wes get to the polo they watch the opposition start warming up as one of Hunter’s friends approaches.

“Hi Hunter; it’s been too long! I see you’ve brought some company.”

“Yeah these are a few of the guys who are staying at the house with me and wanted to come and watch. Please meet, Sebastian, Blaine and Wes. Guys this is Roger. I take it Grant is getting the team sorted.”

At this point Blaine fazes out of the conversation as he watches the other team. “Yeah you could say that” Roger replies to Hunter, “Mitch is sick and we don’t have anyone to replace him so we’re going to have to forfeit…it’s so frustrating, they’re meant to be one of the best teams in the league so it would have been a good match.”

“Yeah they look really good.” Hunter comments and somehow Blaine picks up on it, even though he missed the rest of the conversation.

“They do but they’re not completely smooth between their number three and four. They’re leaving a big enough gap you could easily get the ball passed them. Particularly on their left…if you look it’s their weak spot. Their number one does look good though, but there is only so much he can do if the defence is loose.” Blaine comments and when nobody replies he turns to look at them all. 

“You play?” Roger asks

“Oh no…I mean…I used to but I haven’t for a couple of years” 

“What position?”

“Number three”

“Fancy a game?”

“Oh no really you don’t want me to, like I said I haven’t played for a while”

“Well I can safely say the guys would rather have you play with us than forfeit.” 

Blaine looks confused and Sebastian chuckles, “How long were you zoned out for this time killer? So are you going to do it?”

“I don’t know. I don’t have anything I’d need with me”

“We’ll have stuff that will fit you. Look you don’t have to, but why don’t you come and warm up with us and see how you feel? And if you do play then we’re not going to blame you if we lose, honestly, so how about it?”

Blaine thinks for a moment before looking at Sebastian and Wes who both give him encouraging looks then turns back to Roger, “Okay I’ll come and warm up with you.”

Roger smiles and claps Blaine on the back, “Excellent!” then pulls him off to get ready.

Hunter looks to Wes and Sebastian, “I didn’t know Blaine played polo”

“I only found out on holiday when his grandfather mentioned it.” Sebastian answers

Wes shrugs, “You know Blaine, he doesn’t offer that kind of information; it makes him feel like he’s boasting…But he was damned good.”

“You’ve seen him play before?” 

Wes nods, “Yeah it was after watching my dad play that he got the bug. He’s a natural horseman and it came to him like a duck to water. I don’t know if the others know though. As far as I’m aware he never mentioned it to them, I know I didn’t and he never really used to have other guys round at his place when he was at Dalton…and I know I don’t need to explain to you why.”

“You’re right…you don’t and he kept his trophies at the back of his closet so I doubt they know” At that they see Blaine appear decked out in polo gear and begin warming up. Although they can tell he’s a little rusty he soon gets back into it and it isn’t long before he is acting as a true number three again. When Blaine’s eyes met Sebastian’s he breaks out into a wide beaming smile making his boyfriend laugh. “Safe to say he’ll be playing.” Sebastian pulls out his phone and calls Thad, “Harwood I need you to bring me my camera.”

“Since you asked so nicely…no” Thad retorts

“Come on don’t be an ass, I don’t have time to drive to the house and back”

“Well you should have taken it with you then”

“When we left I didn’t think I’d want to take any pictures”

“So what’s changed?”

“Thad just bring me my camera”

“Not unless you give me a good reason to”

Sebastian sighs, “Fine, B’s playing. Hunter’s friends went down a player so Blaine’s filling in.”

“Blaine plays polo?”

“Yes, well he used to at least. So will you bring me my camera?”

“Yeah I’ll be there right away.”

“Thanks”

“No problem”

Thad arrives with everyone in tow with minutes to spare before the first Chukka and gives Sebastian his camera, who quickly goes about getting it set up with fast capture lenses.

“If possible I’m feeling like an even bigger ass…how did I not know my baby brother plays polo?” Cooper asks nobody in particular as the teams come out.

“I didn’t know either man if it helps” Sam tells him as they watch Blaine who’s obviously talking to his horse while scratching its neck.

“None of us knew Cooper” Jeff reassures him, “Well obviously apart from those two” he points at Wes and Sebastian.

“And actually I only found out because your Grandpa let it slip when we were in Italy.”

The first Chukka starts and the fast pace of the game immediately becomes apparent to anyone who hasn’t watched it before. Blaine looks comfortable but not confident how Wes remembers. By the end of the second Chukka Blaine’s team are two goals down. As they make their way back onto the field one of the opposition says something to Blaine and his face changes from looking a little disheartened and frustrated to slightly angry.

“What did that asshole say to him” Sebastian mutters to himself. The same team member then starts to play aggressively but not against the rules, targeting Blaine. Unfortunately for the opposition this snaps something inside Blaine’s head and all of a sudden Wes sees him transform into the trophy winning player he used to watch. By the end of the third Chukka Blaine’s team have equalised in a big part thanks to him. As the match progresses Blaine becomes more and more confident and he starts communicating much more with the other players on his side, ordering them about and controlling the match. By the end of the fifth Chukka his team are 6-2 up and all his friends and his brother are cheering, though Blaine is completely unaware, too focussed to have noticed their arrival or Sebastian taking action shots of him.

The opposition crank up the pace, taking bigger risks and a more aggressive style of play. However this does nothing to perturb Blaine or the rest of his team who all use their riding skills to dodge out the way. At one point there is a scuffle for the ball and Blaine pushes his horse, who’s particularly nimble and swift, through the closing gap to steal the ball and passes it to Roger, the team’s number one. The match ends 8-2 to Blaine’s team and he goes to untack and help with the ponies.

“You were great out there Blaine!” Roger enthuses

“You could tell you were slightly shaky in warm-up and a little in the first two Chukkas, but I would never have guessed you hadn’t played for two years. You had a brilliant game.” Grant adds and Tony agrees.

Blaine blushes, “Thanks but you know as well as I do the ponies play the biggest part. You’ve got some amazing horses there.”

“Don’t sell yourself short”

Blaine smiles shyly, “I better get changed” 

“No need, the showers have almost zero pressure and there’s no point you changing into clean clothes without one. Just give us back the hat and boots. Keep the rest, but be sure to bring them with you whenever you visit.” Roger tells him firmly and is backed up by the other two so Blaine doesn’t argue and heads out with the guys.

Sebastian scoops Blaine up as soon as he appears from the players’ area and gives him a kiss, “You were amazing killer. It got me hot as hell watching you out there.”

Blaine’s eyes sparkle mischievously as he leans to whisper into Sebastian’s ear, “Then how about we head out to the lake tonight?”

Sebastian pulls back to look into the golden hazel eyes he loves so much, “Yeah?”

Blaine nods in reply, smile fixed to his face as he gives his boyfriend another kiss. When he pulls back he notices the bag round Sebastian’s shoulder, “Hang on Bas; you didn’t bring your camera with you”.

Sebastian scratches his neck a little nervously, “No I didn’t…when I saw the smile on your face during the warm up I knew you were going to play so I called Thad to bring it out.   
There should be some great shots even if I do say so myself…but you should know you’ve got a little fan group now, including your brother and he feels like an ass for his comment earlier.”

“So he’ll be even more over the top than normal and for Cooper and that says a lot.”

Sebastian smiles, “By the way your ass looks fantastic in those, please tell me you get to keep them.”

Blaine smirks, “Actually I do”

“Good” Sebastian gives Blaine’s temple a kiss before taking his hand and walking back towards the rest of the group.

“Maybe polo is my sort of thing” Cooper enthuses as he grabs his brother into a hug, “I know absolutely nothing about it but you looked great out there.” Blaine laughs as his brother lets go and the others are quick to give their congratulations.

“You’re just full of surprises aren’t you Frodo? You’re like the gift that keeps on giving…first the cheerleading nationals and now this.” Santana teases, smiling softly and gives   
him a hug, making him blush.

They hang around the club for a while giving Hunter a chance to catch up with his friends before heading back to the house. Once again they lounge around outside, swimming, sunbathing, generally just relaxing and talking as they know they don’t have long until they have to hit the ground running with college and work again.

“So what am I missing with the cheerleading nationals?” Cooper asks as they’re all sunbathing by the lake, Blaine resting his head on Sebastian’s abdomen while the taller runs his hands through his curls.

“To be asking, you clearly haven’t watched their performance” Santana smirks

“It’s no big deal” Blaine tries, but nobody lets him back out of it.

“I think I’d like to see it too” Hunter adds, curious of Blaine’s skills and passes his tablet to Santana for her to pull up the video still on the National Cheerleading Competition’s website.

By the time they’ve finished watching the footage Cooper and Hunter are both stunned and Blaine is blushing profusely, hiding his face in Sebastian’s chest.

“Don’t hide Blaine Warbler you were amazing! I just wish I got to perform with you.” Brittany tells him as she hugs him from behind.

“Yeah not bad for a cheerleader” Hunter teases 

“And what’s that supposed to mean?” Santana challenges

“Hunter was a junior national champion gymnast” Blaine cuts in, preventing a situation from erupting, knowing how defensive Santana would get.

“For that, I’ll let you off” Santana glowers at him

“Seriously squirt it’s like you’re made of rubber! And who knew you were so strong?” Cooper beams

“Don’t call me that” Blaine replies automatically, “And actually, they all knew” he smiles and everyone nods in confirmation.

Later that evening Blaine keeps his word and he and Sebastian sneak outside when they know the coast is clear and walk around to the more secluded side of the lake, the furthest away from the house. The water is still relatively warm from being heated by the sun all day when they slip in and Sebastian is quick to pull Blaine flush against him.  
Sebastian can stand with the water coming up to his shoulders so once again Blaine wraps his legs around his boyfriend’s waist and they kiss, passionately, full of fire and love. Sebastian crowds Blaine up against the bank and the cold grass on his back makes him jump, changing his position slightly, pressing his ass against the tip of Sebastian’s hard cock. They both moan into the other’s mouth and the kiss becomes more frenzied as hands begin to roam. Sebastian starts attacking Blaine’s neck with his mouth, hitting all the sensitive spots.

“Bastian” Blaine moans as he lulls his head to the side to grant his boyfriend better access. “I need you” Sebastian smirks against Blaine’s shoulder before biting it and wrapping his hand with his long piano fingers around both their lengths and starts stroking purposefully. “Fuck me”

Sebastian keeps the rhythm going while he looks at his boyfriend, “Are you sure?” and Blaine nods in response. Sebastian releases their cocks and presses two fingers against Blaine’s hole to discover it’s already supple and relaxed.

“Stretched myself for you” Blaine manages to say breathlessly as Sebastian presses two fingers in.

“Fuck Blaine” Sebastian growls, removing his fingers and pushing his cock in faster than he would normally causing both of them to moan. Blaine uses the leverage his position gives him to meet his boyfriend’s hard and fast thrusts even at the relenting pace he’s set. It doesn’t take long for them to both spill over, the star lit setting and being outdoors heightening their senses. When they get their breath back they climb out of the pool and use the towel Blaine brought out to roughly dry themselves before pulling on their sweats and t-shirts. They kiss standing by the lake, still full of passion and love but much slower, intense but in a different way.

Silently they sneak back into the house, stealing kisses all the way to their bedroom, eventually falling asleep as a tangle of naked limbs, bodies pressed firmly together with Blaine’s head tucked under Sebastian’s chin. Sebastian wakes up first and can’t help the grin that comes to his face as he recalls the night before and takes in his boyfriend’s naked form. The light streaming through the gap in the curtains is highlighting Blaine’s face, his features looking so at peace with his lips slightly parted, his curls seeming to glow with the light. Sebastian carefully gets out of bed and reaches for his camera. Blaine is lying on his front, his back completely bare, with the white comforter scrunched up along the length of his body, arms stretch above his head, hidden under the pillows and his face turned towards his boyfriend.

Sebastian thinks back to their conversations about photographs and starts taking shots, some in colour, and others in black and white from all different angles. When he’s satisfied he links his camera up to his laptop and starts transferring the files. Blaine starts to come to, feeling a little chilly and notices his boyfriend sat on the other side of the room. “Bastian” Blaine croaks out, his voice still crackly with sleep.

Sebastian smiles softly and looks over to his boyfriend, “Morning gorgeous, sleep well?”

Blaine hums in confirmation, “But you could have covered me though”

Sebastian laughs softly, “And why would I start covering your ass killer?”

Blaine smiles, “True” before sitting up, pulling the covers over him, “What are you doing?”

“Going through pictures I took yesterday…and this morning”

Blaine frowns, “But you don’t look like you’ve been out”

“I haven’t” Sebastian takes his laptop over to the bed and sits down next to Blaine, showing him the images he’d taken not even an hour earlier.

“Oh”

“You okay? You said I should take pictures when I wanted to as long as you get to see them too.”

“I did…you’re very talented Bas, their actually really good and very tasteful.”

“Don’t sound so surprised killer” Sebastian grumbles

“No I didn’t mean it like that…I know you’re an amazing photographer, I’m just surprised they’re of me and look like that.”

“But why? You’re stunning…you’re the most beautiful person I’ve seen as well as being super-hot” Sebastian says earnestly while nipping at Blaine’s ear.

Blaine blushes, “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to you seeing me that way”

“Well if it means I’ll always be able to make you blush then I can live with it” Sebastian kisses Blaine’s jaw.

“I think that’s a given…Have you got a favourite picture?”

“I have a few” Sebastian then goes on to show him a facial close up, one of him from the waist up and one showing the whole length of his body from the side, a perfect silhouette. “And these are my favourites from yesterday” Sebastian opens a folder where he’s sorted the polo shots and shows Blaine his top picks. One of them is a perfect action shot. Blaine and his pony front on to the camera with Blaine leaning over in his saddle to get extra reach, the mallet lining up perfectly with the ball it’s about to make contact with; pure concentration on his face and determination on his horse’s as two opposition members approach from either side.

“I think I’d like a print of that one” Blaine comments pointing at the picture.

“As if you have a choice…that one is going on the sideboard in the living room…and the others are going safely on my hard drive when I get home…I have to ask…are there any you’d like me to delete.”

“Honestly…no…they’re beautiful pictures Bastian…I think I’ll even let you put the face and waist up shots on your phone if you want?”

Sebastian’s eyes widen in shock, “Seriously?”

Blaine chuckles, “Yeah, you can’t see anything, if anyone sees them for all they know I had boxers on…only you’ll know better, but the full body shots need storing safely on your external hard drive and locking away. They’re for your eyes and knowledge only.”

“As if I’d want anyone else to look at them…you’re all mine killer” Sebastian lifts his laptop off the bed and covers his boyfriend’s body with his own. Blaine automatically wraps his arms around Sebastian’s shoulders and his legs around his waist as they start kissing. It doesn’t take long for Sebastian’s hands to wonder passed the comforter covering Blaine from the waist down and he starts teasing his boyfriend. Long piano fingers circle round Blaine’s length and up and down the inside of his thighs before cupping his balls and trailing down his crack. As Sebastian presses against Blaine’s hole, his boyfriend winces slightly causing Sebastian to move his hand rapidly away and pull back enough to look at his boyfriend with concern full in his eyes. “Killer?”

Blaine smiles shyly, “Just a little sore” when Sebastian frowns he is quick to reassure him, “It was so worth it though”. Blaine leans up to kiss Sebastian again.

“Hmmm” Sebastian hums, not completely convinced

“You only did what I wanted Bastian…and I know you love the idea that I can still feel it.”

“I know…and you’re right, I do” Sebastian wiggles his eyebrows, “But I also know it must be pretty bad for you to wince as soon as I touch you there.”

“It’s not all that bad…but it does mean I’m just going to have to fuck you now” Blaine says seriously.

Sebastian raises his eyebrows in amusement, “Oh does it really”

Blaine schools a serious expression on his face, “It does” and rolls them over so he’s on top. He works his way painfully slowly down Sebastian’s body, covering every inch in kisses, nips and licks, sucking here and there before finally getting down to his boyfriend’s achingly hard cock and releasing it from his boxers. 

Blaine licks up Sebastian’s length and teases his head without taking him fully into his mouth until his boyfriend can’t take it anymore. “Come on killer…stop being such a fucking tease”. Blaine smirks then finds the lube, coating his fingers as he finally sucks on Sebastian’s cock, taking the whole length until the tip hits the back of his throat as he begins to stretch his boyfriend. “Fuck B!” Sebastian throws his head back as Blaine continues to work, mouth and fingers perfectly in sink causing a sensory overdrive. Sebastian can feel warm pooling in his lower stomach, the feeling unmistakable. “Shit B…I’m going to…” Blaine hums around his cock and that’s all it takes for Sebastian to spill over.

Blaine slicks up his cock as he swallows every last drop his boyfriend shoots into the back of his mouth. When Sebastian’s fully spent Blaine removes his four fingers and pushes in steadily until he’s balls deep and throws his head back with a moan. He leans down to kiss his boyfriend fervidly to give him time to adjust before hooking Sebastian’s legs over his shoulders and thrusting hard, almost removing his entire length with each one. The pace quickens as Blaine begins to chase his own orgasm; he grabs hold of Sebastian’s hips and tilts them up so he’s brushing his prostate with every stroke, making his boyfriend moan beneath him, his cock hard again leaking with pre-come. Blaine’s thrusting starts to become frantic and he’s soon chanting his boyfriend’s name. Sebastian feels dizzy, his prostate being abused is making dots appear in front of his eyes, but still he keeps his gaze fixed on Blaine. He loves how Blaine looks when he gets like this; almost animalistic. When he first met the shorter he’d never have thought he had it in him underneath the bowtie and blush. The thought’s enough to drive him over the edge, untouched and the clenching of his muscles sends Blaine over; his body going ridged and shuddering with the force of his orgasm.

When Blaine’s worked through his orgasm he unhooks Sebastian’s legs and collapses on top of him; peppering his neck with gentle kisses as he gets his breathing back under control.

“Jesus killer that was…”

“Spectacular” Blaine offers

Sebastian laughs breathily, “Yeah…spectacular” and leans to kiss Blaine’s temple. There’s a gentle knock at their door, “Pretend to be asleep B” Sebastian whispers so Blaine does; flopping his head to the side a little, eyes gently closed and lips slightly parted as Sebastian pulls the comforter over them, covering their naked forms and his discarded boxers. 

“Who is it?” he asks softly so as not to disturb his ‘sleeping’ boyfriend cuddled to his chest.

“Just me” Sam calls through before he opens the door slowly, “We’ve cooked breakfast if you want some…I knew you weren’t down yet because he’s still asleep” Sam grins, “Thad totally owes me ten bucks…he thought you’d be…erm well…you know.”

“Well as you can see I’m trapped…Let me wake him up…we’ll be down soon.”

“Cool I’ll make sure some’s kept back for you”

“Thanks” Sebastian replies as Sam closes the door, “Apparently it’s time for you to wake up killer” he smirks and Blaine grins

“I’m not sure I want to…it’s pretty comfortable just here”

“That’s because you’re still buried inside of me”

“I’m not denying it” Blaine smirks before giving Sebastian a kiss and slowly pulling out; “Do you think we have time to shower?”

“As long as we don’t get too distracted” Blaine raises an eyebrow and Sebastian laughs, “I know…this is us. Well you better get a move on then killer” Sebastian launches at his boyfriend but Blaine dodges him, running into the en suite, turning on the shower and quickly stepping in. They make do with kisses and touches, washing each other and massaging fingers rinsing shampoo out of hair. They both get dressed before heading down stairs to join everyone else in the kitchen. 

“Oh look sleeping beauty rises” Cooper teases

“Shut up” Blaine grumbles 

“Sorry you lost your bet Thad” Sebastian smirks

“Yeah yeah…I’ve already paid up” Thad playfully rolls his eyes while Sam punches into the air in celebration.

After breakfast they all get sorted to drive back to New York, dropping Cooper at the airport on their way, ready for the start of school the next week; Jeff and Blaine being the first to have their inductions at NYU on the Monday and the rest of the guys having induction at Columbia on the Wednesday. Sebastian and Blaine make the most of their last few days of freedom lazing around together, going for walks and exploring their neighbourhood; discovering what quickly becomes their favourite coffee shop. The only time they see the others is to go on a group outing to the zoo.

Blaine and Brittany are once again bouncing from enclosure to enclosure gushing about all the animals and jumping in excitement each time they see a new one. Blaine as always reads the information signs as they soak up the atmosphere and view the animals. At one point the two run off together and come back with novelty sun glasses with large frames. Brittany’s fashioned as a butterfly and Blaine’s the profile of two lions. “I’m not being seen with you in those” Sebastian tells Blaine seriously.  
“Fine by me…who says I want to be seen with you anyway” Blaine quips back teasingly before skipping off to the next enclosure hand in hand with Brittany. By the time the others find the two again they’re sat on a bench opposite the penguin enclosure each with a balloon and ice cream, talking animatedly about everything they’ve seen that day with sunglasses still firmly on.

“Seriously how did you take them to the zoo on your own trouty?” Santana asks as they all look on, Blaine and Brittany completely unaware they’re being watched.

“I have no idea…I told you Stacey and Stevie are easier to take”

“What is it about the zoo anyway?” Hunter asks

“There’s no explicit reasoning behind why they act how they do, but we’ve come to the conclusion it’s because they see the world in a different way to the rest of us.” Sebastian answers

“Basically they choose to see the good and wonder in everything, making the animals even more breath-taking to them” Jeff expands

“And Blaine’s practically always hyper so it makes it seem worse and it doesn’t take much for Britt to be in the same state. They bounce off each other…like actually bounce off each other” Sam adds

During their conversation they all got distracted and took their eyes off the duo who had now disappeared from the bench and were nowhere in sight. They all decide to sit down for a while and each get an ice cream. They’ve just finished them when they see Blaine and Brittany in the penguin enclosure with a zoo keeper helping to feed the birds, when they look closer it becomes apparent that before the two somehow managed to get a last minute experience they’d gotten their faces painted to match their sunglasses. 

When Blaine and Brittany catch them watching they both beam and wave before finishing feeding the penguins and exiting the enclosure, going to re-join their friends, “You are ridiculous” Sebastian chuckles as his boyfriend greets him with a hug.

“But you love me anyway” Blaine grins

“Hmmm maybe I do” Sebastian frowns mock judgingly, “Are you two ready to go now?”

“We are” Brittany replies, “I still can’t believe we got to feed the penguins!”

“How did you two swing that with no notice?” Thad asks

“Timing…we heard them talking about a no show as we were walking passed so asked if we could do it.” Blaine explains

“And they let us” Brittany grins, “We even got to feed our favourites!”

“How do you know?” Nick questions

“Err because they’re all different” Blaine says with his voice loaded with ‘duh’

Brittany frowns, “I thought you birds were meant to be clever”

Everyone laughs, “Well that told you” Santana says through laughter, but Brittany and Blaine truly did notice the differences between all the birds from the slight differences in their markings to their personalities. 

“When are you and Rachel moving in with Brittany?” Artie asks Santana

“Well we’re dropping the bomb on him Thursday night actually at dinner…Rachel still wants to salvage their friendship but knows that won’t happen while she’s living with him, but to be honest…I don’t really care. I’m not going to sit back and listen to him badmouth Blaine and everyone else.”

Artie frowns, “But I thought he still wanted back with Blaine”

“Oh he does but that doesn’t stop him bitching. Seriously I’ve never heard such a warped version of a person, but it just shows that he never really knew who Blaine was and how much he forced his own opinions on him.”

“That’s one thing…Blaine’s better and quicker at standing up for himself now instead of just pleasing everyone all the time and I’ve got to say that’s thanks to Sebastian.”  
When they get back to their respective apartments Brittany and Blaine both shower then quickly fall to sleep, exhausted but completely happy from their day.


	58. First days of college

Monday morning comes round far too quickly for Blaine when he wakes up to the sound of his alarm. He turns it off before really coming to and realising that Sebastian is no longer in bed with him even though he didn’t have any reason to be up. Just as Blaine’s about the get up Sebastian comes through the door carrying a tray of breakfast.

“Damn it, I wanted to be back before you woke up” Sebastian half smiles

Blaine smiles sleepily, “Have you made me breakfast in bed Bas?” his voice still groggy

“No, this is mine actually, if you want something you better get your ass moving,” Sebastian smirks before rolling his eyes playfully, “Of course I did. It’s your first day of college killer.”

Blaine sits up so Sebastian can place the tray on his lap, “This looks amazing Bas, I take it some of this is for you”

“It is, I’m not going to let you have it all” Sebastian winks as they both start eating, “Now is Jeff still meeting you here before you head off together.”

“Yeah…he said he’d message me as he leaves theirs so I can meet him outside.”

“That makes sense”

They both finish their breakfast before jumping in the shower together, though are sure not to get carried away.

After getting dressed Blaine starts going through his bag he’d packed last night while Sebastian sits on their bed watching him, “B calm down, we both went through your bag last night and you have everything you need.”

Blaine looks up and smiles shyly, blush kissing his cheeks, “Sorry”

Sebastian chuckles and stands up, wrapping Blaine in his arms, “There’s no need to be sorry but you don’t need to be nervous. You’ve got Jeff with you today and you make friends wherever you go, Mr Social Butterfly.”

“It’s just…”

“I know killer…new crowds, new people but I know you’re going to be fine…you know I have a proven method to help you relax.” Sebastian wiggles his eyebrows but Blaine’s phone goes off with a message from Jeff. “Ah…rain check till later then killer. Think of it as an incentive for being a good boy for your first day.” Sebastian winks as he grabs Blaine’s bag and takes his hand to walk him down.

“I thought you liked it when I was bad Bas” Blaine says innocently but the look in his eyes betrays him.

They walk into the elevator where Sebastian presses Blaine up against one of the walls and palms him through his jeans, “You’re getting it later, putting those thoughts in my head as you’re about to leave me.” Sebastian then leans down to kiss Blaine, only stopping when the elevator reaches the ground floor. They walk out in front of their building just as Jeff and Sam arrive.

“I told you he would be here killer” Sebastian nudges Blaine

“Who?” Sam frowns

“You”

“Huh of course I’d be here, not every day your best bro starts college at NYU” Sam pulls Blaine into a hug, making the shorter boy chuckle.

“I hate to put a dampener on your bromance moment guys but we need to get going” Jeff tells them.

Sebastian passes Blaine his bag and gives him a kiss, “I love you…you’re going to knock ‘em dead and if you need me, call.”

 

Blaine smiles then gives Sebastian another quick kiss, “I’ll see you later…and thanks Sam” With that Blaine and Jeff both head off to the subway together.

“So how nervous is he?” Sam asks Sebastian

“He’s doing fine”

“Good…Are you going to come round? We’re going to hang and have a movie and games tournament.”

“Yeah I’ll come over a bit later. I’ve got a few things I need to do first.”

“Cool…well I’ll see you later then man” Sam says before turning and heading back home.

Blaine and Jeff arrive at NYU with plenty of time and both queue up to collect their schedules and information packs. Jeff gets his first then joins Blaine just as he reaches the front of his line.

“Name?”

“Blaine Anderson”

The boy flips through and pulls out an envelope. “There’s a message here saying you’re to meet with the Dean to discuss your schedule.” He then calls over to a girl who’s on hand to help new students, “Suzy, can you take Blaine to the Dean, there’s a message here saying he has to go to her office to collect his schedule.”

“Sure come with me” She smiles

“Jeff?” Blaine looks back at his friend

“It’ll be fine. Message me when you’re out and I’ll come find you if I’m not in a session.”

Blaine nods then follows the girl, “So how weird is it for this to happen?” he asks her

“Honestly, I’ve not heard of it happening before but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing.” She then stops and talks to the Dean’s secretary. “I have Blaine Anderson to see Dr Green, he’s meant to collect his schedule here.”

“One moment please” she dials through to the Dean’s office, “They’re ready for you Mr Anderson if you’d like to make your way in.”

Blaine gulps, “Thank you…and thank you for showing me the way” he says to Suzy before taking a deep breath and clutching his bag strap tightly before going forward and knocking on the door before opening it.

“Ah Mr Anderson it’s nice to meet you I’m Dr Green, Dean of Tisch…and this is Dr Sarah Turner, Dr Michael Smith and Professor Julia White. They lead the theatre studies; musicology and languages programs respectively…please do come and take a seat.”

Blaine smiles nervously before going over to them to shake all their hands, “It’s a pleasure to meet you all” he says politely before taking the seat Dr Green had gestured to.

“Now you’re probably wondering why I wanted you to collect your schedule here” Dr Green smiles politely at him.

“You could say that, I hope there’s nothing wrong” Blaine looks to all of them

She smiles kindly at him, “Not at all…but we do have a proposition for you and that will impact which schedule you choose.”

“Sorry I’m a little confused…why do I get to choose” Blaine furrows his brow

“Well we know you’ve elected to major in musicology and languages, but you also elected to pick up some theatre classes too.” Blaine nods.

Sarah picks up, “Hi, you can call me Sarah…it makes me feel far too old to be called Dr Turner” she jokes, immediately putting Blaine at ease.

“Please call me Blaine” he smiles to all of them.

“Well Blaine, you may not be aware but the theatre studies program recently underwent an external assessment as has been rated on the same par as Michigan’s program.”   
Blaine nods, “I actually read about that, you must all be so proud that’s a great achievement and what better place for such a programme” he says sincerely endearing all the staff to him a little more.

“I take it you’re also aware we have a rigorous audition process and a small uptake each year then.” Blaine nods in confirmation. “You can imagine my shock then when I received my class lists and some of them included a Mr Blaine Anderson who didn’t even audition to minor in the program.”

“Oh I’m sorry” Blaine apologises

“No Blaine, you’ve got nothing to be sorry for. When I called Dr Green to confirm there hadn’t been an error she was quick to assure me that you were to be on the classes you’d chosen, which was then backed up by Dr Smith who were both there for your musicology audition.”

“Please call me Michael” Dr Smith tells Blaine

“I’m sorry but I’m still a little lost” Blaine says honestly

“Well the four of us then had a meeting” Dr Green explains, “Where we reviewed the recording of your audition for Sarah and Julia to see, but then we also went on to find other performances of yours.” Blaine’s eyes go wide with shock and a little fear. “Relax Blaine. We were all very impressed with your range and obvious will to take on different styles head first, but what most caught our attention were your performances in West Side Story and Grease. To be honest, you were better than many of our students by the end of their freshman year and none of them lack talent. So, we all decided we wanted to talk to you about your study choices.”

“Hi Blaine, if you couldn’t already tell we’re quite relaxed round here so please call me Julia. While I would love for you to major on the languages program do you honestly think it has the most value for you? I mean you’re already fluent in Italian, Tagalog and competent in French and can speak some German, Spanish and a little Japanese. Plus after seeing your audition and previous performances I can’t help but wonder why you aren’t majoring in theatre.”

“I guess I’d do all three if I could, but I know that’s not a choice” Blaine replies.

“No, three majors just isn’t possible, so why languages?” Blaine looks obviously very anxious. “Don’t worry no matter what your answer you will have your places Blaine, we aren’t here to stop you from coming to NYU, much the opposite” Dr Green explains, “We just want to best course fit for you.”

Blaine takes a deep breath and nods, “I love languages. I really do. But I also love music and the dramatic arts.” He thinks for a moment before continuing, “If I’m being completely honest, I guess I didn’t apply for theatre because I knew I wouldn’t get in, but when I read about the free classes I could take I thought I could put down theatre classes, which I was super excited about…I’m sorry if I misunderstood.”

The staff members all look at each other and nod before Dr Green speaks again, “Now we have a proposition for you. Here is your current schedule. You can clearly see that you’re majoring in languages and musicology and the two theatre studies classes you’ve elected to take. And here is our proposed schedule for you. This is the schedule you would have if you major in musicology and theatre and minor in languages.”

Blaine’s head snaps up from where he’d been looking at the two schedules, “Is that possible? Would I have to defer to start next year to audition for the program?”

Sarah smiles and shakes her head, “No. We’re inviting you to major in theatre here at NYU, starting this year. We’ve seen all we need to from your audition and previous performances. You’re genuinely very talented Blaine and we’d love to have you on the program, and from what I’ve seen and from what you’ve said, you’d very much like to be on the program too. There is one condition to this though. Now that I know the only reason you didn’t audition was because you didn’t believe you’re good enough…I’ll want us to have meetings every couple of weeks to work on your confidence and to see how things are going.” Blaine nods in understanding.

“And you have to be aware that your work load will be high.” Dr Green adds

“I suggest you take Italian for your language. The classes will still push you to improve your skills but due to high class load it wouldn’t be wise to pick up a new language.” Julia tells him.

“But ultimately you get to choose which schedule and which path you want to follow Blaine” Michael adds, “And we hate to push but we’re going to need an answer today so we can complete the necessary paperwork ahead of the programs officially beginning next Monday. We’ll all go and get a coffee to give you chance to think everything over.” 

“If you have any questions or would like us to come back before we return, let Sandra, my secretary, know and she will get hold of us” Dr Green says before she and the other three staff members leave Blaine sat in the room on his own, completely stunned and a little confused.

It takes Blaine a few moments to realise that he is in fact awake, and that this definitely is happening so he takes a few deep breaths and pulls his pad of paper and a pen out, ready to make lists of pros and cons if needs be. The truth is though, when he looks over both schedules he knows which one he wants to do. Although he’d be happy with either, the proposed schedule excites him so much more and he knows he won’t get this opportunity again. The theatre program at NYU was one of the best in the country. Blaine had heard about the fierce rivalry between NYU and NYADA students, and he also knew that although NYU wasn’t an exclusive dramatic arts school, its reputation and results were bettering NYADA’s. Plus he preferred the mix of students at NYU that didn’t exist at NYADA.

Blaine played with his phone for a while debating whether to call Sebastian or Wes, but he also knew he had to make this decision on his own, though his heart and mind were already made up if he was honest. When the staff members return Blaine’s completely in his own little world scrawling in his pad of paper and humming, completely unaware of his surroundings.

Dr Green clears her throat after they approach and Blaine remains in his zone, making him jump, he immediately starts to apologise and collecting his papers that he’d spread out across the desk, “I’m so sorry, I didn’t realise I’d made such a mess.” 

A couple of sheets flutter to the ground and Michael picks them up and looks them over, noticing that some of the pieces are scores that Blaine’s starting to write on “Were you writing?” 

“Erm…not really” 

“Are you sure because it looks like you were…May I see?” Blaine nods after a moment and hands over his stack of papers. “How long have you been writing for? That’s an interesting bridge you have there.” Michael then passes the paper to Dr Green and Sarah to look at.

“Oh well a few years…music became my outlet to deal with some issues…it helps me get my thoughts together and think more clearly.”

“So you write about your life?”

“I guess…feelings rather than events though…I know they need work” Blaine smiles shyly.

“But it’s a good start. Song writing and composing is something that comes naturally to some but is very challenging to others so you have a firm platform.” Michael reassures   
him.

“Can we take this to mean you’ve made a decision?” Dr Green asks

Blaine nods and takes a deep breath, “I have. I’d really like to take you up on your proposal and major in musicology and theatre and minor in languages. I’d also like to thank you so much, I know you didn’t have to do this and I know I’ve messed you around so just thank you.”

“Not at all…we aim to be the best and we’re only going to be it if we have the best.” Dr Green then pulls out a large envelope from her drawer containing Blaine’s information pack and new schedule, “Welcome to NYU Mr Anderson.”

Blaine smiles and shakes all their hands.

Meanwhile, as all of this has been going on Santana and Hunter have gone round to the Seblaine apartment to tell Sebastian about their findings.

“So I take it you’ve got some news for me” Sebastian questions as they get comfortable in the living room after getting coffee.

“You could say that, but before we tell you I have one question.” Santana tells him

“Go on”

“What are you going to tell Blaine?”

“Well that depends what you have to tell me”

“But you are going to tell him something”

“I am”

“Good because if you-”

Sebastian cuts her off, “I know if I hurt him in anyway then you’ll pull my dick off with your nails, and keeping whatever this is from him would hurt him.”

“As long as we’ve got that clear” Santana sits back and Hunter laughs.

Hunter pulls out an envelope from his bag then spreads its contents out on the coffee table.

“What’s all this then Clarington?”

“Evidence, text message logs, pictures, it’s all here but before you go looking through it let us tell you about it.”

Sebastian nods and Santana takes over, “It seems Lady Hummel enjoys being a tease as a means to get what he wants. Take Chandler, when that whole affair started Chandler worked at the music shop and was giving Kurt whatever sheet music he wanted. Then when they came to the city Kurt struggled to find his place so he asked Chandler if he wanted to meet up.”

Hunter takes over, “When it became apparent Chandler wasn’t going to be a puppet for him and was getting some interest from other guys Kurt did what he could to make him commit.”

“So he slept with him” Sebastian fills in and the other two nod

“Kurt hooked up with Chandler a few times before going back to his prudish ways, you know the whole limited hand holding and only touching him to try and place a claim in front of other guys…I know you’ve seen it all before.”

Sebastian nods. “But this isn’t exclusive to Chandler” Hunter continues, “It seems the only intimacy he’s comfortable with is the faceless virtual type so sexting is how he keeps some guys around, but after a while they obviously want and expect more…so he does it a few times, then as Santana said goes back to being a prude…he clearly isn’t comfortable with intimacy or sex…not that I wasn’t to think of him in that way, but it’s true.” They all share a collective shudder at the fact they’re ultimately talking about Kurt Hummel’s sex life, but if it helps give insight into what’s going on then that’s what they’ll do.

“And they all have a purpose. Take this one” Santana leans over and picks up one of the sheets of text messages, “Adam is the head of the NYADA glee club and Kurt wants in so is 'getting to know him'…and from this picture that was taken at a party they went to together, you can see that’s exactly what he’s been doing. We don’t know exactly when they first hooked up but we know it’s happened.”

“So from what you two know where do you think this all fits in with what he did to B? Why was he the extreme version of all this bullshit?”

“Because Blaine’s America’s gay sweetheart; everyone falls in love with him so it opens many doors and I think Kurt always wanted to be there to walk through them with him.” Santana says

“Then if he put Blaine down enough the opportunities Blaine earned would be there for him to take.” Hunter adds

“Plus Blaine has a rather nice financial cushion and we all know Hummel aspires to the finer things in life...And the problem is that Blaine puts anyone he cares about above himself so he let it happen, which Kurt obviously took great advantage of…but I’m sure you didn’t need us to tell you this…I’m sure you’ve already got your own theories.” The Latina looks at Sebastian intently.

Sebastian nods, “I do and they match yours, I just wanted to see if you two thought the same…And that’s actually something Blaine’s been working on.”

“You should know something else though Sebastian and I know you’re not going to like it” Santana says seriously.

Sebastian takes a deep breath, “Just tell me Satan.”

“Despite all of this with all these other guys, it seems Blaine’s the only one Kurt is actually interested in, the only one he wants. He still has a box of things from when they were together and pictures of the two of them. I think he genuinely thinks there’s still a chance for him to get back with Blaine. It seems his delusional self was already planning their wedding before they even started dating.”

“And how do you know this?” Hunter asks, this information being new to him as well

“I may have gone through all of his things when I was alone in the loft…Sorry Sebastian I know it’s not what you want to hear.”

“No but it matches up with everything the others have ever said. It seems when Kurt went to Dalton he was completely fixated with Blaine…and that’s putting it mildly.”

Santana frowns and scoffs slightly, “Please he was fixated before he transferred for his stint at Dalton” Santana leans forward, “You’re taking this better than I thought you would.”

Sebastian shrugs, “Well it doesn’t make any difference. What gayface doesn’t seem to realise is that his actions have been pushing Blaine further and further away. You know as well as I do that he gave Kurt a chance to be friends again, but even he has a limit.”

“And Kurt trying to hurt you was it” Sebastian looks at her and tilts his head. “Don’t look at me like that Sebastian you know it’s true.”

“I’m with Santana on this one. I’ve seen and experienced Blaine protecting the ones he loves. And he loves you the most so his instincts are really going to take over…I have no doubt he’d fight till the end for you.” Hunter tells him.

“And I’d fight for him too”

“We know” Santana reassures him, “Just keep in mind that Lady Hummel won’t give up easily.”

“But we’re here if you need us” Hunter adds

“Sorry but I’ve got to get to work. If you have any questions you can message me or call me and I’ll get back when I can. Don’t worry I can show myself out.” Santana stands and leaves.

“So what are you really thinking Smythe?” Hunter asks when he hears to front door close

“That I knew he was a selfish deluded bitch, who was never good enough for B, but originally I underestimated him and I won’t do that again.”

“Good, because I don’t think trying to set you up is beyond him.” Sebastian furrows his brows, “Come on I know you’re not stupid Sebastian…think about it. If he can’t get Blaine while he’s with you, it would make sense for him to try and split you two up so he can come in and act like the knight in shining armour when Blaine’s vulnerable…classic divide and conquer”

Sebastian runs his hands through his hair, “You really had to go there didn’t you”

“Yeah but you know I’m right…even though I really hope it doesn’t come to that”

“I know…but he can try all he wants...It won’t work…what Hummel is forgetting is that I’ve had my fair share of guys so I know how amazing B really is, so why would I want anyone else.” Sebastian smirks

“I don’t think I needed to know that”

“And here I thought you joined BAAAS” Sebastian teases, “Seriously though thanks for looking into it for me.”

“No problem. What are you going to tell Blaine?”

“Everything”

“And how do you think he’s going to react to you getting this done…or about what we’ve found.”

“I’m not entirely sure...Fancy coming to the bachelor pad with me? Killing some zombies seems pretty appealing right now.”

“Sure why not” Hunter and Sebastian both head to the guys’ apartment and join in with the various gaming marathons going on.

Back at NYU, Jeff has finished his last session so checks his phone. There’s a message from Blaine, ‘I’m okay but going to be a while longer. Go home. I’ll fill you in tomorrow’. Jeff didn’t really want to leave but he also knew there would be no swaying Blaine and as he had no idea where he was hanging around would be pointless so he heads back home.  
Blaine meanwhile is still talking to Sarah and Michael, who also teaches on the theatre side of things. Those majoring in theatre had been assigned tasks and reading to complete over the summer so they’re catching Blaine up and telling him where he will still be able to buy copies of any books he won’t have purchased yet.

When Jeff returns home he finds all the guys bar Blaine and Artie, who’d also started college, in the throes of watching Thor, “Hey guys”

Sebastian looks up expecting to see Blaine with him, “Sterling where’s B” he demands

“Last I heard still at NYU”

“Then why aren’t you still there” 

“Because he told me to go home and I didn’t have a clue where he was so I could have been waiting in the wrong place forever.”

“What do you mean you don’t know where he is” Sebastian stands

“Look all I know is when we went to collect our information packs and schedules Blaine was taken to the Dean’s office and I haven’t seen him since. When I got out of my last session I had a message from him saying he’s okay and that I should go home. He is a big boy Sebastian…he can look after himself.” Jeff snaps a little 

Before Sebastian can retaliate his phone goes off with a message and when he looks it’s from Blaine, “You’re a lucky man Sterling” Sebastian warns Jeff with a look none of them have seen directed at one of them since junior year. Sebastian fires off a reply to Blaine then grabs his coat. “I’m going home to see my boyfriend and make sure he’s okay…I don’t want to hear from any of you.” He then leaves slamming the door.

Sam messages Blaine, who reassures him he is okay and will catch him up with everything tomorrow.

Sebastian races home and calls out for Blaine as soon as he’s through the front door, “Killer?”

“In the kitchen” 

Sebastian finds Blaine then quickly pulls him into a tight embrace, claiming his mouth in a passionate kiss. “What happened today?” Sebastian asks a little breathlessly after breaking the kiss.

Blaine notices his boyfriend trembling a little, “Bas I’m okay…Let me just put this in the oven then we can go and talk about it. Do you want some wine?”

Sebastian nods so Blaine pours them both a glass and puts the chicken in the oven before leading Sebastian through to the living room.

“Jeff said you were called to the Dean’s office”

“I was” Blaine answers as he tucks himself into Sebastian’s side, “Let me get my schedule, it will probably best explain things”

“Okay” Blaine leans over the arm of the sofa to where he’d placed his bag on the floor, so Sebastian takes the opportunity to slap his ass, but hits a little too hard, definitely harder than he meant to. 

“Ow! What was that for?!” Blaine exclaims as he turns around

“You worrying me and Jeff should never have left you. But I didn’t mean to hit you that hard, though do know I plan on thoroughly punishing you.”

“I’m sorry…I didn’t mean to worry you but Jeff had every right to leave, plus I told him to. I can look after myself Bas.” Blaine throws back.

“I know…I’m sorry…now show me your schedule then” Blaine hands it over and Sebastian examines it before looking back up to Blaine, “Care to explain killer, because from what I see you’re going to me majoring in music and theatre and minoring in languages.”

Blaine smiles shyly, “I was called to the Dean’s office where I met with the head of the musicology, theatre and languages programs. They gave me a choice of this schedule or what would have been my original one. It turns out after placing me on the two theatre classes I chose Sarah, the head of theatre, called a meeting to question the decision as I hadn’t been made to audition, which is not the norm, even for those only taking a couple of classes. They then did some digging and found previous performances including some from glee and both McKinley productions. Basically they invited me to join the theatre program as a major without having to formally audition. The language minor is only possible because I agreed to stick with Italian, so although I’ll still have to do the work and it will push me, my work load will be considerably lighter than trying to learn a new language…So what do you think?”

“I knew you weren’t sold on languages as your other major” Sebastian beams smugly 

Blaine laughs nervously and scratches the back of his neck, “Yeah I know you weren’t but I guess I needed this kick to make me see it. I never thought I’d get accepted. I could never have dreamt of being invited to join the program.”

“Why? You’re a true talent B”

Blaine shakes his head dismissively, “Okay put it this way, Rachel didn’t get into NYADA the first time she tried, so how the hell would I get onto a program that betters NYADA’s?”

“Rachel is incredibly talented I admit that, but so are you killer and you need to start believing it.”

“That’s the other thing…as a condition I have to meet with Sarah and Michael semi regularly to review my progress and work on my confidence.”

“Who’s Michael?”

“Oh he’s the head of the musicology program but does teach some theatre lessons, he was there with Dr Green my audition day.”

“Well to be honest I think it will do you good. There is one thing though B…stage combat? Have you warned them about your fencing background…it only seems fair” Sebastian teases.

Blaine rolls his eyes fondly, “You know you don’t actually fight on stage right? It is all choreographed.”

Sebastian pulls Blaine onto his lap, “I’m so proud of you and I definitely get to say I told you so now” he gives Blaine a kiss. “This schedule is crazy though.”

“Yeah I know. It’s going to be a lot of work, but at least I only have one night class so depending on your schedule we’ll still get to have evenings together, even if we are having to study.”

“So are you excited?”

“Extremely” Blaine beams

“Good.” The oven timer goes, “What have we got for dinner then killer?” 

“Chicken parmesan and salad, I hope that’s okay”

“No, cook me something else” Sebastian deadpans and Blaine playfully punches his arm before climbing off his lap to check on the food.

“It’s ready Bas” Blaine calls through. After they’ve eaten and have finished cleaning up together Sebastian throws Blaine over his shoulder, “Bas what are you doing?” Blaine exclaims through a giggle as his boyfriend starts walking towards their bedroom.

“Taking you for your punishment” Sebastian puts Blaine down in the centre of their bed and strips them both of their clothing before climbing on top and distracting Blaine with kisses so he can capture his wrists into their hand cuffs he’d attached to their headboard.

“Bas?” Blaine questions when he realises what’s happened. Sebastian doesn’t say anything but goes down to the foot of the bed and pulls Blaine’s left leg to the left corner and fixes it with another cuff and repeats the action with his right. “When and where did you get those ones?”

“That’s not important right now”, Sebastian tells Blaine then goes to his nightstand and gets out the lube and places it next to his boyfriend before pulling out a blindfold and straddling him.

“Bastian?” Blaine asks a little nervously

“Do you trust me killer?” Blaine nods without hesitation, “If you want me to stop at any time just tell me okay?” Blaine nods again so Sebastian puts the blindfold on him and kisses him before standing back up at the foot of the bed. “You should see how you look B…all spread out for me…mine for the taking.” Sebastian growls and walks round to the side of the bed and sucks a mark onto Blaine where his tattoo is before pulling back and getting a box out from underneath the bed.

Blaine is desperately listening, trying to figure out what Sebastian is doing, but it feels like his boyfriend has been gone for ages. “Bas are you still there?”

Sebastian quickly gets what he needs, “I’m still here killer. Don’t worry. I wouldn’t leave you like that.” He covers Blaine’s body with his own and starts kissing him before moving down his body slowly, sucking, kissing and licking as he goes. Sebastian then starts sucking Blaine’s cock slowly, enjoying the noises coming out of his boyfriend as he lubes up the toy he’d retrieved earlier and pushes it inside of his boyfriend. 

Blaine’s breath hitches, “Bas what’s that?”

“Something you’re going to enjoy B. Just relax” Sebastian climbs back up Blaine’s body and starts kissing him again. When he’s sufficiently satisfied Blaine’s forgotten about the toy he presses a button on the small remote he has firmly in his hand and Blaine immediately arches off the bed dramatically, moaning. Sebastian chuckles into Blaine’s neck “Told you you’d enjoy it” and lifts the blind fold up so he can see his boyfriend’s eyes. Sebastian then turns the vibrator off.

“Bastian” Blaine moans with frustration having been so close to the edge. 

“What kind of punishment would it be if I let you come right away killer?” Sebastian can’t help but take a moment to look at his wrecked boyfriend; a light coating of sweat making his skin shine, curls falling forward onto his forehead and his breathing a little ragged. Sebastian then places the blind fold over Blaine’s eyes again before preparing himself, periodically turning the vibrator on. When he’s ready he sinks onto Blaine, making him moan extremely loudly. “It’s a good think we don’t have neighbours B” Sebastian teases. 

Blaine can’t respond with anything but a moan as Sebastian starts to ride him and turns the vibrator on, increasing its intensity. It’s not long before Blaine’s coming hard, shouting Sebastian’s name throughout his orgasm as his boyfriend continues to ride him. “Bas, turn it off please…it’s too much” Blaine whimpers so Sebastian quickly turns off the vibrator, having forgotten about it momentarily.

“Sorry killer” Sebastian then kisses Blaine a little tenderly before shifting so he’s straddling Blaine’s shoulders, bumping his cock against his chin. Blaine automatically opens his mouth wide and opens the back of his throat to fully take his boyfriends large, hard cock. Sebastian pauses for a moment, his cock still down Blaine’s throat as he grabs his small digital camera from the nightstand and takes a picture in black and white of Blaine taking his cock in his mouth and slowly pulls out, taking more pictures. He places the camera down then starts thrusting into Blaine’s mouth.

When Blaine moans around his length Sebastian comes hard, painting the back of Blaine’s throat, but immediately cradles the back of his boyfriend’s head to make sure he doesn’t hurt him. When he’s fully spent and Blaine has swallowed every last drop Sebastian shifts so he can kiss his boyfriend, tasting himself on Blaine’s tongue. He then gently takes the blindfold off Blaine, “How are you doing there killer?”

Blaine smiles dopily, “That was something else. I had no idea what to expect but that…I can’t describe how that felt.”

Sebastian smiles as he starts to undo the sets of cuffs, “Come on then killer B…let’s have a bath” he says as he pulls Blaine up off the bed after taking the vibrator out.

When the bath is run Blaine sits back in between Sebastian’s legs and leans against his chest. “I love you” Blaine hums as he nuzzles his face into Sebastian’s neck causing the taller to chuckle slightly.

“I love you too killer…come on let’s get washed and back into bed.”

“I’m not going to argue.” Once they’re cuddled back on their bed Blaine can’t help but notice that his boyfriend is distracted. “What’s going on Bas? And don’t tell me it’s nothing.”

“We need to talk” Sebastian quickly continues when he feels Blaine tense up, “Not like that B, we’re good, we’re great in fact. But I’ve got to tell you something and I don’t know how you’re going to react.”

“Just tell me”

“Hunter and Santana looked into Hummel’s behaviour for me”

“Oh…so what did they find out?”

“So you’re not mad we did it?” Sebastian asks clearly surprised

Blaine thinks for a moment, “No… a little shocked maybe but I know you wouldn’t have done it without good reason and that Santana wouldn’t have helped if she didn’t think it was important.”

“That means a lot…thank you” Sebastian kisses the top of Blaine’s head, “I asked them after the last confrontation in the park because you were questioning what’s wrong with you as you were really confused by his behaviour. And to be honest I was curious as well.”

“That makes sense…so what did they find out” Sebastian then goes on to explain everything to Blaine, including what Santana found in Kurt’s bedroom area.

“That’s really creepy”

“Is that all you’ve got to say?”

Blaine shrugs his shoulders, “What am I meant to say? That I obviously had a lucky escape…that he needs help. That some of my own issues fuelled his control over me. How it’s so wrong to be using people in that way. That it’s seriously weird he thinks we could still get back together? Him having been planning a wedding though before we even started dating is freaking weird…Maybe Quinn should psychoanalyze him when she’s next in town…Does this change anything though Bas?”

“What do you mean?”

“With us”

“Of course not…why would it?”

“Because this feels like a new level of crazy”

“And why would that change anything? I’m with you…I want to be with you…your ass is mine now killer there’s no getting away” Sebastian semi-jokes before continuing seriously,   
“And…most importantly I love you and he’s not going to ruin us no matter what he thinks. We’re a pair and we’re going to fight together as one.”

Blaine smiles at his boyfriend before pressing a kiss to his lips and settling his body on top of Sebastian’s. “What is it Bas, what aren’t you telling me?” Blaine asks as he runs his hands through Sebastian’s hair.

“Nothing, just a theory Hunter and I share.”

“Then tell me”

“We wouldn’t put it passed Hummel to try and set me up, to split us up so he can come and play the white night.”

“Set you up how?”

“I’m assuming with another guy as he seems to think I’m a man whore, though I suppose my track record doesn’t help.”

“Hey you were never a man whore. You weren’t in a relationship, you had every right to do what you did and you’re forgetting I know it wasn’t as much as people assumed. And, I don’t think for one second that you’d fall for someone being all over you. Your Sebastian Smythe, you’ve had boys and girls falling over themselves for you for years, and I know you wouldn’t do that to me.”

“You’re right I wouldn’t…but how can you be so sure given everything.”

“Because you know what you want and won’t be swayed otherwise and because you’ve told me what the idea of doing that does to you…and because I know you mean it when you tell me you love me and that it scares you how much sometimes…But…I know you wouldn’t have it anyway”

Sebastian smiles, eyes wide with love and awe, “When did you get so smart?”

“My boyfriend was valedictorian at one of the most prestigious schools in the country, graduating with the highest, most consistent, GPA ever recorded. I guess he must be rubbing off on me.”

“Hmm is he hot?”

“The hottest…and one hell of a lover”

Sebastian smirks, “Well so are you, so together you must be something pretty spectacular.”

Blaine smiles naughtily then begins to kiss Sebastian.

XXXXXXX  
The next morning Blaine wakes up cuddling onto Sebastian who’s sat up next to him with his small camera and external hard drive linked up to his laptop. “Bastian? What are you doing?” Blaine asks voice still heavy with sleep.

“Just uploading some pictures from yesterday…and these are ones you need to approve.” Blaine scratches his nose on Sebastian’s side before sitting up and rubbing his eyes. 

“You awake now killer?” Sebastian laughs

“Shut up” Blaine pouts, “Now are you going to show me?” Sebastian pulls the pictures back up on the screen after Blaine leans his head on his shoulder. “Oh”

After a moment Sebastian breaks the silence, “It’s fine B I had a feeling I was crossing the line…I’ll delete them don’t worry.”

“Wait!” Blaine exclaims as Sebastian’s about to hit delete. “It was just a shock”

“So…are you saying I can keep them?” Sebastian asks clearly unsure

“Only on your hard drive and in the safe and nobody can ever find out about them…and…”

“And…” Sebastian prompts when Blaine doesn’t continue

“I want some pictures too” Sebastian’s eyes go wide with a bit of surprise, “Is it really that hard to believe Bastian? I know you know how hot you are.” Blaine chuckles

“You’ve got yourself a deal killer” Sebastian smirks

They get caught up in each other again and have just finished being thoroughly pleasured when the door goes, catching them slightly off guard.

“Fuck…I didn’t realise the time!” Blaine exclaims as Sebastian pulls out of him and laughs. “It’s not funny Bas! I’m meant to be cooking, with my back to everyone!”

“Take it easy B…I got something for moments just like this” Sebastian smirks as he leans over and reaches the box under the bed, pulling out a plug and waves it at Blaine.

“We’re seriously going to have to talk about where you’ve gotten all this stuff from later…and you’re going to have to let me see inside that box.”

“I think that can be arranged.” Sebastian pushes the plug into Blaine to stop any come leaking out and jumps up, quickly pulling on his boxers, jeans and a t-shirt. “Don’t be long killer” he winks as he heads to the door.

Sebastian opens the door to see all the guys there including Artie and Hunter. “We were starting to think we were going to be left out here for god knows how long” Hunter smirks suggestively.

“Oh shut up and get your minds out of the gutter…you’re all perverts seriously.”

They all make their way into the living room and get settled, “So where is Blaine exactly” Thad teases.

“Sorting laundry”

“Oh is that what you’re calling it?”

“Whatever…you clearly need to focus on your own sex life Thaddeus seeing as you’re so obsessed with mine and B’s.”

“Hey man! I was wondering where you’d got to” Sam smiles as Blaine appears, complete with empty laundry basket and curls no longer sex mussed.

“Sorry I just wanted to finish getting the laundry put away…you could have come and said hi though.” Blaine continues and goes to put the basket away in the laundry cupboard in the lobby.

“Looks like I owe you an apology” Thad says to Sebastian.

“You should know Blaine better than that” Sebastian tells him firmly but is laughing on the inside.

“So what have we got for lunch then dude?” Sam asks Blaine as he sits against Sebastian.

“What do you want?” Blaine questions completely amused

“Who says I want anything?” Sam shrugs a little too casually 

“Your face does” Blaine grins “Come on Sam, you only ask when there’s something you want so don’t look at me like that.”

“Adobo, rice and stir fry greens” Sam smiles shyly

“I should have known” Blaine chuckles

“I don’t know what that is” Artie states

“You’re not the only one” Jeff tells him

“I think you need to cook it for them then B”

“You’re just saying that because you want it too”

“Not going to deny it” Sebastian kisses his forehead

“Are you at least going to give us a heads up about what to expect?” Nick asks

“It’s a traditional Filipino dish. You normally have it with pork or chicken and as we’ve got chicken that’s what you’re going to get…Are you all going to stay out here?”

“No we’re going to come and sit in there so you can be part of conversation…right guys?” Though everyone knows Sebastian’s not asking. As Blaine’s getting all the ingredients he needs out Sebastian wraps his arms around his waist and whispers into his ear. “Is everything okay B?” leaving no doubt as to what he’s referring to.

“Working like a charm” Blaine whispers back and gives him a kiss…”Before you sit down could you reach the large rice steamer down for me?” Blaine blushes but he knows his boyfriend loves their height different. “Thank you” Blaine then turns to Sam, “Sam I Am come on…it’s time you learned how to make this.”

“Only if you tell us what was going on yesterday”

“I will tell you but over lunch”

“Ergh fine” Sam moans

“Right so you need to make the marinade first”

“Sir yes sir!” Sam shouts military style

“Oh shut up! You’re not getting out of this no matter how much you annoy me” Blaine warns him through a laugh.

“Honestly Sebastian how do you put up with him?”

“Fine then I won’t cook for you” Blaine glares at Sam and crosses his arms over his chest, knowing this is only the start of Sam’s plight to get out of cooking.

“Nooo! I’ll stop…I’ll even let you read my new comic book first” Sam whines and promises hopefully.

“Which one is it?”

“The new Nightwing one”

“Deal”

“Be normal…don’t be such a nerd” Sebastian teases his boyfriend as he and Sam finish their ‘Blam’ handshake

“Be nice…don’t be such an asshole” Blaine plays back, making the other guys laugh. Sam settles into helping Blaine while the other guys fall into easy conversation. That is until Sam gets bored and decides to use a tea towel to whip Blaine. “Sam!” Blaine shouts but Sam only hits him again. “Seriously stop it”, by now all the other guys are watching the interaction between the best friends.

“Oh yeah what are you going to do about it?” Sam grins as he hits Blaine again.

Blaine doesn’t react again until Sam hits him particularly hard, “Fuck Sam that actually hurt!”

“Sorry dude…I won’t hit you again…so hard” Sam grins devilishly and goes to whip Blaine again but the shorter boy catches the tea towel and yanks on it hard, pulling his friend towards him before quickly twisting Sam’s arms behind his back and lifting them while pushing his body forward towards the floor by applying a firm pressure to the back of his neck until he’s practically doubled over, effectively disarming him. “Fine I’ll stop…just put your inner ninja away!” Sam pleads.

“Say it” Blaine demands

“No!” Sam tries to get out of Blaine’s hold but can’t because of the position he’s in.

“Yes!” Blaine uses his leg to make Sam think he’s going to fall face first onto the floor but has a secure hold; he’d never hurt Sam.

“Fine…you’re Wolverine! You’re a hairy little bastard too!” Blaine releases his hold and the two go back to what they were doing as if nothing ever happened.

“It’s nice to see the big city hasn’t changed Blam” Artie muses as Sam and Blaine join the others at the table as the rice and chicken are cooking and the greens don’t need doing yet.

“Where did you learn to do something like that?” Hunter asks Blaine, “Boxing is one thing, but that was different.”

“Huh? Just instinct I guess” Blaine tries to brush off.

“Sure” Hunter smirks

“Something on your mind Clarington?” Sebastian challenges

“Only something I heard of but it’s not meant to be talked about so I must be mistaken.” Blaine’s eyes go wide at Hunter’s comment.

“Anyone care to share?” Artie asks

“You might as well tell them Blaine…it won’t make a difference now anyway.” Thad tells him.

“Hey what are we missing out on?” Jeff grumps

“Oi speak for yourself” Nick tells Jeff

“Wait you two were involved?” Sebastian asks and Nick and Thad both nod, “Thad I can see but not so much you Duval.”

“Nick wasn’t on the fighting side” Blaine explains

“Sounds like you were in some sort of fight club” Artie comments amusedly not thinking for a moment he could be right.

Blaine nods, “The Dalton Academy branch…I was the founder”

“Wait you’re Red Leader?” Hunter asks “Well that I didn’t expect that…though actually now I think about it I can see it.”

“Your name was Red Leader?” Sam asks happily “That’s awesome!”

“Okay I know Red Leader was a pilot in Star Wars but one of you two is going to have to explain the geeky concept I’m sure most of us are missing” Artie comments.

“Red Leader was the only pilot to fight in every spaceship battle in the original Star Wars trilogy and survive. The guy who played him is also Ewan McGregor’s uncle, which is   
pretty cool considering he was young Obe Wan, but that’s a whole different thing.” Blaine explains

“So what you survived every fight?” Artie asks

Blaine chuckles, “You could say that…I was undefeated” he replies sounding almost a little cocky.

“Why didn’t I know?” Jeff demands

“Because you wouldn’t have been able to keep it a secret” Thad tells him.

“So how were you both involved?” Sam asks Nick and Thad

“Nick was first aid and an official, Thad was also an official but fought too.”

Sam’s phone goes off and as it’s his dad he excuses himself to answer, “Hey dad what’s up?”

“Hey Sam, how are you doing? How’s New York so far?”

“Great so far…living with the guys is awesome and I’m really close to Blaine so we still get to hang out a lot.”

“Speaking of Blaine are you with him now?”

“Yeah he’s cooking us guys lunch while the girls are either working or shopping for their new place.”

“Get him for me I have some news I’d like to share with both of you. Actually do you think you could log onto Skype?”

“I don’t see why not, hang on” Sam goes back into the kitchen, “Hey Blaine dad wants to talk to both of us, can we call him back on Skype?”

“Yeah sure” Blaine tells him, “Bas if we’re not back in 10 can you do the greens? They’re all good to go.”

“Of course, I hope everything is okay” Sebastian gives Blaine’s hand a squeeze as he goes to join Sam in the office.

In the kitchen casual conversation and speculation takes over as to the conversation going on in the office but they know it must be good news when they hear both Blaine and Sam cheer happily. After a few more minutes they both appear with huge smiles on their faces.

“My dad got the promotion!” Sam exclaims as soon as they step into the kitchen.

“Congratulations Sam…I don’t know anyone who deserves it more!” Artie beams and gives Sam a hug.

“Things haven’t been really tight like before, but now they won’t have to worry so much and it’s secure so Stacey and Stevie don’t have to worry about moving quickly and leaving their friends behind. Ah I’m just so happy…I always worry you know, but now I won’t have to so much” Sam grins.

“That’s awesome Sam…really” Nick says earnestly

“Yeah send our congratulations” Thad tells him

“Seriously Sam, I’m really happy for you and your family” Sebastian says sincerely knowing the full extent of the Evans family’s financial troubles, including when they became homeless.

Blaine finishes cooking the lunch and everyone starts eating, “Okay y’all this is officially delicious.” Artie says between mouthfuls and everyone agrees.

“So are you going to tell us what the hell happened yesterday?” Jeff asks as he’d been dying to find out.

“Oh, they wanted to talk to me about my program choices” Blaine says

“And?” Sam prompts

“Tell them exactly what happened B or I will”

Blaine rolls his eyes fondly, “Fine…I was called into the Dean’s office to talk with her and the heads of the languages, music and theatre programs. It seems they’d been some discussion as to my choice of majors considering I’d elected to take a couple of theatre classes and had been granted a place even though I hadn’t auditioned for theatre at all. Long story short after a discussion between the four and reviewing previous performances they invited me to major in musicology and theatre and minor in languages, as long as I stick to one I’m competent in.”

“Hold up…NYU invited you to join their theatre program without an official audition?” Artie asks a little shocked.

“I guess” Blaine replies shyly.

“And did you take them up on their offer?” Nick asks and Blaine nods in response.

“That’s crazy but amazing…they obviously know talent when they see it.” Thad smiles proudly

“I knew you had it in you…though Rachel will go nuts when she finds out as NYU tops NYADA for it…hell it matches Michigan” Jeff congratulates and Blaine blushes.

“Why didn’t you apply for theatre?” Hunter questions

“I see the point as I didn’t think I’d get in…though I do love languages so I’m glad I still get to study them too.”

“Do you know which one you’re going to pick?” Nick asks

“Italian…I don’t get to use it that much and it will be great to study some Italian literature. I get to talk French with Bas and if I ever got stuck on something he’d be able to help so it feels right.”

“Makes sense”

“How crazy is your schedule though to be doing two majors and a minor?” Thad queries

“It’s intense…but I’m really excited by it.”

“Considering you were senior class president and belonged to 10 clubs…being captain or co-captain of most of them and you came joint for valedictorian and still had time to see Sebastian or hang out, and sort all the sponsorship stuff out for glee…and tutor me, Britt, Sugar and Ryder and the Cheerios…I think you’ll be fine.” Sam laughs

“Are you going to try out for their glee club?” Artie asks

“No…it wouldn’t feel right”

“What about you Sebastian are you still going to go for the lacrosse team?” Sam questions

“But of course…I couldn’t deny them of my talent” Sebastian smirks

“Sometimes your modesty amazes me…but I can’t deny it’s not true.” Thad tells him, “And before you all ask yes I’m going to try out too, but we know this one will get in before I will.”

“Why Thaddeus…was that a compliment and an admittance that I’m the better player?” Sebastian raises an eyebrow.

“You should capture this moment because it won’t happen again.”

“Yes but I have so many witnesses” The taller grins.

“Anyway, Blaine are you still up for sparring if we can find a time in our schedules.” Hunter asks.

“I am…but I’m going to have to wean myself off boxing…apparently as a musician I can’t risk my hands.” Blaine chuckles, “Bas wants to learn though so he should be able to spar with you after a while.”

“What are you going to do instead?”

“I was thinking of taking up fencing again…though not competitively…if there’s a club around I thought I’d see if anyone wants a duelling partner.”

“I do” Hunter says, “There’s a club near my apartment and I’m not looking to compete either, so if you want we can duel.”

“That would be awesome” Blaine grins

“Now this I definitely want to see” Sebastian looks between the two. 

Blaine ignores his boyfriend and keeps talking to Hunter, “To warn you though I am very rusty…I haven’t fenced properly for the last year or so.” Nick just shakes his head in exasperation at Blaine’s lack of self-belief again, though he supposes it could be justified as he has no idea how good Hunter is.

The guys all clean up after lunch and hang out for a little while though aren’t late as the next day is induction for all the Columbia boys.

When they get into bed that evening Blaine curls up against Sebastian, head on his chest as his boyfriend absentmindedly runs a hand through his curls. “So are you going to tell me where you got your box of tricks from then Bastian?”

Sebastian smiles, “When I went for a run the morning after the zoo trip I came across this shop.”

“I haven’t seen that kind of shop round here…how far did you go?”

“It was at the furthest point on my 10 mile run…I wasn’t surprised that you were still asleep when I got back given your exploits the day before and it gave me the time to put everything away.”

“Wait I was sleeping when you sorted it all out…in here?”

Sebastian chuckles, “Yep…you sleep like the dead when you’re really tired killer.” Blaine blushes so Sebastian leans down to give him a kiss.

“Is there anything else in that box Bas?”

“Not yet…as I was part way through my run I didn’t want to carry too much back…plus I figured we’d be better off going back together if there was anything else you wanted…I didn’t want to push too much.” This time Sebastian blushes.

“I love it when you blush” Blaine grins and kisses his cheek

“I don’t blush”

“You totally do” Blaine nips at his boyfriend’s jaw, “One question though Bastian…have you…I mean…have you ever tried this stuff with anyone else?”

“No…I never trusted someone enough…or wanted to be around them long enough…I know it makes me a first class asshole but like I said before B, it was just about getting off, just bathroom blow jobs or quick fucks.”

Blaine feels Sebastian tense so quickly reassures him, “I like that I’m your first for things too” he smiles and peppers kisses on Sebastian’s chest.

“You’ve been my first for everything” Blaine looks into his boyfriend’s eyes with his eyebrows knotted in confusion. “You’re the only person I’ve ever loved…so the only one I’ve done anything with while in love.” Sebastian tells him earnestly, shy smile on his face.

“Why Sebastian Smythe…I’m turning you into a romantic” Blaine smiles back and leans up to give him a kiss.

“Hmmm…you’re a terrible influence killer” Sebastian narrows his eyes playfully.

“I love you”

“I love you too sap” Sebastian kisses the top of Blaine’s head then leans over to turn off his light, leaving the room in darkness.

Blaine settles back against his boyfriend and is just starting to drift off when he’s all of a sudden flipped over onto his stomach, “Bas!” the next thing he knows his boyfriend is pushing slowly inside of him, his hole still stretched from the plug earlier making him moan loudly. “You’re incorrigible” Blaine giggles breathily as Sebastian bottoms out and presses his body flush with his.

“You can’t expect me to talk about a sex shop and not get ideas killer…and you can’t tell me you’re not enjoying it” Sebastian whispers lowly into his ear, making Blaine’s breathing hitch.

“How am I ever going to get any sleep sharing a bed with you?” Blaine chastises playfully

“I guess you’ll just have to wear me out first” Sebastian tells him seductively as he starts moving and sucks at the birth mark on the bottom of Blaine’s neck, making him moan.

After a long session Blaine does eventually go to sleep, laying on his front draped over his boyfriend’s body feeling completely and utterly content and blissed out, and utterly in love and loved in return.

XXXXXXX  
The next morning Blaine had never been happier to wake up before his boyfriend and carefully shifts his way beneath the covers, down Sebastian’s body and is not surprised to see Sebastian’s cock half hard. After settling between his boyfriend’s legs Blaine slowly licks the top of Sebastian’s cock before taking the tip in his mouth. He hears Sebastian’s breathing hitch slightly but can tell he’s still asleep. Blaine gently nips at the inside of Sebastian’s thigh before taking his cock in his mouth once more, edging slightly lower and sucking. Sebastian starts mumbling and Blaine can tell that he’s starting to come to, but is apparently dreaming about reality. He continues, taking even more of Sebastian into his mouth, not stopping till his tip is touching the back of his throat. It’s then he hears a gasp and the covers lift up, revealing a groggy Sebastian looking down at him.  
Sebastian has to do a double take, almost not believing that this was how he was being woken up. Blaine with his cock fully in his mouth, pink lips stretched and looking up at him through his sinfully long eyelashes. “Fuck…fuck…okay…fuck killer!” Sebastian moans loudly, arching his back, his hips rising. 

Blaine opens his throat to accommodate his boyfriend and hums around his length as Sebastian’s hands tangle into his curls and start pulling hard, the slight twinge of pain making his own cock twitch. He can tell Sebastian wants to let go so he relaxes his jaw and taps his boyfriend’s hip. That’s the only cue Sebastian needs to start thrusting into Blaine’s mouth, getting faster and faster as he chases his orgasm. “B…shit…” Is the only warning Blaine gets as Sebastian starts shooting come deep down the back of his throat   
and he has to do all he can to stop himself from choking on the white liquid.

When Sebastian’s fully spent he pulls Blaine up and kisses him passionately, tasting himself on his boyfriend’s tongue. “You can wake me up like that anytime” Sebastian smirks playfully as he breaks the kiss.

Blaine chuckles, “I know it’s been a fantasy of yours…and it is your first day of college so I figured you deserved a treat.”

Sebastian playfully slaps Blaine’s ass, “You’re my fantasy…now how do you propose I sort out the rather large problem between us?” he waggles his eyebrows.

Blaine gets a mischievous look in his eyes, one solely reserved for Sebastian, “Surprise me”

“You sure about that killer B?”

“Why…are you not up for the challenge?” Blaine smirks before Sebastian flips them over and pins him down.

Later, when Sebastian’s finished getting dressed he walks into the kitchen to see Blaine stood in just a pair of boxer briefs and one of his t-shirts. “Not fair looking like that killer when I have to go” Sebastian practically purrs.

Blaine laughs then hands his boyfriend a travel mug of coffee and a piece of toast with his favourite French jam on. “I’ll be here when you come back Bas.”

“You better…and you better not be wearing anymore clothes. What are you going to do today anyway?”

“I actually have a bit of reading I need to get done before classes start on Monday, but I’ll be all yours tonight…now go or you’ll be late!” Sebastian frowns playfully before giving Blaine a kiss as he leaves the apartment, eating his toast as he goes.

He meets Thad at the subway station, two stops later and Hunter joins them for the rest of the journey. When they get to Columbia they all collect their schedules then move to the side to compare.

“Well what do you know? We’ll be seeing a lot of each other this semester at least” Hunter comments as they all look at their schedules having most of their classes together.

“Only one late class too” Thad adds and Sebastian grins, “Why are you so happy about that?”

“Because B’s late is also on Mondays”

“You lucky bastards” Hunter smirks, “What’s he up to today anyway?”

“Reading. He’s got some work he has to get done before Monday.”

“His schedule is pretty insane…though at least it’s not screwy like Nick’s”

“Yeah he knows how lucky he is”

“How’s Sam getting on?” Hunter asks

“Rachel’s organised for a photographer she knows to take some pictures of him so he has a portfolio, so that’s keeping him busy today.” Sebastian answers and Thad looks at him.

“How did I not know that? I’m the one who lives with him”

“Yeah but I’m the one who lives with his best friend…When college properly starts you guys have got to make sure you include him in things you know. He feels like the odd one out with everyone else going to college…like he’s failing.” Sebastian explains.

“But he turned down the interview with Pratt” Thad frowns in confusion.

Sebastian rolls his eyes, “Because he didn’t think he’d get in or would be able to do it…Come on Thad you know Blaine…he and Sam are quite alike in some ways.”

Thad thinks for a moment, “Okay I get it…and you can tell Blaine I’ll keep an eye out for him. I know he’ll be worrying about not seeing Sam as much if he’s struggling with adjusting to New York…I’ll talk to Nick and Jeff too.”

Sebastian smiles, “I’ll let B know”.

Meanwhile Blaine’s sat trying to get through as much reading as possible so if anything he can get a little ahead for when classes start when he gets a phone call from Rachel. 

“Woah, Rach…slow down and start over.”

“I quit NYADA…It was either that or Funny Girl”

“Okay but why?”

“They were being so difficult! Funny Girl were being as flexible as they could be in trying to fit rehearsals round my classes but NYADA wouldn’t budge so they gave me no choice…and it’s not as if I really need them anymore…I mean what could they teach me that I won’t learn in a leading Broadway roll?”

“If you’re happy Rach then you know that’s all that matters to me”

“And that’s why I love you Tony Warbler…so what are you up to today?”

“Reading…I’ve got some catching up to do before classes start on Monday”

“Catching up? How?”

“Well why don’t you and Santana come round for lunch tomorrow and I’ll tell you then?”

“Blaine” Rachel pushes

“Rachel…I want to tell you face to face”

Rachel laughs, “Fine…I know how stubborn you are…right I’ve got to go…I’ve just got to the diner. I’ll tell Santana about tomorrow. Neither of us are working so we’ll be there. We know she can’t say no to you either…Bye Blaine.”

“Bye Rachel”

Blaine then texts Brittany about lunch tomorrow and she confirms that she’ll be there, he then fires off a message to Sebastian to check it’s okay for the girls to come over, explaining he wants to share his news. Sebastian of course messages back that it’s not a problem.

Rachel has just got behind the counter when Kurt approaches her, “So that was Blaine you were on the phone with then?”

“Does it matter?” Rachel asks as she continues to roll cutlery 

“It depends”

“On what?”

“If you’re helping me try to make him see sense”

“See sense in what?”

“Come on Rachel you know exactly what I’m talking about…The Meerkat is only going to hurt him.”

“Kurt stop…You know I don’t agree with you on this”

“You’re meant to be my best friend Rachel”

“Why can’t I be friends with all of you?”

Kurt sighs, “I just don’t want to see him get hurt…he’s hurt Blaine before…he’s probably already screwing around with god knows who now he’s in New York…Who knows how many people he’ll have in his dorm room when he’s not with Blaine.”

“Well that won’t happen” Rachel snaps

“And how are you so sure?” Kurt raises an eyebrow as he talks down to her as if she were a small child

“Because Sebastian and Blaine live together…in fact they bought an apartment together” Rachel blurts out before she can stop herself then quickly moves on to wait on some tables.

Kurt stands there for a few moments fuming until his manager tells him to get back to work. When his shift ends he storms back to the loft and finds Santana stretched out on the couch reading a book.

“What’s got your panties in a twist?” she asks, not even looking up as he slams the door closed.

“Blaine and Sebastian have an apartment together!” he shrieks and she can’t help but smirk. “Oh of course you knew too.”

“I did…and it’s beautiful…it suits them perfectly.”

“This is ridiculous!”

Santana saves her place and closes her book, sitting up to fully face Kurt, “And why’s that?”

“Because Sebastian shouldn’t be the one living with Blaine!”

“And you should?” Kurt’s face says it all. “That’s it isn’t it? You want to be the one living it up in a huge apartment…so much for love.”

“I love him”

“Would you feel the same way if he didn’t have that huge trust fund?”

“Of course I would…where is the apartment anyway?”

“I’m not at liberty to say”

“I bet Sebastian told you that”

“Actually they both did…neither wants any unexpected guests” she looks at Kurt pointedly

Kurt scoffs, “Of course the Meerkat wouldn’t want me around”

“And what makes you think Blaine does?”

“I wouldn’t expect you to understand”

“Whatever…I’m not going to talk to you anymore about Blaine because quite frankly his life is none of your business and if he wanted you in it he would, so back the hell off.” Santana then gets up and grabs her coat and purse before storming out to go and see Rachel.

“I know I screwed up” Rachel says as soon as she sees Santana walk into the diner. 

“He has no idea where they live Rachel, it’s fine…we’ll tell them over lunch tomorrow okay so they have a heads up if they bump into him, but honestly I don’t think either will care that Kurt knows they live together…as long as he doesn’t find out where.”

“That’s something I’d never tell him…no matter how much he winds me up”

“Good…now are we still on for telling him tomorrow night?”

Rachel nods, “I think it’s the only way I’m going to salvage any friendship with him…I can’t keep living with someone who judges everything I do and constantly bad mouths people I care about. He wouldn’t believe me when I told him none of the guys talk about him.”

“Well that doesn’t surprise me…he’s the most dramatic person I know…and I know you…but he seems to truly think the world revolves around him…even you seem to realise that’s not true…even if your head did expand massively when you first got Funny Girl.”

Rachel laughs and grabs her tray of drinks, “I’ll see you later San”

“Laters” Santana says as she walks out of the diner.

When Sebastian gets home that afternoon he’s instantly mesmerized by the sound of Blaine playing the piano, so silently makes his way to the music area, standing so he can see his boyfriend but so his presence goes unnoticed. Watching Blaine play like this never fails to fascinate him, the way the music seems to seep out of his pores, never pausing, beautiful melodies pouring out of him effortlessly. When Blaine pauses he claps.

“How long have you been there for?” Blaine smiles slightly shyly, jumping off the piano stall to greet him with a hug and a kiss.

“Doesn’t matter…I could listen to you play all day.”

Blaine grins and gives him another kiss, “So how was orientation?”

“Good…most of my classes are with Thad and Hunter and my only late class is on a Monday too…and my coffee was perfect this morning, I didn’t expect the Courvoisier and it was just right…I have to say I approve of this look killer.” Sebastian tells his boyfriend looking him up and down hungrily, hands grabbing his ass. 

“I thought you might approve…I got a little cold in a t-shirt, I nearly put a sweater on”

“This was the much better choice” Sebastian says, starting to unbutton his white button down dress shirt Blaine had put on, the material just covering his ass, which was dressed in tight red boxer briefs. “I also approve of this” Sebastian tells him, stroking his finger up and down Blaine’s stubble where he hadn’t shaved before continuing unbuttoning the shirt. 

They spend their evening tangled together on the sofa, only a blanket and their body heat keeping them warm, simply being them. They knew the start of college was going to throw challenges their way and they’d lose time with each other, so they wanted to enjoy the peace and quiet as much as they could over the next few days.


	59. D-day

“Lurch” Santana greets Sebastian as he opens to door to her, Brittany and Rachel.

“Ladies…B’s in the kitchen…Sam’s joining us too.”

The three girls make their way to the kitchen to see Blaine laughing almost hysterically, “Sam these are genius!”

“What are you two losers up to now?” Santana asks

“We’ve got homemade pizza for lunch” Blaine replies

“Great but that didn’t answer my question” Santana frowns as Brittany squeals excitedly and runs over to the two.

“These are amazing!”

Both Santana and Rachel join them and see personalized pizzas, to be more exact, they see pizzas made to look like each of them, albeit Blaine’s and Sam’s are them in their superhero costumes, “Okay these are pretty cool” Rachel comments.

Blaine puts them in the oven, “They won’t be long…and wait until you see them cooked”

“And taste them” Sebastian adds so Blaine turns to give him a kiss.

After getting drinks and setting the salad on the table they all take a seat and begin to talk as the pizzas cook, “So what are you going to tell us?” Rachel asks Blaine, who blushes in response.

“Yeah come on hobbit don’t keep us waiting.” Santana smiles while Brittany just gives him her own version of puppy eyes.

“Killer…” Sebastian urges

Blaine clears his throat, “When I went to enrol I was invited to join the theatre programme, so I’m now officially majoring in theatre and musicology and minoring in languages.” He tells them quietly, rushing the words out.

All three girls’ eyes go wide with shock before they let out excited screams.

“That’s amazing!” Brittany runs round to give him a kiss, “You must be so proud pretty bird! And you Sam!” 

Both Rachel and Santana also give him kisses, “No one deserves it more Frodo.”

“I’m glad one New York school notices real talent when they see it…do one favour for me”

“What Rach?”

“Kick ass so you can stick it to NYADA for me!” Blaine smiles in relief, which doesn’t go unnoticed by any of them. “What’s wrong Blaine?” Rachel asks

“Nothing”

“Then why do you look so relieved?” Santana pushes

“Because he was scared how everyone would react” Sebastian answers for Blaine seeing him struggle with the situation.

“Why wouldn’t we be happy for you?” Brittany asks

“I didn’t think you wouldn’t be as such, I guess I just…it’s…like I got it handed to me again.”

“Blaine you didn’t get handed anything. Your talent got you this just like Berry’s got her Fanny and you know I wouldn’t say that without meaning it. Particularly as she’s sat here and won’t let me forget I’ve said it.” Santana tells him firmly but kindly.

“Told you B” Sebastian winks as the timer goes off, so Blaine excuses himself to get the pizzas.

“How do they look even better now?” Rachel asks as Blaine puts them on the table

“Because the cheese melts and everything cooks so becomes more defined and looks more like you.” Brittany explains.

Santana laughs, “So you’ve done these before then” It’s not a question.

They all finish eating and the boys don’t miss the looks going on between Santana and Rachel. “What’s going on?” Sebastian asks

“I may have told Kurt you’re living together” Rachel blurts out, “I’m really sorry but he kept going on and on about how you’d be cheating on Blaine already with people in and out of your dorm and I couldn’t take it anymore so I snapped…plus he knows you bought the place together.”

“That’s it though right? He doesn’t know where we live?” Blaine asks

“If he did, he’d have been round by now” Sebastian comments and the girls confirm he doesn’t even know which area they live in. “What else is it Satan?”

“He did try to find out where you lived though. I had to point out to him that Blaine doesn’t want him to know either as he of course thought it was all you.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything less” Sebastian says and Blaine frowns. “What is it B?”

“If he was that bothered about trying to talk to me…why isn’t he calling and messaging me. My number is still the same. Not that I want him to…in fact I’m relieved he’s not, but…”

“That is kinda weird” Sam agrees

“He obviously wants to talk to you face to face…and that won’t happen unless you want it to” Sebastian tells him

“I don’t”

“He won’t find where you live Blaine…I wouldn’t even slip up like that” Rachel reassures him, placing one hand on his.

“Are you two still telling him you’re moving tonight?” Sam asks and they nod, “Call me if you need to.” He tells them protectively.

“And let us know when you need us to help move your stuff” Blaine says

“All of us” Sebastian adds, “And not to overstep here but if there’s a chance he could be there you’re not doing it killer.”

“Relax…we’ve already discussed it and the only time we’d let Blaine help is if we know Kurt is in class or at the diner.” Santana tells Sebastian.

“I can look after myself” Blaine says clearly frustrated

“Hey we know you can” Sebastian comforts his boyfriend and wraps his arms tightly around him. 

“It’s already going to be a stressful situation Blaine. We just don’t want to add to it.” Rachel explains

“Dude I’m with them. It’s for the best you and Kurt don’t come face to face if you’re carrying their boxes out, it’s got nothing to do with you being able to look after yourself.” Sam reassures.

Blaine knows they’re right so relents, “Fine…but call me if you need me and please let me know how tonight goes so I know you’re both okay...and you know you can come round here if you need to right?”

“Of course” Santana replies and Sebastian kisses the top of Blaine’s head.

XXXXXXX  
That evening all the guys are sat in the Seblaine apartment, playing video games and talking. All of them except for Blaine who can’t help but check his phone almost every minute.

“Killer B try not to worry so much” Sebastian tells his boyfriend as he pulls him into an embrace.

“I’ll feel better when I hear from them”

“I know, but worrying won’t make it happen any quicker…The same goes for you too Sam, you need to stop looking at your phone so much. It will only drive you mad.”

The rest of the guys then do their best to distract the two friends and end up watching transformers with Blam quoting most of the film. 

At the loft Rachel, Kurt and Santana have just finished eating, “We need to talk to you Hummel” Santana starts.

“I’m listening” Kurt says as he crosses his legs and lifts his chin haughtily. 

“You have to know this is a last resort Kurt” Rachel adds and Kurt just raises his eyebrows in question.

“We’re moving out…we’ll give you the share of the rent until the end of the lease but me and Berry are out of here.”

Kurt doesn’t say anything so Rachel starts, “Kurt? Are you okay?”

“And where do you think you’re going?” He asks them conceitedly 

“We’re moving in with Brittany” Rachel replies

“She’s in the city?” Kurt asks shocked

“She is” Santana confirms

“Why didn’t I know?” he demands

“She’s only just moving here herself” Rachel placates 

Kurt scoffs, “And of course she’s Blaine’s friend too…can’t you see what he’s doing?!”

“Blaine isn’t doing anything” Santana defends her curly haired friend

“He’s taking all my friends from me”

“No you’re the one doing that lady Hummel with your holier than thou attitude and refusal to stop bad mouthing people we care about.” 

“And what am I supposed to do?” 

“You could find a new roommate” Rachel tries, “I’m doing this Kurt because I feel like it’s the only way to try and salvage our friendship.”

“You could do that by telling me where Blaine is!” Kurt shouts

“That’s never going to happen” Santana tells him firmly

“But I need to talk to him”

“Why?” Rachel asks and Kurt looks at her as if it’s the most stupid question on the planet, “Don’t look at me like that Kurt…I genuinely don’t understand. If you love him as much as you claim, how can you bad mouth him like you do?”

“Because I’m angry and hurt” Kurt shouts louder

“And how do you think he felt after everything?” Santana raises her voice

“See if he didn’t still have feelings for me he wouldn’t have been hurt…I need to talk to him…I need to see him and then he’ll see.”

“Never going to happen Hummel…move on with one of the guys you’ve got going…don’t you think he’s been through enough?”

From there the argument escalates into full blown shouting from all three parties. When Kurt smashes a plate Santana grabs hold of Rachel’s arm and pulls her out of the loft, grabbing their coats and purses she’d purposefully left by the door.

At the Seblaine apartment Transformers is just coming to an end when the door goes. Blaine and Sam both jump up and run to the door to see Rachel, Santana and Brittany, who they’d picked up on their way stood there. The boys immediately pull them all into a hug. When they separate Santana goes storming through.

“Please tell me you have some hard liquor for me to drink?”

“That bad Satan?” Sebastian gets up and gets Santana a gin and tonic.

“That bad” she replies when he hands her the drink, “The fucking bitch smashed a plate” Santana says as the others come through, Rachel hugging onto Blaine.

“He did what?” Sam exclaims, “He better not have thrown it at either of you.”

“He just threw it on the floor, as soon as he did I grabbed Rach and we were out of there.”

“Do you want to stay here tonight?” Blaine asks the girls

“It’s okay we can stay with Britt” Santana replies

“Has any of your furniture arrived Brittany?” Sebastian asks

“No…I’m still sleeping on that mattress you got for me”

“Then all three of you should stay here. Sleep on a proper bed and I know he doesn’t know where your apartment is, but you being further away tonight can’t be a bad thing.”

“Are you sure?” Rachel asks

“Rach you know Bas wouldn’t have said it if he wasn’t…and it would make me feel better if you all stayed here.” Blaine tells her and she smiles gratefully and fondly. “Do you want to go have a shower then have some camomile tea? I’ve already put some clothes you can borrow in the spare room.”

Rachel turns to give Blaine a full hug, arms wrapping tightly round his shoulders as he squeezes her back, “And that’s why you’ll always be my Tony” she tells him as her eyes start to well up so she excuses herself. 

Blaine heads to the kitchen and makes a vat of hot chocolate for anyone who wants it and the tea for Rachel. As he’s stood at the stove in his own world familiar, strong arms wrap around his waist and he receives a kiss and nuzzle to his neck. “How are you doing killer?” Blaine just shakes his head in response so Sebastian turns him around. “It’s going to be okay…we knew tonight would be difficult.”

Blaine just hides his face in his boyfriend’s neck as he clings to him, “I know it’s stupid because they’re the ones going through a difficult time, but they’re only going through this because of me and I hate it” he admits, voice cracking.

Sebastian pulls back so Blaine has to look into his eyes, “We’ve gone over this…This is not your fault. The girls are moving because they can’t stand living with him anymore. He’s the one who’s doing this killer.”

“I just can’t believe he threw a plate…it could have hurt them.”

“But it didn’t” Sebastian reassures him, “Come on B” Sebastian turns the stove off and spices the hot chocolate just the way he knows Blaine likes it before getting them both a cup and carrying them through to the living room with Rachel’s camomile tea. “If anyone wants some, help yourselves.” He tells everyone else.

Brittany notices Blaine’s holding back tears so jumps up to give him a cuddle before he can sit down, “It’s okay” she says softly, “I know it sucks, but once all their stuff is at the Brittanary” apartment they’ll be happier…plus you’re a narwhal you need to smile with your eyes.” 

Santana comes back into the room as she’d gone to get changed into the sweats and t shirt Blaine had put out for her and hugs Blaine from behind, effectively sandwiching him between the two girls.

“How is this fair?” Thad groans quietly to the other guys

“Hey dude, you didn’t have to watch the same thing happening all last year” Sam replies, “If Artie was here, he’d tell you the same”. 

“I think we’ve made the others jealous enough” Santana whispers into Blaine’s ear making him laugh before letting go and settling on the smaller couch with Brittany after grabbing some hot chocolate, leaving Blaine to settle on the other end with Sebastian, as the guys were occupying the larger one and the chair.

Rachel comes back, freshly showered, hair still damp but pulled up into a bun. “You’re tea is on the coffee table Rach” Blaine tells her and she walks round to squeeze in between him and Santana.

“I hope you don’t mind sharing him for a bit” Santana teases Sebastian as Rachel settles back against Blaine, hugging onto him.

“Not for tonight” Sebastian winks in response, knowing that Rachel needs the support at this moment. Rachel’s phone then starts ringing repeatedly, buzzing along the coffee table.

“Are you sure you don’t want to answer it?” Jeff asks Rachel

“Very…he’s going to have to wait to talk until I’m ready for once.”

“Blainers…” Santana starts

“What?” Blaine moans, knowing this isn’t going to be good.

“I know you don’t want to hear this but you need to know” The Latina continues, “He pushed to find out where you live again.”

“He seems to think that if he talks to you face to face then you’ll get back together” Rachel adds, knowing Blaine needs to full story so he’s not blind sighted should they bump into each other.

“Because the other times were so successful” Blaine replies deeply sarcastic, “I don’t know what to do to make him see that it will never happen.” Sebastian just tightens his hold on him in response.

Rachel’s phone stops for a moment, but then Blaine’s starts, showing a number across the screen as he’d deleted Kurt from his contacts. Santana leans forward to check it, though she knew who it would be, and immediately recognises the number. “Apparently he can’t wait to talk to you face to face any longer.” 

“It looks like you might need to change your number after all B” Sebastian comments and Blaine nods in agreement, his and Rachel’s phones now alternating with calls. After a while Sebastian snaps and grabs Blaine’s phone.

“Bas wait”

“What?”

“You shouldn’t answer”

“Well you’re not because then he’s getting what he wants”

“No I know, but we both know if you do then he’ll think it’s you stopping me from getting to the phone or something.”

Sebastian sighs with frustration knowing Blaine’s right, “Then what do you suggest?”

“Let Batman answer”

“Yes!” Sam shouts and takes the phone, “He’s been driving me nuts for ages now”

“And you want to try out your impression” Blaine smiles

“Not denying it dude”. When Blaine’s phone starts again Sam answers.

“Blaine?!” Kurt’s voice comes down the line

“It’s Batman” Sam replies, the best he’s ever done the impression so far. “I don’t know this Blaine you speak of.” 

“Don’t be ridiculous…put Blaine on the phone!” 

“Why would I do that…this is Batman’s phone” 

“Sam is that you?”

“No I told you…this is Batman” by now everyone is having to stop themselves from laughing. 

“This is pathetic…just put him on the phone now damn it!”

“No…and what’s pathetic is calling someone non stop if they don’t answer because they clearly don’t want to talk to you…It makes Batman mad…and you don’t want to make Batman mad.” Sam then moves the phone away from his mouth slightly and does his best Joker laugh before switching to Batman again, “Gotta go.”

They then mute both Blaine’s and Rachel’s phones so if Kurt tries to call back again they at least aren’t disturbed. They sit in the living room talking for a while, Blaine having fallen asleep against his boyfriend with Rachel cuddling onto him, also having fallen asleep. Blaine’s phone goes off again, but Sebastian sees it’s Cooper so Sam passes it to him.

“Cooper”

“Sebastian…where’s Blaine” Cooper asks suggestively 

“Asleep” Sebastian replies frankly, making Cooper worry slightly

“But it’s not late”

“No but it’s been a long day.”

“Shit that’s right…the girls were talking to Kurt today…how did it go?”

“Not great…plenty of dramatics complete with a plate smashing and he’s been calling B’s and Rachel’s phones pretty much none stop, though the calls are less frequent since Sam answered pretending to be Batman.”

“I wish I’d seen that…I won’t keep you any longer but tell him I called. I’m on set all day tomorrow so it’ll probably be Saturday before I can get back to him.”

“Of course I will…night Cooper”

“Night Sebastian...and I know I don't need to say it but look after him, and get his number changed.” 

"Already on it" Sebastian disconnects the call then looks round to everyone, “Can someone give me a hand…I can’t feel my right hand side.”

Sam jumps up, “Sure thing dude” and carries Rachel to the guest room, not disturbing her enough to fully wake her before going back to the living room. “Do you need some help with him or have you got it?”

Sebastian thinks for a moment, “I better go for the help option…If I drop him because I can’t feel two of my limbs I’ll never hear the end of it.”

“Wise choice pilgrim” Sam tells him in his John Wayne voice before scooping up Blaine, who is completely dead to the world so doesn’t even flinch, and carrying him bridal style to his bedroom and gently placing him down.

“Thanks Sam” Sebastian says as the blonde joins the group again. “Now not to be rude but can you all go so I can lock up and go to bed. If you ladies want to stay up, help yourselves to anything.”

“Actually I just want to crash too. The diner was ridiculously busy today…thank you Sebastian.” Santana then stands, taking Brittany with her, and heads down the hall to bed. The guys all go and Sebastian makes his way to bed after locking up and strips out of his clothes before undressing his boyfriend and tucking them both under the comforter, where Blaine automatically rolls onto him, hugging on tightly.

XXXXXXX  
Sebastian wakes up on his side, chest-to-chest with his boyfriend who is clinging on to him as if his life depended on it. The only problem being that Sebastian is desperate for the toilet. Somehow he manages to get out of Blaine’s death grip and heads into the en suite. When he comes out Blaine is now hugging onto his pillow; he stirs when Sebastian gets back into bed.

“Replace me that easily killer?” The taller boy teases as he gently pulls his pillow free from Blaine to replace it with himself.

“Nothing could replace you” Blaine mumbles sleepily into Sebastian’s neck as he wraps his arms back around him, getting a kiss to the top of his head in response. “Do I have to wake up now?”

“Not if you don’t want to”

“What’s the time?”

“Just gone 9”

“A good boyfriend would help me wake up” Blaine mumbles albeit seductively given his sleep induced state.

“And how would he do that?” 

“He’d use his imagination” Sebastian runs his hand down Blaine’s spine and cups his ass. “Better” Blaine smirks against Sebastian’s neck.

An hour later they both emerge from their room freshly showered, the girls still asleep.

“What do you fancy for breakfast killer?”

“Why are you offering to cook?”

“No…well unless toast and eggs is okay…I’m making sure you eat. You’ll need your strength if you’re duelling Hunter later.”

Blaine nods, “That’s true”

“So?”

“I don’t want toast” Blaine grins cheekily

“Then what are you going to make?” Sebastian asks, wrapping Blaine in his arms

“I think what you really mean is, what are we going to make? And the answer is Dutch apple pancake”

“I’ve not had that before”

“Seriously? I kind of assumed you would have. It’s one of my favourites.”

“Then teach me” 

“Really?” Blaine asks slightly surprised at how easily Sebastian has agreed

“Yes…so I can make it for you”

When the girls emerge they find Blaine and Sebastian cleaning up with breakfast cooking in the oven. The couple are obviously completely unaware their guests are up as they are singing along together to ‘I’m yours’ as it played over the speaker system. Seeing them behave in such a way touched them all, but particularly Rachel and Santana who had never witnessed them like this. Yes they were affectionate, but this was clearly a more intimate, private moment. 

Knowing better than to interrupt them or get caught watching they back into the living room and Brittany calls out, “Something smells amazing!”

They then head into the kitchen to see Blaine sat on the counter with Sebastian stood next to him. “It’ll be done in a couple of minutes. What would you like to drink?”

“Definitely coffee” Santana replies as she stretches

“Black with caramel?” Sebastian asks

“Yes…how did you know?” Santana asks slightly stunned but Sebastian just smirks in response.

“Because I’m good like that” Sebastian winks, “Just like I know Britt will want a chocolate milkshake and Rachel will want a tea”

Brittany just smiles while Rachel this time looks shocked. “Sebastian’s really observant” the blonde explains.

Blaine chuckles, “He certainly is Britt…oh look what I found!” he holds up a packet of edible glitter making Brittany beam. 

“Can we have some?”

“Well we have to right…we are magic after all”

When the oven timer goes Blaine hops off the counter to remove the Dutch apple pancake from the oven. 

“Oh my god that looks amazing” Santana drawls as Blaine serves it up and places the glitter on the table. He, Brittany and Sebastian quickly make their serving sparkly while the other two girls just watch.

“It’s edible glitter” Sebastian explains

“Britt got it to make me a special birthday breakfast. It’s so cool.” Blaine adds so the other two add glitter to their food too, Rachel sprinkling hers in the shape of a star.

“So what are your plans today?” Blaine asks the girls

“We’ve both got shifts” Rachel answers, gesturing at Santana.

“And I’m waiting in for my bed to be delivered” Brittany adds

“So when can I help move some of your stuff?” Blaine asks, “We’ll all help, but when classes start it will make our time more limited.”

“Actually we know he’s on an early at the diner tomorrow, so once he’s left I can message you to let you know the coast is clear and you can help then.” Santana replies, “And there’s no way he’ll be able to leave early because Saturday mornings are always rammed.”

“Do you want me to see if the other guys are around? I know Sam will be.”

“We don’t really have too much packed up” Rachel tells Blaine, “We couldn’t before we told him.”

“I understand but there’s one thing you’re forgetting. They’re Dalton boys” Blaine says smiling

“I don’t follow” Santana says

“B means they’re used to packing. We did move in and out of Dalton each year and have to pack to go home, if we were, during the holidays. Speed packing must be a skill on all our CV’s. If you want, we can help pack and move you, but I get it if you don’t want a load of guys going through your things.”

“It’s not my mind that will get blown” Santana shrugs, making Sebastian laugh, “I’ll take you up on it, I just want to move now.”

“Rach? The guys will understand if certain things stay off limits.” Blaine reassures her

“No it’s fine…I just can’t believe it’s actually come to this…but I know it’s what I need to do, for my own sanity.”

Blaine just smiles in response, but under the table moves a hand to hold on to Sebastian’s, lacing their fingers together, the simple gesture letting his boyfriend know how he’s really feeling.

“I kind of want to see his face when all our stuff has gone though” Santana comments

“Why?” Sebastian asks

“Because he obviously doesn’t think we’re going to follow through…The fact he was surprised Brittany was moving to New York and hadn’t told him says it all…delusional.”

Brittany frowns, “He still hasn’t said sorry…even Lord Tubbington apologises”

After breakfast the girls head off and Blaine and Sebastian go to meet Hunter at the fencing club where they find the rest of the guys have also gathered. Hunter and Blaine get changed and spend some time warming up before their first duel. It’s clear they are evenly matched, both having to fight hard for every point.

“It’s like I’m watching Spiderman versus Venom” Sam muses

“I know what you mean” Sebastian replies

“Really?”

“Yeah it’s like they both have the same powers. There’s no doubt about which one’s which though.”

“Yeah Hunter’s totally Venom…you’re more of a nerd than I thought” Sam smiles

“Tell anyone else and your life won’t be worth living Ken”

“Okay, but one question…Who’s your favourite superhero?”

“Superman…why?”

“Because a person’s favourite superhero says a lot about them. See you’re a good guy deep down and Blaine’s your Lois Lane because he makes you a better and even stronger person.”

“Then what’s my kryptonite?”

“I dunno man…I haven’t figured it out yet. But Kurt’s your Lex Luther.” That comment makes Sebastian laugh hard. Blaine scores another point, equalising once again with Hunter just before the clock calls time, when they remove their masks they’re both sweating heavily.

“And here was me thinking I’d put on loads of weight without the Cheerios” Blaine jokes as he grabs a drink of water. They both go for a shower and get changed before joining the others. 

“If that’s how you two fence I can’t wait to see how you spar together” Thad comments

“Smelling better killer” Sebastian winks as he takes Blaine’s hand in his own as they leave the club.

“What’s the plan now?” Blaine asks but his phone goes off, seeing it’s Jean-Baptiste he excuses himself and answers. “Hey JB”

“So are the rumours true? Is the great Blaine Anderson majoring in theatre studies after all?”

“How do you know that?”

“Well I do now you’ve just confirmed it…congratulations”

“Thanks…sorry one sec…Bas?”

“We’re going to the park killer come on” Sebastian takes Blaine’s free hand as they start walking.

“Sorry JB and thanks. You start properly on Monday too right?”

“Right…if now’s not a good time I can call back later” Jean-Baptiste says but Blaine can tell something’s not quite right.

“No it’s okay; we’re just heading to the park. You can join us if you want? You could bring Rose if she’s free.”

“Oh I think she’s probably too busy with the RA I found her naked with” Jean-Baptise snaps

“Sorry man”

“No I am…I shouldn’t have snapped at you. Look I don’t know anyone else in the city…I was kind of hoping I could cash that invite to hang-out in.”

“Yeah of course…is a group thing okay…or do you just want something quiet, cos you could meet us at the park…or we could meet up somewhere.”

“I’ll meet you at the park…Thanks Blaine”

“No worries. Meet us near the zoo entrance.”

“Will do” They both disconnect the call.

“What’s going on B?”

“JB’s meeting us at the park…he found Rose in bed with her RA and he doesn’t know anyone else in the city. I hope that’s okay.”

“Yeah of course”

“Sam!” Blaine calls to his friend, “Just to give you a heads up Jean-Baptiste is meeting us at the park”

“Okay but why?”

“Well I told you how we spent some time with him in Paris”

“Yeah…you said he wasn’t actually a douche.”

“Well he found his girlfriend in bed with her RA and he doesn’t know anyone else in the city.”

“Say no more man…I’m all about giving second chances anyway and show choir seems to make some people go crazy…And he wasn’t really all that bad…Just a bit intense…But so is Hunter…and Santana can be too…He’ll fit right in.”

Blaine laughs. When they get to the park Jean-Baptiste is already there so Blaine is quick to make introductions. They get some drinks and just sit talking in the park for a while, making the most of the weather. When they start getting hungry Sebastian suggests heading back to their apartment for some food, inviting Jean-Baptiste along too.

“There’s only one condition though JB…don’t give our address out to anyone” Sebastian tells him firmly.

“Relax Sebastian…Blaine gave me an albeit reluctant heads up as to what’s been going on seeing as there’s a good chance I could bump into his ex…It certainly puts some things into perspective that’s for sure.”

They all agree to just ordering in pizza. Blaine goes to answer when the door goes and is surprised to be signing for a small package. He goes back into the living room.

“What have you got there killer?”

“I don’t know” Blaine frowns at the packet

“You know you don’t actually have superpowers right? You’re going to have to open it to find out.” Sebastian deadpans but is obviously joking.

Blaine rolls his eyes fondly before opening his package, finding a letter on top of the contents. He reads it and his eyes go wide before looking inside the packet and blushes profusely.

“What the hell is it B?” Sebastian asks amused knowing only a select few have their address.

Blaine just shakes his head then goes to their bedroom and pulls out his phone. The next thing the others hear is a scandalised “Kitty!” as the blonde answers.

Sebastian thinks for a moment before grinning. “Care to share Smythe?”

“Actually I don’t Clarington”

They carry on talking hearing occasional laughter coming from the other room. “Is it what I think it is killer?” Sebastian asks as Blaine re-joins them.

“If you think it’s linked with her last gift then yes” Blaine laughs, “I can’t believe her”

“I can”

Sam thinks, mulling over the new clue before figuring it out, “Oh oh! She sent you…oh!” Blaine nods and Sam laughs.

“Are you three going to tell the rest of us?” Jeff asks

“Erm no” Blaine responds bluntly, “And these two won’t tell you either” he says glaring at his boyfriend and friend.

Thad looks to them, “Don’t think about it Thad…it’s not in my interest to tell you” Sebastian smirks

“And don’t look at me cos I won’t say either…I don’t want to wake mini Hulk” Sam jokes and gets a cushion thrown at his head in response, “See what I mean JB? Everyone thinks he’s all cute and polite but he has a passive aggressive streak.” Sam teases only for Blaine to grab hold of his feet and yank him out the chair. “Right that’s it!” Sam laughs and grabs Blaine, holding him to his shoulders as he starts spinning.

“Evans make him throw up again and it will be the last thing you do!” Sebastian barks so Sam stops and puts Blaine down, but he’s been spun sufficiently so drops to the floor like a dead weight once more.

“That’s not normal” Jean-Baptiste comments

“Nothing about Blaine is normal” Jeff jokes

“Hey! I may be dizzy but I can still hear!” Blaine quips back

“Are you guys always like this?” Jean-Baptiste asks

“Pretty much” Thad answers, “Particularly Blam”

“Blam?”

“Blaine and Sam” Sebastian answers, “There was a competition to see who the best friends were and they won”

“Nothing beats Blam!” Sam exclaims then notices Sebastian looking at him, “I meant for friendship dude!”

“Nice save Sammy” Blaine laughs as he gets back up, just as there’s a knock at the door so goes to answer thinking this time it would be pizza, but is instead faced with the three girls.

Santana goes storming through, “Please tell me you’ve got some tequila left and you guys are free so we can be moved by the end of the weekend.”

“Nice to see you too Satan, this is Jean-Baptiste. JB this is Santana, Rachel and Brittany” Sebastian introduces.

Brittany looks at him, “Blaine said you’re nice so I believe him, plus you’re a really good singer.”

Jean-Baptiste looks a little confused, “Erm thanks”

“Have you three eaten?” Blaine asks and the three girls shake their heads, “We’ve got some pizza coming if you want to join us, I can make some garlic bread. Rach are you okay   
with a salad, we didn’t get any vegetarian ones, or I could make you something else.”

“A salad would be amazing” she smiles and follows Blaine to the kitchen to talk to him.

While they eat they plan shifts for helping the girls move out completely over the weekend, even Jean-Baptiste offering to help. There’s a couple of definite times when they know Kurt is out so they all agree to make the most of them and all pitch in, finishing with him there if necessary, apart from Blaine who they all agree should not come face to face with his ex at this time given previous volatile run ins. When they’ve finished everyone heads off for the night given the upcoming exploits over the next couple of days.   
Blaine is just stripping down for bed when Sebastian wraps his arms around him from behind, holding out one of the thongs Kitty sent him to go with his Cheerios uniform.

“Aren’t you going to try one on killer? Have to say I’ve missed them”

Blaine looks back over his shoulder, “Oh I will…but not tonight.”

“Why not” Sebastian frowns

“Because I want it to be a surprise for you”

“Hmm I suppose I can forgive you for that then” Sebastian teases as he nips at Blaine’s neck before finishing undressing him and pulling him down onto the bed.


	60. Moving out

“Damn you guys really are fast packers” Santana muses as the Dalton crew plus Jean-Baptiste pack up their things.

“Yeah well boarding school does that to you” Thad comments

“And military school” Hunter adds

“Right guys I think we’ve got enough boxes to fully load the cars, so shall we get these ones out of here? That way it will give us more space.” Blaine says

“Definitely” Hunter replies, “We can get Rachel’s bed dismounted too then. If we keep going like this you could be out by the end of today.” Hunter tells the girls

“If we are, I’ll take you all out to dinner” Santana replies but then checks the time, “Depending how long it takes you to unload the cars, you shouldn’t come back here Blaine.”

Hunter looks at his watch, “It would be quicker if we could just unload the cars at street level; if someone stays with Blaine the two can then carry the boxes up to the apartment.”

“Jesus you really did go to military school didn’t you?” Santana teases Hunter

“I’ll stay with Blaine” Sam volunteers, not surprising anybody.

“Bas what about you?” Blaine asks

“No can do killer…I need to drive my car remember…But I promise I won’t start anything” Sebastian says as he wraps Blaine in his arms and places a kiss on his forehead.

“I know you won’t start anything” Blaine replies, biting his lower lip, arms wrapping around Sebastian’s waist.

“No but he’ll finish it” Nick adds getting a slap to the back of his head from Jeff who can see how much Blaine is worrying about Sebastian and Kurt coming into contact.

“Blaine it will be fine…there are more than enough of us here to make sure nothing happens” Jeff reassures his old roommate 

They load up the cars and make good time to the Brittanary apartment, unloading at street level for the two boys to take the boxes up as planned, Brittany giving them her keys as she goes to help with the packing.

“What is going on here?!” Kurt yells as he enters the loft

“Packing and moving…we told you Hummel” Santana glowers back threateningly 

“Rachel? You cannot be serious!” Kurt paces over to where Rachel is packing her clothes with Brittany

“We did tell you Kurt and well…we meant it…I told you I think this is the only way to salvage our friendship. This is a last resort…you have to understand that and respect it.”

“No I don’t…and I told you, you can salvage our friendship by telling me where Blaine is!”

That causes Sebastian to snap, who had so far been unnoticed by Kurt, “That’s never going to happen” he says forcefully without raising his voice.

“Oh you would be here wouldn’t you?” Kurt looks around, “Where’s Blaine, with Sam presumably” 

“Yes he’s with Sam…who didn’t want to have to put up with your gayface either…you see Hummel, all you’ve done is push your friends away from you. Blaine even gave you a chance, but you used Finn’s death to try and manipulate him and after everything else, he doesn’t even want to see your face or hear your voice again.” Sebastian replies calmly but firmly

“Please! The only reason he’s not seeing me is because you’re stopping him!” Kurt yells 

“Actually, it's Blaine’s choice” Jean-Baptiste adds casually while taping up a box

“Who the hell are you?! And how would you know?” Kurt snaps

“Not that it’s any of your business but I’m a friend of Blaine’s and everyone else in this room…well everyone apart from you.”

Jean-Baptiste then carries a couple of boxes down to the cars with Jeff and Hunter.

“If we get the bed into my car and then pack it, yours and Nick’s up with as many boxes as possible. JB and Jeff can get a cab each and fit in the remaining few and the suitcases.” Hunter instructs as the three enter the loft once more.

“You’re not taking anything else anywhere!” Kurt practically screams

Hunter steps towards Kurt, “Does anything we’re taking belong to you?”

“No, but…”

“Are you trying to keep property that doesn’t belong to you, against the owners’ wishes? Because if you are…that’s an offense”

“Given you’ve committed assault as well Hummel, it wouldn’t be a good idea to add to your crimes” Sebastian adds

Thad steps towards Kurt, falling in line with Hunter and Sebastian, “Particularly as they all involve the same reason so could be accounted for as one crime, therefore attracting a heavier penalty than separate offenses.”

“Damn you three should go into practise together when you’re all qualified” Santana muses as they continue to pack with Kurt picking arguments with everyone in turn, including Brittany, who surprises all of the guys with the way she comes back at him, still clearly angry for hurting her friend and for what he’s been putting Rachel and Santana through.

Meanwhile Blaine and Sam are just carrying the last of the boxes up when an elderly lady comes out of the apartment across from the stairwell on the same floor as Brittany’s. “I saw you boys have been hard at work so I packed these up for you.” She says as she places a container of brownies on top of the box Sam is carrying.

“Oh thank you ma’am but you didn’t need to do that” Sam replies

“It’s very kind of you, but Sam is right” Blaine adds

“Enough of that…I’ll be offended now if you don’t take them”

“Well in that case how can we say no?” Blaine answers, both boys thank her before making their way into the Brittanary place.

“Well I think we’ve got a pretty good fort going here” Sam muses as he adds the last of the boxes to the cardboard box fort they’d created, not knowing where to unpack anything as they didn’t want to put things in the wrong place and for things to get lost.

“So you want a brownie dude?” Sam asks, opening the container

“What do you think?” Blaine laughs as he takes a brownie.

Five minutes later and the container is completely empty and Blaine is laying on one of the fort’s walls with Sam lying along its length inside.

Back at the loft and thanks to Hunter’s uncanny ability to pack vehicles, the guys have gotten everything into their cars, the few that can’t get a lift catching a cab in convoy. When they arrive at the block they all grab a box then head up.

“Sam look…there’s glitter everywhere” Blaine muses from where he’s lying, hands up in the air, swirling around in the ‘glitter’ of dust particles.

“Let me see” Sam stands, “Awesome” and starts matching Blaine’s swirling movements.

“What the hell?” Santana asks as they all enter

“What are you guys doing?” Jeff adds

“I just want to make art and help people!” Blaine says euphorically as he sits up and sees his friends

“Are you two high?” Sebastian jokes and walks over to his boyfriend and notices his and Sam’s pupils are dilated, “Okay you two are actually high” Blaine rolls off the boxes into the fort and starts slowly dancing randomly while Sam takes his jeans off.

“Freedom!” Sam shouts lazily as he throws them out of the fort.

“Well this I didn’t expect” Jean-Baptiste comments, completely amused.

“Where did you even get pot from anyway?” Santana asks, but doesn’t get an answer.

“Man I’m hungry” Blain groans, “And horny…but mostly hungry” 

Everyone laughs, “So Blaine is chatty when he’s high” Thad comments

“Hey maybe there’s some brownie left” Sam grabs the empty container, “Oh man it’s all gone” he sulks

“Where did you get brownie from?” Rachel asks

“The brownie lady down the hall” Blaine answers with a beaming smile then finds some bubble wrap. He and Sam sit in their fort popping each bubble individually, Blaine doing it in rhythms, before falling to sleep as they others carry the last of the boxes up. 

“My head hurts” Blaine groans as he sits up from where he’d been sleeping against Sam, half of the fort now unpacked and put away.

“There’s water and aspirin on the counter” Jeff replies 

Blaine stands up and is shocked to see how much has been sorted. “How are you feeling now killer? Still hungry and horny?” Sebastian smirks making Blaine blush a deep red.

Sam then stands up, “So erm…where are my jeans?”

“You threw them out of your fort in a bid for freedom” Thad laughs and Sam just looks at Blaine, who is looking equally lost.

“The moral of the story for you two is not to consume things given to you by strangers” Hunter smirks at the pair, “Particularly baked goods that are heavily laced with pot.”

“That actually explains a lot” Blaine comments before taking some aspirin, Sam quickly copying. 

Everyone continues unpacking and building furniture for a while before Santana calls it a day, “Thanks guys, but we can finish the rest of this off tomorrow now. You’ve already done more than enough. I meant what I said about dinner though.”

“Can we eat in?” Blaine asks

“That does sound really good” Rachel adds and everyone else agrees

“That’s more than fine with me…what does everyone fancy?” the Latina asks

“I don’t care…I’m just really hungry and thirsty” Sam comments

“Me too” Blaine adds

“Well of course you are…you two didn’t feed your munchies earlier” Sebastian teases and gets a dark glare from his boyfriend in response.

“Oh yeah…as if you are feeling any better?” Sam retaliates

“Never said I wasn’t Sam I Am” Sebastian winks.

In the end they order a large amount of Chinese food, but there is nothing left, everyone having worked through lunch.

Later that evening, Blaine is draped on his front over Sebastian’s body as his boyfriend runs a hand through his curls, “You’re a chatty stoner killer…you completely lost your filter”

Blaine grumbles, “Not completely…otherwise I would have said exactly what I was thinking about” he smirks and kisses Sebastian’s chest

“Care to share?”

“It was very close to what we’ve just done”

“Well if that’s what you were thinking about I can understand why you were so horny” Blaine laughs through a yawn, “You should go to sleep B”

“Have you told me everything that happened at the loft?” 

“Yes”

“Then I’ll go to sleep” Blaine tilts his head to give Sebastian a kiss, “I love you Bastian”

“I love you too killer B” Sebastian wraps both arms around Blaine protectively then goes to sleep once he’s felt Blaine slip into unconsciousness.


	61. Classes begin

They take Sunday easy, aching from the mammoth move and getting ready for the start of classes the next day. Monday morning and the first day of classes, true to form Sebastian wakes up before Blaine so decides to jump in the shower, knowing they can’t get distracted and be late on their first day, no matter how tempting. When he steps back into their bedroom he finds Blaine still asleep but clearly dreaming, moaning his name in a way that lets Sebastian know exactly what is going through his boyfriend’s head.

“Killer…come on killer…B it’s time to wake up” Sebastian wakes Blaine, “Come on, we’ve got classes today.”

Blaine rolls over slowly, “What time is it?” 

“Time for you to get that perfect ass into gear,” Sebastian then looks down Blaine’s body to wear the comforter is tenting over his erection, “By the looks if it your dream lay was as good as it sounded” he waggles his eyebrows, making Blaine blush deeply, “You’ll have to tell me all about it tonight.”

“Why aren’t you going to do something about it now?” Blaine asks seductively

“Because as much as I want to ravish you here right now, if we get carried away we’ll both be late.”

“You’re about to give me the biggest case of blue balls” Blaine groans

“It’ll be worth your while later” Sebastian kisses Blaine hard, “Come on…you need to make me breakfast” he winks and Blaine slaps his ass in response.

They both finish getting ready and head off together to the subway, meeting Thad and Jeff there and split ways to head off to their respective colleges. “Knock them dead killer…I’ll see you later” Sebastian kisses Blaine before heading off with Thad.

“How are you doing?” Jeff asks Blaine once they board their train.

“I’m fine” Blaine responds too quickly

“Blaine, you don’t have to lie to me…I’m nervous too”

“Really?”

“Yeah of course! It’s our first day of classes…I’ll give you $100 if you find a freshman who isn’t”

Blaine laughs and they fall into easy conversation for the rest of their journey, splitting ways to head off to their classes. 

Meanwhile at Columbia, Thad and Sebastian have just finished their lacrosse team trials, “Well I’m not going to make the first team” Thad comments as both boys finish showering and get dressed.

“You don’t know that Harwood”

“Sure I do…man I didn’t think I’d gotten that out of shape over the summer…I would ask how you’ve done it but I don’t think I want to know.”

Sebastian smirks, “Well you’d be at least half right…but I’ve been running with B and Sam. Well I run ahead while they do their thing. Plus I’ve kept up broga with them...it works   
more muscles than you’d give credit for and being so good for flexibility helps keep injury risk to a minimum.”

“I might have to join in” 

“Do it…they won’t mind…but I do expect a celebratory drink when I make first team.”

“You’re such an arrogant shit” Thad laughs as they grab their bags and head off, “But I can’t disagree, no matter how much I want to” They meet Hunter in the court yard then head off to their first class together.

Sebastian, Thad and Hunter have all their classes together that day and quickly get into the routine of things, mostly thanks to Dalton’s rigorous program. Monday’s prove to be a long day for them both and Blaine’s last session of the day is his first with his theatre studies group. The class is just coming to an end when one of the other guys approaches him.

“So did you get sorted into Gryffindor or did you just decide?” 

“I’m sorry?” Blaine replies

“I noticed you have the crest of Gryffindor on your note pad…I’m Nick.” 

Blaine smiles back, “I’m Blaine…and I got sorted at the Leavesden studios, it’s actually where I got the note pad from too.” The two quickly fall in to an in depth Harry Potter discussion, with others joining in until Blaine notices the time, “Crap I’ve got to run! I’m going to be late!”

“No problem, I’ll see you tomorrow Blaine”

“Tomorrow!” Blaine shouts back as he runs out. Twenty minutes later and Blaine is bursting through the doors to the restaurant he’s meeting Sebastian at and sees his boyfriend at a corner table so quickly makes his way over. “Bas I’m so sorry! These guys noticed the Gryffindor note pad you got me and I got carried away telling them about our trip to the studios.” Blaine finally settles at the table and properly takes in Sebastian’s expression, a mixture of worry and relief. “Bas…what’s wrong?” Blaine asks as he takes hold of one of Sebastian’s hands.

“I was beginning to think you weren’t going to show”

“I’m sorry I’m late” Blaine smiles but Sebastian doesn’t look reassured, “What is it? Why didn’t you think I’d show?”

Sebastian sits silently for a while, an internal struggle evident across his features, “I thought perhaps you’d found someone more interesting”

“Never…I love you Sebastian…and well…who could be more interesting than Sebastian Smythe? Or hotter…or have the same devilish wit” Blaine leans closer to Sebastian, across the table, “Or be a better lover?” he winks

Sebastian smiles, “Hmmm…that’s true” and leans forward to kiss Blaine

“Plus there’s no one I could want or need more” Blaine adds and Sebastian looks at him full of adoration and Blaine knows his insecurities have been settled, “So how was your day?”

“Well you’re looking at a lacrosse first team member” Sebastian smiles brightly

“I knew you’d do it!” Blaine exclaims a little too loudly and blushes when he realises he’s gotten some extra attention, “What about classes?”

“The three of us agreed Dalton has made the transition much easier and they actually all seemed really interesting. One professor loved his voice far too much…kind of a dead ringer for Mr Kennedy.”

“Oh god…just don’t drift off…he’ll hate you forever”

“Speaking from experience?” 

Blaine laughs shyly, “Yeah but…I hadn’t really gotten my sleep back into check yet and well he held it against me.”

“Hmmm” Sebastian hums thoughtfully, knowing immediately that Blaine was referring to his nightmares that used to keep him awake. “What about you though killer? You must have had a good day if you got to talk about the Leavesden studios.”

“Yeah that’s just as I was leaving. Some of the guys in my theatre group spotted the notepad. They seem really cool…and you can definitely say I told you so now. I’m exhausted, but I absolutely love my timetable.”

“Too exhausted to make your dream come true?” Sebastian purrs seductively.

“I’m never too exhausted for that” Blaine smirks so they decide to take their food to go and practically race home.

Throughout the first week of classes they all settle well into new routines, particularly as homework and reading start to get piled on. With the suggestion of Mary Evans, Blaine and Sebastian mark Thursdays out as their date night so they always have at least one evening that’s carved out for them alone and make it clear nobody is to disturb them then or Sunday mornings. Blaine is aware that Sam is struggling a little with the move though as he waits for modelling auditions so also does his best to make time for him.

Although Jeff is at NYU with Blaine, the two hardly see each other as they don’t share any classes. Blaine quickly finds himself as part of the group he got talking to on the first day and they all bond very quickly over their passion for music, plays, movies and all things Harry Potter, Marvel, DC and generally sci-fi. Unbeknown to Blaine though there has been another presence at NYU. Since the girls moved out Kurt had become even more determined to talk to Blaine so when he wasn’t at NYADA or the diner had taken to going to NYU to try and find his ex-boyfriend, still not knowing where he lived.

On Friday Blaine and Jeff meet up to head home together at the end of their first week. Jeff turns to Blaine, “So Sam has his first audition coming up.”

“Yeah I know it’s great” Blaine beams with pride, but then notices Jeff’s expression. “Jeff what is it?”

“Well we don’t know for sure but Thad, Nick and I think he’s been skipping meals” Jeff notices Blaine instantly pale, “I don’t want to worry you but I thought I better say something.”

Blaine nods, “Have any of you guys got any plans tonight?”

“I don’t think so why?”

“Send a message round for a guy’s night…I’ll talk to Bas though and get JB in too”

“Okay” Jeff does as Blaine says though is unsure of what he has planned

Later that evening they’re all sat at the bachelor apartment playing video games and just talking. They order Mexican food for dinner and Blaine notices how Sam takes a really small amount of food and slowly picks at it, something he used to do to make it look like he was eating more than he really was. After eating the guys start trading stories about their weeks and Blaine takes the opportunity to talk to Sam.

“Guess what I’ve got in my bag”

“A dinosaur?!” Sam grins 

“What? No! I’ve got the new Captain America comic book”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah want to read it?”

“As if you even have to ask”

Blaine goes over to his bag and grabs a large pack of M&M’s and the comic book while Sam settles on the sofa, chucking a cushion on the floor in front of him which Blaine sits on. When he’s settled with his legs bent, Blaine opens the comic and rests it against his thighs and opens the packet of M&M’s, pouring some onto his hand.  
“Sam…a little help?” Blaine starts reading as Sam periodically takes an M&M from Blaine’s hand and feeds it to him. The rest of the guys keep talking, but are watching the best friends curiously. Part way through Blaine’s second handful Sam starts eating the candy himself and everyone all of a sudden understands why Blaine was doing what he was.

Artie arrives, having had a late class, “Well this is a flashback to the choir room” he comments when he sees the duo.

“Hi Artie” Blaine and Sam greet in unison, eyes not leaving the comic.

“Yep…definitely a flashback moment”

By the end of the comic book Sam has eaten most of the M&M’s, “Man that was awesome! Cap really is the best.”

“Nope…Iron Man still wins” Blaine replies as he puts the comic back in his bag

“Please” Sam scoffs as if what Blaine had just said was the most ridiculous thing in the world.

“So apart from auditions what are you getting up to during the day?” Blaine asks Sam when he’s sat back with him, the others giving them some space, knowing Sam is needing this time.

“I just sit around here and play games mostly”

“That must get kinda depressing” Blaine comments without being at all judgemental

“Yeah I guess” Sam shrugs

“There must be something you want to do…something that interests you” Sam smiles shyly, “There definitely is…come on Sammy tell me!” Blaine whines making Sam laugh.

“Fine…let me go get my laptop.” When Sam comes back he sits next to Blaine on the floor and puts his laptop on the coffee table. After a while of looking at the screen together in silence Sam turns to Blaine. “Looks like fun right? So what do you think? Want to be my blow job buddy?”

The rest of the guys instantly focus on the duo and see Sam looking seriously at Blaine, who is now blushing lightly. Sebastian sees red but takes a deep breath, knowing that Sam wouldn’t actually proposition his boyfriend. Even so, Hunter takes a firm hold of Sebastian’s arm as he stands up, “Evans what did you just ask my boyfriend?” he manages to ask calmly but is obviously pissed.

Sam looks confused, “Huh…I just asked him if he wants to go blowing with me…I’ve never thought about it before but it actually kinda looks like fun”

Blaine jumps up when Sebastian turns a shade of red, “Bas it’s fine…he’s talking about glass blowing.”

“Well yeah what else would I be…?” Realisation dawns on Sam, “Oh…no nothing like that dude! He’s my best friend and I love boobs too much…not that gay love isn’t great but no”

Blaine quickly cuts him off, “Sam stop talking”

Artie bursts out laughing, “Classic Blam moment!”

“They were always like this?” Jean-Baptiste asks

“More often than not…once they became Blam anyway...this is an insight into our senior year at McKinley that’s for sure.” 

“What are blow jobs like?” Sam asks randomly a few moments later, causing Thad to choke on his drink while everyone else is stunned into silence, as they yet again watch the scene unfold between the best friends.

Blaine just looks at Sam, “What?” he clears his throat awkwardly, “You’ve never?”

Sam interrupts, “Well obviously I’ve had them…I meant giving” the rest of the guys just look around each other.

“Why are you asking?” Blaine asks almost nervously, clearly not knowing where the conversation is going and trying to work out where the question came from.

“Well…do you think it’s anything like glass blowing? Cos they’ve got really similar names, but I’ve never had someone really blow me…it seems to be more of a sucking action.” Sam comments thoughtfully, completely serious.

Blaine just drops his head face down onto the coffee table while everyone else laughs, but Sam doesn’t notice, being too focused on Blaine for an answer.

“Man I’ve missed these moments” Artie comments as he dries his eyes.

“I can see why” Jean-Baptiste and the Dalton crew agree.

“Yes it’s more of a sucking action” Blaine mumbles quietly, his head still face down on the coffee table, so only Sam can hear, the blonde boy having to drop his head closer to Blaine to catch what he said.

“So do you think it’s anything like glass blowing then?”

Blaine lifts his head and looks at Sam, “No Sam…I don’t think the two are alike…and you’ve already said why.”

“Then why do you think it’s called a blow job?”

Blaine closes his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose, “I really don’t know Sam” 

Sam thinks for a moment then shrugs his shoulders, “I guess it doesn’t really matter…”

“I’m glad you feel that way” Blaine comments uncertainly, furrowing his brow, slightly confused at yet another twist in their conversation.

“Well yeah…why would it matter what you call it when it’s so awesome” Sam grins.

“That is a fair point B” Sebastian adds playfully and Blaine can’t help but laugh and pushes Sam over, quickly moving out of reach as the blonde swipes for him in retaliation.


	62. The first meeting

The following week marks Blaine’s first meeting with Michael at NYU, Sarah having agreed the two of them at the meetings would make it less likely for Blaine to open up. Plus he and Michael had seemed to have already developed a sound professor/student relationship.

“Let me know how it goes killer” Sebastian, who’s still in bed, kisses Blaine, who’s sat on the edge, ready to go.

“I will” Blaine gives Sebastian a kiss in return, “I’m not really sure what he’s going to ask”

“It will probably just be a chat to see how you’re feeling with everything, particularly after your first full week of that timetable.”

“Yeah I guess you’re right” Sebastian sits up more, causing the comforter to slip down low on his hips.

“That’s not fair Bas” Blaine pouts

Sebastian smirks and leans forward to give Blaine another kiss, “Well just think, as you’re sat on the subway I’ll be in the shower getting ready.”

“I hate you” Blaine pouts

“No you don’t” Sebastian grins and Blaine stands up to leave for the day, “I love you killer”

Blaine smiles, “I love you too Bastian…and I’ll call you once I’m done, or message you if it takes a while and you’re in class.”

“Yeah I have to admit, having each other’s schedules saved was a good idea”

“Well I am full of them”

“And you’ll be full of something else later” Sebastian growls as Blaine winks back at him on his way out.

Later that day Sebastian is sat with Thad and Hunter in the library, “Right out with it Smythe, your brain buzzing like that is stopping me from working” Hunter sits back in his chair.

“It’s nothing”

“Bull” Sebastian just glares at Hunter then Thad realises what’s up

“It’s Blaine’s first meeting today right?” 

Sebastian nods in response, “He was a bit nervous”

“It will probably do him some good” Thad comments, again receiving a nod from Sebastian

“You can tell me to shut up if I’m over stepping…but has Blaine ever had any therapy, given everything he’s been through?” Hunter asks

Sebastian immediately stiffens and sits up straight and his face transforms into an unreadable expression, “Would it matter if he had?” he challenges.

“No…I have as you both know. I wasn’t asking to pry Sebastian. I just didn’t know if that’s why he was nervous.”

Sebastian sits back and narrows his eyes, “You know if Blaine wants you to know anything like that he would tell you. But as you’ve asked, if I don’t answer it will make it seem like he has, when he hasn’t. Wes is the closest to a therapist he ever got. Well Wes and his music…now are we studying or what?”

Thad and Hunter know to drop the subject so they all get back to it, making the most of their break so they won’t have as much to do at home.

Meanwhile at NYU Blaine’s just settled in Michael’s office.

“Do you want a soda?” Michael asks Blaine as he takes a can from his lower drawer, “And it’s not a trick question…you don’t have to be polite and say no if you do want one.”

Blaine laughs, “I’d love one actually”

“You’ve just had dance class right?”

“Yeah” 

Michael then throws him a chocolate bar, “I know how hard Summer pushes you guys” Blaine smiles shyly then starts eating. “You can relax Blaine…these sessions are to see how you’re feeling about everything…you seem to be enjoying yourself so far.”

“Definitely” Blaine beams, “I know it’s only a week it and work load will ramp up a lot, but I honestly love all my classes and feel like I’ve got a handle on it all.”

“So I hear…You won’t be surprised that all the professors talk to each other” Blaine shakes his head in response, “Well then it shouldn’t shock you to know I’ve only heard good things about you so far.”

Blaine swallows his mouthful, “Really?”

Michael laughs, “Yes Blaine…really…we actually agree from what we’ve seen so far we have a particularly strong cohort this year…You did make an impact in your stage combat class though that’s for sure.” Blaine laughs bashfully. “Though when you explained your fencing background it made a lot more sense...how long have you fenced for?”

“I took it up in my sophomore year, but when I transferred schools I had to stop. I actually only recently picked it back up, not competitively, just duelling with a friend.”

“What made you do that?”

“I missed it and I needed a new release”

“What did you do before?”

“Well boxing would normally be it, but I know I can’t keep it up if I’m pursuing music, so I’m weaning myself off it”

“No…that can’t be good for your hands…you wouldn’t strike me as a boxer though”

“Yeah that’s the reaction I normally get” Blaine laughs

“What made you take it up?” Michael asks smiling, but his smile soon fades when he notices Blaine’s demeanour change. “You don’t have to tell me Blaine” Michael reassures when Blaine doesn’t answer.

“I feel like I should” Blaine mutters quietly, not making eye contact.

“But you don’t have to…if you want to though I’ll be more than happy to listen.”

“I’ve only recently told most of my friends…and actually it stopped it from weighing down on me as much, because I’m not trying to keep a secret…but I really don’t like talking about it.”

“Do you want to call someone?” Michael asks when it seems as though Blaine is closing in on himself, “Your boyfriend perhaps?”

That gets Blaine’s attention, “You know I have a boyfriend?”

Michael smiles, “Yes…he came with you to your audition right?”

“Yeah…and it doesn’t bother you?”

“Definitely not…my husband would have something to say about it if it did”

Blaine laughs, “So you’re gay too then”

“Gold star”

Blaine laughs again but hard this time, “Sorry that’s what I said about myself when one of my friends, who is a girl, kissed me, it’s a long story.”

“Sounds like a good one”

“Did you ever have any issues?” Blaine asks, mood shifting again.

“For being gay?” Blaine nods in response, “Some…is that why you took up boxing”

Blaine takes a deep breath knowing it’s the right thing to tell Michael, “I was hospitalised after I went to a Sadie Hawkins dance with another boy in my freshman year of high school…I never wanted to feel that helpless, that defenceless again.”

“When I was at college…there was a guy in my dorm block who made it clear what he thought of 'our kind', as he used to refer to us. One night I was coming back from seeing Steve and he jumped me. He was drunk, but a big guy so it was hard trying to fight him off. Luckily when others heard the commotion they came and helped. I wasn’t that badly hurt, just needed some stitches and was a bit sore for a few days, but it scared me and shook me up. It never really leaves you does it?”

“No…even when you think it has…I used to get nightmares. I didn’t get them for ages but then the shooting last year brought them back.”

“Shooting?”

“Yeah in my senior year a gun went off at my school. This girl didn’t feel safe and she brought her dad’s gun in. She didn’t mean for it to go off and nobody was hurt…but obviously we didn’t know that at the time. I was in glee when we heard the shots go, so we barricaded ourselves in the choir room.”

“That must have been terrifying.”

“The only time I felt that scared before was Sadie Hawkins…Sorry…I shouldn’t have dumped all this on you.”

“Okay let’s get one thing straight…I am your professor and mentor here…you are not dumping anything on me and you never will. I’m here for you to talk to and whatever you say will be confidential…plus it’s kind of nice for me to talk to someone else who gets it. I suffered from panic attacks for a little while if I was on my own at night. Steve was amazing and I couldn’t have got through it without him, but unless you’ve been there you don’t really know how it feels.”

“Sounds like Sebastian…I couldn’t have gotten through the last year without him.”

“What does Sebastian do?”

“He’s studying at Columbia with the minds of going there for law school once he’s got his undergrad” when Michael laughs Blaine knots his eyebrows in confusion, “What?”

“Steve is a lawyer” That makes Blaine laugh too, “Seriously though Blaine, I’m glad you’re enjoying NYU so far…you seem to have found a pretty great group too.”

“Harry Potter is responsible for that” It’s Michael’s turn to look confused, “One of the guys spotted the Gryffindor crest on my notepad and it all went from there” Blaine explains and Michael nods in understanding.

“I have one challenge for you…as you know for next Tuesday your assignment is to take a song and break it down and make it your own.”

“I do…I already know what I’m doing” 

“And I look forward to it…but next week I also want you to perform one of your original pieces on the Friday”, Blaine’s eyes go wide. “Why does that scare you so much?”

“Only Sebastian knows I write”

“But it is one of the things you enjoy the most, right?”

“It is…it’s just kind of personal I guess…what if nobody likes it”

“Some will…some won’t. That’s the way music works after all…talk to Sebastian…ask him which is his favourite piece. Play a couple for me if you want and I can help you choose, or to your friends, but you need to do this Blaine to prove to yourself that you can do it…and I think it’s important you do this before composition classes start next semester.”

Blaine thinks for a moment, “Okay…I think I know which…well I have a couple in mind”

“Great…let me know if I can help. That’s what I’m here for after all. Now I better let you get on with the rest of your day.”

“Thank you…you know…for everything”

“And thank you too” Blaine smiles then gets up and leaves.

After leaving the office he sees his friends up ahead, “Hey guys…wait up”

They all stop and turn, waiting until he’s caught up and greet him, “We were wondering if you were going to be able to join us” Joey says

“Well it looks like I am” Blaine smiles, “But I can always go away again” he jokes.

“Don’t even think about it” Nick tells him, “Brian here is trying to justify the inclusion of the sandman in Spiderman three and how they decided when the movie didn’t quite work, they would just start the whole franchise again.”

“Please don’t encourage them” Lauren laughs, “They’ve been talking about it solidly for the last hour”

“Yeah even I’m getting bored” Matt comments, making Blaine laugh as they get to the end of the corridor and turn the corner.

“Blaine!” Blaine stops dead when he hears that voice and turns to his side to see Kurt stood there. His friends can’t help but notice how he changes instantly. 

“What are you doing here” Blaine asks hurriedly, obviously shocked and not in a good way.

“What kind of greeting do you call that?” Kurt chides with a playful edge, “I needed to see you. We need to talk…in private.” Kurt glares at Blaine's friends who have all stopped and clearly aren't going to leave them alone voluntarily.

“I have nothing I want to say to you Kurt. If I did I would have answered one of your calls. That should have been a big enough clue…how did you even know where I’d be?”

“I just needed to see you.”

“Why?”

“To make you see” Kurt smiles then launches forward and kisses Blaine, who manages to push him off after a couple of attempts. Kurt goes to kiss him again, but Blaine stops him, keeping him at arm’s length. “God dammit Blaine!” Kurt shouts angrily, his face turning a shade of red as he hits out at Blaine once again.

Joe steps in, “I don’t know what’s going on, but you have no right to try and hit someone or talk to them like that just because they don’t want to kiss you.”

“And who are you? His new bit on the side?” Kurt screams

Blaine cuts him off, “Enough Kurt! I’ve had enough of this! Why can’t you just leave me alone?”

Down the corridor Michael has just started walking with Sarah, who had come to see him to find out how Blaine was doing, when they hear the commotion so speed up to see what’s going on. When they round the corner they see Kurt shouting at Blaine and hit him, only being stopped from landing another blow when Joe grabs his arm mid-swing. Sarah calls for campus security as Michael moves to intervene.

“What is going on here?” Michael demands as he pushes his way through the small crowd that has gathered.

“This creep’s been coming to NYU for the last week in the hope of finding Blaine, he then started hitting out and shouting when Blaine wouldn’t let him kiss him.” Lauren quickly fills in as security arrives.

“Gentleman, please escort this young man from campus. He is not a student so does not need access.” Security then take Kurt off site, “Blaine could you come with us please?” 

Michael asks as Sarah joins them and they both walk Blaine back to his office.

Jeff goes running up to the group he recognises as Blaine’s friends, “What just happened? Please tell me I didn’t just see Kurt Hummel being dragged away from here.”

“We wish we could…who the hell is he?” Lauren replies

“Blaine’s ex…though they broke up over a year ago now.”

“Wow…he needs to get over it” Joey comments and they all head to Michael’s office to wait for Blaine. Jeff messages Sebastian, who’d gone round to Hunter’s to study for a while, to let him know what’s going on.

“I’m really sorry” Blaine apologises as he sits down.

“You don’t need to be” Sarah reassures him

“Just tell us what happened” Michael says

“To be honest I’m not really sure…he’s my ex. We broke up over a year ago now. It was really messy. Last week two of our friends who used to live with him moved out into their own place. The night they did he tried calling me and Rachel, one of the girls, a ridiculous amount but I didn’t answer. I guess he wanted to talk.”

“Lauren said he’s been coming here the last week hoping to find you” Michael pushes

“That’s what he said”

“So…what happened when he saw you?”

“He tried to kiss me…but I stopped him…then we argued and he hit me…twice...Joe stopped him from hitting me again then you turned up.”

“Okay. You will need to write that down as it happened on campus and security was called. And I have to ask Blaine but you didn’t try to hit him back at all?” Sarah asks

“No…definitely not…I wouldn’t hit someone unless it was absolutely the last resort, if I was in danger…it would be irresponsible for me to otherwise.”

“Blaine boxes” Michael adds when Sarah looks confused.

“Well then it’s a good job you can control your temper…I’ve got a class to teach so I will leave you with Michael to write your statement...I’ll ask the others to come down and give theirs.” Sarah opens the door and sees them all sitting there plus Jeff, “Scratch that, they’re all here.” They all enter the office and complete their statements in silence as instructed and hand them in, Michael wanting to talk to all of them before they leave for the day asks them to sit back down when he has the last statement.

Jeff is still sat outside, having not witnessed the event when Sebastian and Hunter come running down the corridor. “Where’s B?”

“In the office with the rest of them; they all have to write a statement about what happened.” 

Just then the door opens and the group file out of the office, Blaine the last one to step into the corridor is immediately pulled into an embrace by Sebastian.

“I take it this is Sebastian then” Michael says as the couple break apart

“It is…Bas this is Michael”

Sebastian shakes Michael’s hand, “Security will be keeping an eye out for Mr Hummel” Michael reassures Sebastian, “Excuse me…I have to get to class”

“What do you want to do killer?”

“Get in front of a punch bag”

“Well as we agreed to spar today I grabbed my things as we left…still fancy it?” Hunter asks

“Absolutely”

“Is there anywhere we can do it here?”

“If you don’t mind using a studio”

“Fine with me…we both know the size of a ring”

“Hell we’re coming to watch this” Joey comments and Sebastian looks at him so Blaine makes introductions.

“I’m sorry Blaine but if I was going to turn it would probably be for your boyfriend here” Joe comments teasingly 

“Shut up Walker” Blaine says good heartedly as he leads them down the corridor

“What? I mean you’re cute but you’re not my type”

“Really? I thought anything with a pulse was” Lauren quips and everyone laughs

“B?”

“Kurt accused Joe of being my bit on the side when he stepped in”

“I take it as a compliment” Joe grins

“You should” Blaine retorts, making them all laugh as they head into a studio just as Sam comes running down a corridor.

“Dude are you okay?” Sam hugs onto Blaine

“Sam…I’m fine” 

“So do you all have a bat signal or something?” Nick asks jokingly as Sam let’s go

“No but we totally should! We could have Blonde Chameleon and Nightbird ones!” Sam enthuses and Blaine introduces him to everyone before getting ready with Hunter.

“So who are Blond Chameleon and Nightbird?” Matt asks

“Our not so secret superhero identities” 

“They have costumes” Sebastian adds

“In fact they broke into our High School in them” Jeff continues

“Only to take back our trophy you guys stole…we have comics too” Sam tells them enthusiastically.

It doesn’t take Blaine and Hunter long to get into the swing of things, both testing the other having never sparred together or seen the other in action before.

“I didn’t expect them to hit each other that hard” Jeff comments

“Doesn’t look like it’s hurting though” Sam replies

When Blaine and Hunter break thirty minutes later they’re both sweating heavily and are out of breath. “Damn I want a go” Joe comments

“Bas wants to learn too” Blaine replies breathlessly, “If we can find a time that works, we can teach you together…assuming you’ve never boxed before.”

“No but how hard can it be?”

“Depends if you want to risk screwing your hands up” Hunter replies.

“No I kind of need them.”

“Yeah every night around ten usually” Joey quips making everyone laugh

“You ready to get out of here now killer?”

“Definitely” Blaine packs up his stuff but doesn’t bother getting changed due to the state he’s in and picks up his bag. “Thanks for everything guys” he says to all his new friends.

“No problem…I’d give you a hug, but you’re kind of ripe” Joey replies, making Blaine roll his eyes. They all say their goodbyes before Jeff, Sebastian, Sam and Hunter head for the Upper West side.

“Can we get my number changed this weekend Bastian?” Blaine asks as they settle on the subway.

Sebastian smiles, “I was hoping you were going to”

“I don’t want him to be able to contact me”

“So what exactly happened?”

“I’ll tell you when we get home” Blaine rests his head on Sebastian’s shoulder, receiving a kiss to his sweaty curls in response. 

When they make their way out of the subway Jeff and Sam both linger, obviously wanting the full run down of what happened too.

“Dude?” Sam tentatively asks

“Later Sam…I promise” Sam just nods in response and gives Blaine a hug before heading back home with Jeff, knowing that pushing Blaine never works.

Blaine is silent on the short walk back to their apartment, but holds Sebastian’s hand tightly. When they get home Blaine lets go of Sebastian’s hand, unpacks his bag and puts on a load of laundry before stripping off in their room to go for a shower. It’s only then that he speaks, “Come with me?”

Sebastian rolls his eyes playfully, “As if I’d pass up on the chance to shower with you” making Blaine laugh softly in response.

They take their time washing each other gently. Blaine knew he had to tell Sebastian everything that happened, but he was scared about how he would react. When they get out of the shower and have dried off Blaine climbs into bed so Sebastian quickly follows and pulls Blaine into a protective embrace so they’re lying on their sides, Sebastian’s arms and legs wrapped around his boyfriend.

“What is it killer?”

“I’m scared about how you’re going to react” Blaine confesses quietly 

That makes Sebastian worry, “I don’t know how I will…it all depends on what you’ve got to tell me”

“So I had a really good meeting with Michael…I’ll tell you about it after so we have something nice to talk about. Then when I left his office I saw the guys just ahead so I called after them so we could walk together.”

“They seem like a good group”

Blaine smiles, “I think so”

“So we just turned down a different corridor when Kurt called out for me…I asked him what he was doing there and he said he needed to talk to me…I told him I didn’t have anything to say to him so there was nothing to talk about but he just said he needed to see me so I would see.” Blaine takes a deep breath, “Then he kissed me” Sebastian’s hand that had been trailing up and down his spine comfortingly immediately stops and Blaine feels his whole body stiffen.

“He fucking did what?” Sebastian asks in an angry whisper

“He kissed me and I tried to push him off but he was holding on tight so it took me a couple of attempts before I could push him away…then he came at me again but I stopped him then he shouted at and hit me and we argued…he hit me a second time...he went to a again but Joe stopped him.” Sebastian doesn’t say anything so Blaine pulls back so he can look at him and he sees pure anger on his face. “I’m sorry” Blaine sniffles.

“No…you don’t need to be sorry. He does and he will be”

“Bas don’t do anything please…it will only make it worse”

Sebastian hugs Blaine tightly again, “How did he know where you’d be?”

“When we were arguing it came out that he’s been coming to NYU whenever he can since the girls moved out…so I guess it was a statistical inevitability that he’d find me eventually.”

Sebastian takes a deep breath, “So he’s been looking for you for the last week?”

“I guess…

“Did you ever tell him you were going to NYU?”

“No, but it’s not exactly been kept under wraps…he would have heard over the New Directions grape vine or Facebook or something.”

“You need to block him” Sebastian says harshly

“I know and I will…I haven’t been in contact with him Bas” 

When Blaine’s voice cracks Sebastian looks down into those golden eyes he loves so much, “I didn’t think you had” he reassures his curly haired boyfriend, “But he’s clearly keeping an eye on what’s going on with your life, so if you want to fully cut contact like you said then you need to block him.”

“I know…let’s do it now. The sooner the better”

Blaine goes to move but Sebastian stops him, “Just tell me why you’re doing this”

“I need to do it for me. I know there’s a chance I could bump into him in the city and if that happens I’ll have to deal with it then. But for now I want to take some control back and the way I can do that is by doing this…I thought you’d be happy about it.”

“I’m not happy it’s come to this, but I’m not going to lie, of course I’m happy you’re doing it…I just didn’t want you to be only doing it because of me.” Blaine looks into Sebastian’s deep green eyes then kisses him passionately, “Not that I’m complaining, but what was that for?” Sebastian smiles softly.

“For you being you” Blaine smiles shyly so Sebastian kisses him. The kiss gets a little heated, “Bastian” Blaine moans softly as Sebastian’s hands grab hold of his ass.

“What is it killer?” Sebastian asks as he nips Blaine’s ear.

“I need to feel you”

Sebastian rolls them over so he’s on top of Blaine then slowly kisses him as he reaches for the lube. After he’s coated his fingers he reaches down and starts massaging Blaine’s   
ring of muscles, kissing him the whole time. Sebastian makes sure Blaine’s thoroughly prepared before coating his cock and slowly pushing in, waiting for each ring of muscle to relax as he goes, Blaine’s legs automatically wrap around his waist. Once he’s finally bottomed out he stays till for a moment and kisses Blaine fervently. “Bas if you don’t move you’re going to kill me.”

Sebastian chuckles softly, “Just you wait.” He keeps his thrusts long and slow, brushing every inch over Blaine’s prostate. It takes all of his self-control but the end is worth it. The slow build for them both is a mixture of complete bliss and torture, but when they come; they come hard, loudly moaning each other’s names. 

Blaine has just draped himself over Sebastian after they’ve cleaned up when his phone goes so he ignores it, but it quickly rings again. He releases a breath he hadn’t realised he’d been holding when he sees it’s Jean-Baptiste and knows he wouldn’t call twice in quick succession unless it was urgent.

“Hey JB” Blaine answers, still on top of Sebastian, who is lazily tracing his spine with his fingers on one hand, the other resting on his ass.

“Hi…I overheard one of the guys at NYADA today talking about Kurt going to NYU” Jean-Baptiste says cautiously.

“Yeah he did”

“He found you?”

“Unfortunately”

“Are you okay?” Jean-Baptiste asks, clearly concerned

“Yeah…sorry can you hang on a sec?”

“Of course”

Blaine mutes his phone, “JB overheard about Kurt coming to NYU…I guess I need to fill the guys in sooner rather than later.”

“It’s better they hear it from you killer B…I’ll rally the troops.”

Blaine nods and smiles gratefully before unmuting his phone, “By any chance are you free JB?”

“Yeah”

“Can you come over? It’d be easier if I could fill you all in at once, or we could Skype you in.”

“It’s fine I’ll come across…I need a break anyway. I’ll see you soon Blaine.” Jean-Baptiste disconnects the call and heads on his way.

“Okay killer everyone will be here within the hour, girls included…don’t look at me like that B, you know if you try to protect them from it then they’ll get upset.”

“Yes Rachel will get upset but Santana will get angry, hell even Britt is really starting to lose her patience.”

“I know but you keeping them out of the look would only make it worse…so I was thinking for dinner we could order from this new place I found out about. Apparently it’s meant to be amazing.”

Blaine smiles “Go for it”

“Don’t you want to know what it is?”

“Nope surprise me”

“So bossy” Sebastian teases and pinches Blaine’s ass before shuffling out of bed to order from a Filipino restaurant that was meant to be authentic. He knew what some of Blaine’s favourites were so ordered those as well as a mix of other dishes. There would be far too much but this way if anyone else hadn’t eaten they could have some, or they could always eat the left overs. 

The food arrives just before Sam, Thad, Nick and Jeff. Blaine recognises the smells before he sees the food, “Oh my god is that what I think it is?”

“I certainly hope so” Sebastian laughs, “One of the girls in my seminar group was talking about this place she finally found that actually did authentic Filipino food that reminded her of home, so I asked her for the details and here we are.”

“So there’s clearly too much for two” Sam hints and Blaine passes him a serving of what he knows are Sam’s favourites, making him smile.

Everyone else soon arrives, some having food and others not. When they’ve finished eating and have all helped clear up and gotten drinks they settle in the living room, Blaine settles on Sebastian’s lap on the arm chair in much the way he had when he recounted Sadie Hawkins to them all.

“So most of you at least know that Kurt showed up at NYU today” Blaine starts

“Wait he freaking what?” Santana snaps and stands

“Tana please” Blaine asks and Santana sits when Brittany takes one of her hands

“It turns out he’s been coming to NYU ever since you two moved out” he says looking at Santana and Rachel, “And well today he finally found me” Blaine then goes on to recount the whole encounter.

Santana, Sam, Nick and Thad all stand up, “Where do you think you’re going?” Blaine asks

“Where do you think?” Santana snaps, “To have a word with Lady Hummel”

“I don’t want you to. I told you so you guys were all in the loop, plus as I’m changing my number you’d all figure something out happened and I didn’t want you to worry…I don’t want you getting involved in this.”

“It’s too late for that” The Latina argues back and they all nod

“If that’s how you’re going to be I won’t tell you anything in the future then” Blaine says, frustration clear in his voice.

“Come on man don’t be like that” Sam tries

Sebastian can tell Blaine’s getting more worked up so shifts him so he can stand, “Enough!” Sebastian orders, “You all sit down right now! You heard B…he told you so you wouldn’t be kept in the dark and wouldn’t be blind sighted if you see gayface. If any of you so much as even make contact with Hummel over this there will be hell to pay.” None of them have ever seen Sebastian like this before, Blaine included.

Hunter stands next to Sebastian, “Sebastian’s right guys. You cannot go and attack or provoke Hummel in anyway. Don’t you see that right now in this whole fucked up situation; he’s the only one who’s done anything wrong. If you act out it will give whatever story he spins backing.”

Jean-Baptiste stands, “They’re right…and I know I haven’t known Blaine as long as the rest of you and that I’m still the new guy…but surely we should all respect what Blaine wants as it’s him this is really effecting. Plus…if Sebastian can manage not to go after Hummel, then you guys definitely can too.”

Sam smiles in apology to Blaine then sits down, “I’m sorry dude…we should follow your lead on this…and JB’s right. If Sebastian can manage not to act out then we all can too. It’s the two of you this is affecting the most.”

“Fine” Santana relents and sits down with the others, “One question though, are you going to let Quinn and Puck know? Not to mention Kitty.”

“And Wes” Nick adds

“I’ve already spoken to Wes” Blaine replies, “As for Quinn, I haven’t really thought about it as I know how busy she is with college, though she’ll be able to tell something is wrong, so if she asks what then yes I’ll tell her.”

“No if…she’ll ask as soon as you send her your new number” Brittany tells him and Blaine nods.

Blaine shrugs and runs a hand through his curls, “The same goes for Puck…I’m not sure what to do about Kitty, she’ll ask and she’ll work out it’s something Kurt related…but I don’t want her actually flying out here.”

Sam laughs, “Good luck trying to stop that one dude…you know if you don’t tell her she’ll come at some point to get it out of you.”

“I know”

“Who’s Kitty?” Jean-Baptiste asks

“She was in the New Directions, small blonde one. Gave it a lot of mouth when your guy threw French insults at us” Sam replies

“Ah yes I remember her…good luck”

Blaine rolls his eyes fondly, “Thanks”

Nobody stays for long as most have work to do and they really can’t risk getting behind this early on. Later that night while lying in bed starting at his ceiling, Sam decides it’s time to ask Blaine about something that’s been on his mind for a while, though he knew timing would be crucial if he was going to get a proper answer.


	63. A new number

That Saturday Blaine and Sebastian head out early to get his number changed. As his contract was coming to an end it ends up easier for Blaine to just pay out the remainder and start a new one. After visiting the High Line they decide to head home, both needing to complete some school work and so Blaine can set up his new phone. 

“What is it killer?” Sebastian asks when he notices Blaine staring at him as he works through his reading.

“Erm…do you have a second to listen to the piece I’ve prepared for next week? But don’t worry if you don’t.”

Sebastian puts his book on the coffee table, “Of course I have time to listen…I was kind of hoping I would get a preview” he winks.

Blaine smiles brightly and grabs one of his acoustics and goes on to perform the arrangement he’d prepared of ‘Hey ya’. “So what do you think?” he asks nervously when he’s finished.

“I think that you have an uncanny ability to break a song down to its core. That was amazing B…I’d never think about doing that with that song. When most people try to make a song acoustic they just slow it down, but you do so so much more. It’s like you rebuild it in a way it stays true to itself but yet becomes so much more.” 

Blaine blushes at the praise, “Thank you…that means a lot from you Bastian…so thank you”

“I’m only saying what I see and hear B…have you thought anymore about which of your songs you’re going to perform?”

“I have and I was thinking of ‘Human’. I kept going back and forth between that and ‘Don’t you’, but…I don’t know. I guess ‘Human’ just feels right for the setting.”

“I think that’s an excellent choice…plus you can’t take full credit for ‘Don’t you’ as you stole my line killer” Sebastian jokes.

“It was a good line” 

“Hmmm and it worked…I got my kiss and your lips tasted as sweet as candy so it’s not as if I had to pretend either.”

“You’re so cheesy” Blaine teases 

“Yet you used the line in your song” Sebastian grins cockily

“I said you’re cheesy…not that it’s a bad thing…and for the record I love that line. It makes me think of kissing you every time.” Blaine leans forward to give Sebastian a kiss before putting his guitar away. “Are you nearly finished?”

“I’ve probably got another hour of reading to go…are you done?” Sebastian says, throwing his head back

“I am” Blaine grins, “Sticking with Italian was definitely the right thing to do! What do you fancy for dinner?”

“You don’t have to cook B”

“But I want to and I’m finished and you’re not so it’s only fair.” Blaine says firmly

“Are you sure you aren’t just avoiding my cooking?” Sebastian only half teases

“Positive. You’re a good cook Bastian”

“I’m not up to your speed though”

“But only because you never had to cook before…I made sure to learn so I wasn’t constantly eating spaghettios or soup. And as ever you’re a natural at it.”

“I am, aren’t I?” Sebastian grins smugly

Blaine rolls his eyes fondly, “And modest as ever…is there anything in particular you fancy?”

“Nothing heavy…a salad lyonnaise would be amazing but don’t feel you have to and I don’t think we have everything in”

“No but we’re running out of a few things. I’ll go to the store.”

“B” Sebastian challenges

“What…we’re running out of coffee Bas…I’m not only going for you” Blaine teases so Sebastian playfully smacks his ass as he walks passed.

Blaine is sure to stop at the bakery on his way home to pick up a baguette to have with the salad. He knows they aren’t as good as the ones in Paris, but it’s better than nothing and he knows it’s what Sebastian would want to go with the pate he’d picked up at the deli counter.

“Do you need a hand?” Sebastian asks as Blaine carries the bags through to the kitchen.

“I’m good…plus the quicker you finish, the quicker we can cuddle up and relax…would you like to have some wine with dinner?”

“That sounds amazing”

“What kind would work best?”

“What do you think?”

“I’m going for white but I don’t know which one”

“Well you’re right that white would work best. Put the pinot grigio in to chill, it will go the best and can be drunk just as easily on its own if we fancy more than one glass.”

“Are you trying to get me drunk?” Blaine asks teasingly as he puts the groceries away

Sebastian gasps, pretending to be offended, “Me? Never! I’m offended you’d think such a thing killer” 

Blaine laughs in response as his phone rings, seeing it’s Cooper he answers as he continues to put things away, “Hey Coop what’s up?”

“Why don’t you tell me?”

“Huh?” 

“Blaine don’t play dumb…why did you change your number? I know it was something you were thinking about doing, but why now?”

“I was going to tell you…I just hadn’t had a chance yet”

“Well you’ve got one now so talk”

Blaine sighs as he closes the fridge and hops onto the counter, “Kurt came to NYU”

“And?” Cooper prods when Blaine doesn’t elaborate, he then goes on to recount the whole affair.

“Do you need me to fly out there?” Cooper asks seriously

“No…but if you want to visit you can if you’ve got the time…it would be good to see you Coop.”

“You too little brother, but my schedule is actually pretty rammed so if you’re okay I’ll postpone my visit. You can’t just turn down CSI you know.”

“You got CSI?” Blaine beams

“I got CSI” Cooper answers, obviously grinning just as brightly

“That’s amazing…I’m so happy for you”

“Well apparently you were right and pointing all the time wasn’t the way to go about things”

“Hang on…did you just say that I was right? Can I get that in writing?”

“No chance squirt!” 

“Don’t call me that!” Blaine protests through a laugh, “Do you know if you’ll be home for Thanksgiving?”

“It doesn’t look like it…what about you. Don’t you fancy staying in the big apple and soaking it all up?”

“Yeah…”

“Blaine don’t go home because you feel like you should. Okay?” 

“Okay”

“Right I’ve just arrived on set so I’ve got to go but keep me in the loop! I’ll be sure to see you around Christmas if I don’t get a chance before. I’ve negotiated time in the schedule for it, so if New York doesn’t turn into the big freeze I’ll see you then.”

“Really?”

“Of course” Cooper scoffs, “What kind of big brother do you think I am? Wait a minute, don’t answer that…Speak soon Blaine”

“Soon Coop”

Blaine smiles dopily, it means a lot to him that Cooper had thought of him when negotiating contracts. His phone buzzes with a message from Kitty, ‘Skype…now’. He shakes his head knowing what it’s going to be about so grabs his laptop and sets it on the side so he can start on dinner at the same time.

“So what’s with the new number fuzz?” Kitty asks as soon as the call connects.

“I fancied a change you know” Blaine says slightly sarcastically and shrugs as he washes the lettuce

“Awww you’re so cute when you try to be all sarcastic” Kitty teases, “Seriously though are you okay?”

“I’m fine…honestly” he replies, looking into the camera so Kitty can see he means it.

“So I don’t need to get a flight to have a little word with Lady Bits Hummel?”

“Who says it was anything to do with him? And where did you hear that name?”

“Please I’m not stupid, plus you’re a terrible liar. And that’s for me to know. So what did he do?” 

Blaine goes on to tell his friend, when he’s finished he looks back at the screen, “Kitty, are you still there or has it frozen? You haven’t moved or said anything in a while”

“I’m still here…And why exactly shouldn’t I get a flight out there?”

“One, because I’m dealing with it and two, you have school. Do you need any more reasons because I’ve got a whole list if you’re interested?”

“I’m good…I’ve got plans tonight and if I listen to you go through your list I’ll no doubt fall asleep.”

Blaine looks at the screen and sticks his tongue out as Sebastian comes into the kitchen and gives him a kiss on the cheek as he pinches his ass.

“Nice to see you’re still living up to your name Mr Grab-ass” Kitty smirks

“Well I wouldn’t want to disappoint you now would I?”

“Definitely not…and I can’t say I wouldn’t do the same thing if I was there”

“Kitty” Blaine warns, making her giggle in response.

“Right I’ve got to go and get ready. Have a good night boys” She winks

“Remember if it’s a first date, put some underwear on!” Blaine shouts playfully just before she disconnects the call.

“Really killer?” Sebastian asks, his eyebrows raised in amusement

“Just some friendly advice” Blaine grins cheekily

“Is there anything I can do?”

“Nope…I’ve just got to poach the eggs then we’re good to go…oh wait. Can you get the bread out the oven? I was just warming it.”

“A baguette? You’re spoiling me killer.” Sebastian says as he gets the bread out.

“You clearly didn’t look at the table as you came in then”

“No…it has to be said my eyes were fixed on something else” Sebastian says, shamelessly staring at Blaine’s ass. He turns to see the table set and a board put out ready for the bread with the pate and the wine chilling in a bucket. “You really are spoiling me” he comments as he puts the bread on the board. 

“Maybe you can spoil me later” Blaine practically purrs as he sets their plates down on the table.

“Hmmm…I’m sure I can manage that”

The next morning Sebastian walks into their bedroom to find Blaine shirtless, staring at himself in their full length mirror judgingly so walks up and wraps his arms around his waist from behind. “What did that mirror ever do to you?” he asks and kisses Blaine’s neck.

“It’s not the mirror”

“I know…what is it?”

Blaine shakes his head, “It’s nothing” and goes to move but Sebastian holds him tightly in place. “You’ll think I’m silly” Blaine sighs.

“Let me be the judge of that”

Blaine furrows his brows as he chooses his words, “I knew without the Cheerios…things would…that I would change…I’m obviously still working out, but it’s not the same level. And I just…” Blaine closes his eyes.

“You’re just as gorgeous B” Sebastian says sincerely and Blaine’s opens his eyes and finds Sebastian’s in the mirror. “Don’t think that you’re not.”

“But you deserve…”

“Killer…I love you…I’ll love you even if you get fat…and I love your body just the way it is. Yeah your abs might not have quite the same definition they had, but they have just the   
right amount and are still taut and toned. The V created by your hips drives me crazy, as does the trail of hair that runs down into your pants. And don’t even get me started on your ass.”

“No the poem you wrote about it was enough” Blaine smiles

“What can I say? It inspires me”

Blaine laughs softly, “I just still sometimes find it hard to believe you’re with me when you could have any guy you want”

“And I sometimes feel exactly the same way killer…what brought this on?”

“Nothing” Blaine says too quickly

“Blaine” Sebastian warns

“Honestly it’s so stupid, I heard one of the guys from your lacrosse team talking about you and I guess I wondered how I could compete.”

Sebastian takes a deep breath and turns Blaine around before walking backwards so he’s sat on the edge of their bed, pulling Blaine onto his lap so he’s straddling him, “Okay as there’s only one other gay guy on the team, you must be talking about Steve. And yes he has abs, but so does Sam and you don’t see me trying to get him into bed” Blaine smiles shyly at that comment. “And your body is way nicer than his anyway. Not to mention he really should try to cover up in the showers instead of advertising that he’s clearly not packing. But most importantly, he’s not you. I love you killer and nobody can compete with that. Nobody can compete with you. Nobody would be able to keep me on my toes as much, or challenge me. And nobody has an ass anywhere near the same level as yours. I’ve told you before Blaine Devon Anderson…you’ve ruined me for any other man so you’re stuck with me…you’re the only one I want…plus you are absolutely amazing in the sack, by far the best I’ve ever had at everything and we can do it bare back, so why would I want to even look at anyone else?” Sebastian grins cheekily.

Blaine playfully punches Sebastian’s bicep, but with enough force it hurts a little, “I love you”

“And I love you. You know some high school relationships last right? It’s not all like the teen movies where they go off to college and get with other people on a journey to find   
their true selves and one true love” Sebastian says mockingly as he traces Blaine’s hip bones with his thumbs, “Look at Sam’s parents…and it’s not as if we’ve had an easy road to get where we are, but look at us.”

Blaine smiles softly, his eyes full of so much love as his heart beats heavily in his chest, making him feel as though he could burst, “You still manage to surprise me everyday” he leans in to give his boyfriend a passionate kiss.

“That is unless you’re having doubts” Sebastian says as the kiss breaks.

“No…I can honestly say I’ve never had a doubt about you…about us…even when everything went down…I just knew that wasn’t who you really are” Blaine says as he runs he fingers through Sebastian’s hair.

“You know and understand me more than anyone ever has B, or has ever even tried to”

“I can say the same about you” Blaine smiles dopily, which is reciprocated on Sebastian’s features.

“Still…to make sure you know how much I love every inch of you…I better show you” Sebastian grins naughtily then flips their positions and pushes Blaine back onto the bed, “But first, you’re wearing far too many clothes.”

“You’re wearing more than me” Blaine pouts

“One thing at a time killer” Sebastian winks 

Half an hour later and Blaine can’t take anymore of being kept on the brink, “Bastian please!” he gasps.

“Tell me what you want killer” Sebastian orders as he sucks another mark to Blaine’s collar bone.

Blaine grabs hold of Sebastian’s ass, “Want to fuck you”

“Then what are you waiting for?” Blaine releases a deep throaty growl as he flips them over and pins Sebastian beneath him and prepares him frustratingly slowly. “Jesus Christ B fuck me already!”

Blaine smirks, his eyes never leaving Sebastian’s as he lubes up his cock and pushes in in one swift motion, making his boyfriend moan. “Are you okay?” Blaine asks and Sebastian can only answer in a series of rapid nods as his boyfriend hoists his legs over his shoulders. Blaine pulls out so only his tip is left in him before slamming back in, setting a gruelling pace and hitting Sebastian’s prostate with each stroke. 

As Blaine feels his own orgasm starting to build he wraps his hand round Sebastian’s cock and runs his thumb over the tip, making him come instantly, practically shouting through his orgasm. Blaine licks one of his fingers and the taste of his boyfriend and the clenching of his muscles around him make him come hard, his orgasm making his body tremble with the force of it as he collapses on top of Sebastian, who has unhooked his legs, which are once again resting on the bed.

“That was fucking amazing killer” Sebastian tells him as he catches his breath

“It was, wasn’t it?” Blaine grins cockily making the taller laugh.

After they shower they spend the day lazing around together, having finished all their school work, Sebastian spending some time reading for pleasure as Blaine plays his guitar.

“Would you teach me sometime B?” Sebastian asks all of a sudden

“Really? You want to learn the guitar?”

“Yeah…it always seems to help you relax” Blaine smiles in response and he spends the next couple of hours teaching some of the basics to his boyfriend.

They order in that evening and watch some movies cuddled up on the sofa under a blanket, Blaine draped chest down over Sebastian, the taller running one hand up and down his spine absentmindedly while the other rests on his ass.

“What’s wrong B? I can hear your brain working” Sebastian asks as he runs his hand up to massage the back of Blaine’s neck and play with the curls at the nape.

“Sam’s been kind of distant since he found out about Kurt coming to NYU and I don’t understand why and he won’t talk to me about it. He just keeps brushing me off, but it’s obvious there’s something.”

“I’m sure it’s nothing for you to worry about”

“I can’t help it…we talk to each other about everything. Maybe I’ve done something to annoy him, but I can’t think of anything.”

“He’s probably just adjusting B” Sebastian tries to reason and kisses the top of Blaine’s head, but even he knows that’s not what’s going on so decides if Sam won’t tell Blaine, then he’ll have to tell him.


	64. The question

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay here we go. I am quite frankly terrified about posting this chapter. I think most will be expecting it to some extent but I would like to warn anyone of trigger warnings for past domestic abuse. I would love to hear any feedback, the good and the bad. I am really open to changing my work based on feedback so please do let me know.

Sebastian finishes earlier than his boyfriend on Tuesdays and has had enough of Blaine being upset and confused by his best friend being distant so messages Sam, ‘Sam come round now. This is not a request.’ 

Sam runs his hands through his hair before he sends off a reply ‘On my way’ and grabs his keys as he leaves. When Sebastian opens to door he just looks at Sam silently and steps aside to let the blonde enter and settles in the arm chair in the living room after closing the door.

Sam sits on the sofa, “So what’s going on?” he asks when Sebastian only stares at him.

“Why don’t you tell me? Look Sam, Blaine’s worried he’s done something wrong…you’ve been really distant with him since you found out about Kurt’s NYU visit and he doesn’t understand why.”

“Man I didn’t mean to be” Sam throws his head back

“But you were. So what’s going on? And don’t say nothing.”

“I just have some stuff running through my head”

“About B?” Sam nods in response, “Come on Sam what’s going on?”

“Have you ever wondered if…well…if maybe…if maybe Kurt hit him when they were together?”

Sebastian runs his hands through his hair, “So you’ve been distant with him because you don’t know how to ask him? And let me take a guess and say you’re scared if you talk to him you’ll just blurt it out and you know if it’s the wrong moment he’ll freeze up.” He leans forward, his arms resting on his legs.

“Yeah…you’re too good at that, it’s like you’re a mind reader. It’s not the first time I’ve wondered but now I can’t make my brain shut up about it. I just can’t believe Kurt hit him again now he knows about Sadie Hawkins…it’s like it’s a habit or something…I don’t know…maybe I’m just reading too much into it…have you ever thought about it?”

Sebastian closes his eyes and puts his face in his hands for a moment before looking back up at Sam, “Yes…of course I have, that's how I know exactly how you feel…I don’t know how to bring it up either…but I know I need to, we need to. And well to be honest Sam you’re going to have to talk to him one way or another. Keep avoiding him like this and you won’t be blam forever.”

“Then what do we do? How do we ask him? How do we talk to him about it?”

“About what?” Blaine asks as he walks into the living room

“Your home early” Sebastian comments nervously

“Not really…so ask me what? About what?” Blaine stands rigidly a few paces behind the sofa. Sebastian stands and moves to his boyfriend, but Blaine steps back to maintain the distance between them. “Sam?” When Sam doesn’t answer Blaine starts to panic. “Just tell me!” he demands.

“B come sit down…please”

“Not until one of you tells me what you were talking about!” Blaine looks to Sam, “Have I done something wrong?”

“No dude…you haven’t done anything. I’m sorry…I didn’t mean to be distant, I just didn’t know how to talk to you about it…and it turns out Sebastian didn’t either.”

“What?” Blaine asks getting frustrated, “You can talk to me about anything, though apparently not when it’s clearly about me” he says looking at the two people he loves most in the world, his eyes showing his hurt.

“Killer, sit down then we’ll talk to you.” Sebastian says firmly but kindly

Blaine sits as far as he can from the other two, eyeing them warily, “So? From the beginning would be good.”

“Well I guess that starts with me.” Sam tells his best friend, “This is something I’ve thought about a few times, but since Kurt turned up at NYU I haven’t been able to get it out of my head. It’s like it’s fogging my brain up.”

“What?” Blaine asks, eyes with worry

Sam looks to Sebastian at a complete loss for words so the taller takes a deep breath, “Did Kurt ever lay a hand on you when you two were together?”

“Why are you asking me this?” Blaine asks in a panicked whisper

“Because it’s like it’s a habit for him” Sam explains

“Is that what you think of me?” Blaine asks his best friend and boyfriend, hurt in his eyes

“No dude we didn’t mean it like that! Plus we all know if someone stays in a relationship like that they, for whatever reasons, can’t leave.”

“Killer, nobody is judging you. You wanted to find out why Sam was being distant and here you go…you have to know he was really nervous about bringing this up…we both were as it’s something I’ve wondered as well.”

“I do”, because Blaine does know, he can see how anxious they both are

“So?” Sam asks as Blaine is yet to answer

The curly haired boy shrugs his shoulders, “It doesn’t matter.”

“Yes it does” Both Sebastian and Sam answer back

“Why?” Blaine challenges, “Why would it matter now?”

“It just does killer”

“Plus if he did, it’s something that should have never happened to you”

“I think we’ve all had things happen to us that shouldn’t have…and it should never happen to anyone” Blaine snaps 

Sebastian and Sam share a look, “Come on B just talk to us…the more you carry on like this the more we think the worst”

Blaine looks down, “It wasn’t that bad”

Sebastian and Sam both take deep breaths, “So he did?” Sam asks, wanting confirmation.

Blaine doesn’t say anything and just keeps looking down so Sebastian stands up and walks over to his boyfriend and crouches down in front of him, placing one hand on his knee and cupping his cheek with another. Sebastian tilts Blaine’s head gently so he can look into the honey-gold eyes he loves so much and he hates seeing them swollen with tears.

“B please” Sebastian’s voice cracks as a few tears roll down his cheeks. Sam stays put on the couch while silent tears stain his own features. 

“It didn’t happen much” Blaine sniffs

“That fucking bitch…when…why?” Sebastian asks

Blaine bites his lip nervously and Sam can’t sit still any longer so moves to crouch next to Sebastian and places one hand on Blaine’s other knee, “Because I wouldn’t stop hanging around with you…after West Side Story…before the MJ show down.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Sebastian asks softly

“Because I was an idiot and got myself in that position.” Blaine answers quietly, “You both know I should have never transferred. I let myself be guilt tripped and manipulated and abandoned the only real friends I had, at the time, the only ones who really cared about me for chasing something I thought was love…for thinking I could protect someone from what I went through, when they didn’t actually need protecting from it, from letting myself believe it would make up for when I ran.”

“You didn’t run Blaine” Sam reassures

“I know that now. I was so alone and so isolated and…”

“And this is you…you’re a Dalton boy…trained to hide your emotions from the world in order to keep up appearances…plus it often feels easier that way than letting anyone really in, particularly if you’ve tried it and they use you and manipulated you.” Sebastian summarises and Blaine nods.

“Why did you never go back to Dalton?” Sam asks, “I mean I’m glad you didn’t, cos then you probably wouldn’t be my best bro, but it’s obvious Dalton had your heart, was where you really belonged, even when we did rule McKinley in our senior year.” 

“Because I couldn’t” Blaine admits to his best friend for the first time, “It was never an option. When I transferred to McKinley my parents made it clear that I would never be able to go back to Dalton…how could I admit that I wanted to go back when I would never be able to?”

“You could have told me...about all of it...any of it” Sam urges

“But we didn’t really know each other then Sam. The New Directions then were all Kurt’s friends. There wasn’t anybody I could really trust…I thought I’d either be called a liar or be the cause of the outbreak of world war three...I know you, Mike and Puck were always Switzerland but you know as well as I do that if Kurt was ever in a mood with me, even if it wasn’t actually my fault, the other’s would automatically side with him even though they didn’t have a clue what was actually going on and make my life hell. It wasn’t until towards the end of the year that stopped.”

Sebastian looks to Sam, who nods in confirmation. “You’ve told me everything else killer…why not this?”

“I was ashamed. Do you know how it feels to let someone hit you? To choose to listen to their apologies and believe them even though you know deep down they don’t really mean it. Don’t get me wrong…it didn’t happen that often, only after major fights…like the Chandler thing, but I kept myself in that situation instead of just ending it like I should have because at the time, the idea of plunging myself into a new level of isolation seemed even worse.” Blaine takes a deep breath, “Plus to be honest Bastian I wasn’t sure how you’d react…I can see how angry you are now even though you’re managing to stay calm. I’m scared about what you will do…and you Sammy.”

“What do you want us to do?” Sam asks, though he knows the answer he at least needs Blaine to say it.

“Nothing…it’s in the past…I’ve moved forward from it and I know it’s new to you both I need you to respect my decision that I don’t want to go back to the past and have to relive it when I’m actually genuinely happy in the present. Plus acting out would only make the situation worse…I don’t want anyone else knowing either.”

Sebastian takes a deep breath, “I promise…no one will find out and I won’t do anything to Hummel…however much I want to go and kick the shit out of him”

“I promise that too” Sam adds and squeezes Blaine’s knee before taking a seat back on the couch and Sebastian moves to sit next to his boyfriend, pulling him into his body.

“So…I guess he’s hitting out now because you’re still hanging out with Sebastian?” Sam asks trying to put the pieces together now Blaine seems to look slightly more at peace no he's back in Sebastian’s arms. “But why would hitting you now make you get back together?”

“Because he’s not getting what he wants I guess…and I suppose we’ll never know what would have happened if I hadn’t cut contact with the guys and Bas…because after I did although it still happened, it was only once or twice, but at the time when I was refusing to, it happened more often.” Blaine turns to look at his boyfriend, “That’s something I still regret”

“Hey don’t…we’ve talked about it…you know they all understand why you cut contact, and I needed that time…that push to make myself a better person.”

“So I wasn’t worrying for nothing” Sam says, though mostly to himself and lets out a big breath.

“No…but you are still a worry wort” Blaine teases

Sam scoffs in response, “You of all people can’t call me a worry wort”

“Yeah he has a point there B” Sebastian teases and gives Blaine a kiss on the cheek, glad the mood is slightly lighter.

“Oh I see how it is! You two have ganged up on me now. I know when I’m not needed” Blaine plays hurt, also relieved for the change of mood, and goes to walk out of the living area when Sebastian grabs him around the waist and starts tickling him.

“Oh my god this is so cool I didn’t know he was ticklish!” Sam grins

“Really? How did you not know with as much time you two spend together?” Sebastian asks, keeping up his tickle attack on Blaine who has now collapsed to the floor, inadvertently letting his boyfriend pin him down.

“I think you’d be questioning me more if I did know” Sam comments

Sebastian smirks, “Good point Ken”

“Sam help!” Blaine gasps

“You’re right I should help” Sam stands up and makes his way over, “So are his feet ticklish too?” he asks Sebastian, receiving a wide eyed grinning nod in response.

“Not fair” Blaine forces out as Sam starts on his feet

Only when it becomes clear that Blaine is no longer able to catch his breath at all do the two relent.

“Man I thought your kryptonite was being spun…that is so much better” Sam remarks cheerfully as Blaine shifts so he’s sat leaning against the sofa with his boyfriend.

“You two are mean” Blaine pouts, so Sebastian kisses it away, “Hey Sam…stay over tonight…we can have a sleep over like we used to when Bas used to stay with us.”

Sam looks to Sebastian, not wanting to intrude, “Stay Sam” Sebastian adds

Sam then looks back to his best bro, who’s pulled out his trademark puppy eyes, “Well now you’ve done that I can say no!” Blaine just grins in response.

Blaine and Sebastian have to complete some school work before they can stop for the night so Sam cooks them all dinner, which they eat before starting their first film. By the end of Big Fish none of them can keep their eyes open.

“Killer…you need to get to bed before you fall asleep here”

Blaine grumbles in response and stands, “Night Sammy”

“Night BD”

“Bas?”

“I’ll be there in a minute…I’m just going to lock up” Blaine nods then walks to their bedroom and Sebastian turns back to Sam, “So you okay Sam?”

“I should be asking you the same thing, but yeah I guess. I mean it’s rubbish that it ever happened, to put it mildly, but I guess he’s right that he’s worked through it and that it happened a while ago and that us acting out would only make it worse.”

Sebastian doesn’t say anything for a moment before looking Sam in the eye, “I’m really glad B has a friend like you”

“You know he’s not the only one I’m friends with”

Sebastian nods, “Thanks Sam I Am…night”

“Night” Sam replies as he too heads off to bed.

When Sebastian gets to their room Blaine is already tucked up in bed so he quickly brushes his teeth and sheds his clothes before joining his boyfriend, cuddling up close, “Are you sure you’re okay B?”

“Yeah I guess…are you?”

“Yeah”

“Are you sure? You know it wasn’t your fault”

“I actually do. We couldn’t stand each other and you got caught in the cross fire…like you said…we’ve all moved on from then…I’m just glad you can now stop worrying thinking there was something wrong between you and Sam now...and I’m glad that you told me…yeah I’m angry he ever laid a hand on you, but we’ve all moved on from then and if I focus on the past I won’t enjoy the now and the future with you.” Sebastian kisses Blaine’s temple.

“I love you Bastian” Blaine replies through a yawn, smiling, nuzzling into his boyfriend’s neck

“I love you too killer B” Sebastian kisses his forehead; they then wrap each other in their arms and drift to sleep.

In the morning Blaine has just finished brewing the coffee when he feels his boyfriend’s arms wrap around his waist, so he leans back into the embrace.

“Do you want to wake Sam up?” The taller boy asks, resting his chin on Blaine’s shoulder

“No…he’ll be up in five. Unless that’s changed since he’s been living in New York”

As if on cue Sam comes strolling into the kitchen in just his boxers, stretching his arms above his head, “Man I slept awesome!”

“There’s fruit salad and yoghurt in the fridge for you” Blaine tells him

“Knew there was a reason I love you dude” Sam beams, getting his breakfast out of the fridge and sitting down at the table to eat, “What time do you finish today man?”

“My last class should get out at 4.30” Blaine replies as he sits opposite Sam with his bowl of cereal, “Why?”

“I’ve got an audition not far so I thought I could meet you after and we could get off a few stops early and walk home through the park…unless you two have plans” Sam adds looking to Sebastian.

“Just studying…we try and do as much during the week, apart from date night, as possible so we can relax more at the weekends, though we both know there will be times that won’t be possible.”

“Makes sense…it’s good you’ve got it all figured out. So what do you think BD, sound good?”

“That sounds great…you can help me carry my stuff” Blaine smiles cheekily

After breakfast and getting ready the three boys each head off to start their days. Sam has some time to kill before his audition so starts doing some research. He’s relieved Kurt didn’t habitually hit Blaine while they were together, but still he had hit out on several occasions, even if it was sporadic and he knew hitting out like that wasn’t normal, particularly when it targeted the person you claimed to love.

Sam tries his best, but some of the reading proves too difficult so he calls the only psychology major he knows.

“Hi Sam, this is a surprise”

“Hi Quinn, is now a good time?”

“It is, so how can I help you?”

“Has Blaine spoken to you about what’s been going on recently?”

“You mean about how Kurt showed up at NYU? Yeah, I made him tell me after he changed his number. If Puck couldn’t leave the air force at the moment god knows what he would have done. So what did you want to talk to me about it?”

“I think Kurt has anger management issues. What if he does love Blaine as he says he does and that’s why he’s hitting out? Is that possible?”

“What aren’t you telling me Sam?” Quinn asks as it's obvious Sam is holding back

“Blaine told me in confidence…well me and Sebastian”

“I’m sorry but I can’t help if I don’t know the full story”

“You can’t say anything…not even to Blaine, Sebastian or Puck”

“I promise…if this will help in any way, I promise…and I know you wouldn’t tell me anything lightly when it concerns Blaine…you really are two peas in a pod”

Sam takes a deep breath, “Kurt used to hit him when they were together…at first it was because he wouldn’t stop hanging around with Sebastian…but then the whole MJ thing happened and Blaine cut contact because he was angry and upset…but after it still happened a few times if they had major fights, like the Chandler thing.” Sam takes another breath, “I think Kurt has anger management problems…and that he’s taking it out on the person he loves…well at least thinks he loves as he clearly doesn’t really know Blaine.”

“Well I will agree with that. Blaine’s so different now from when he first joined McKinley, but he seems so much more at peace, you can really tell the him we see and know now is the real him.”

“So what do you think about Kurt?”

“I agree, but I think it’s also a little bit more complicated than that. Although I didn’t know it at the time, when Blaine first joined McKinley, he sacrificed so much of himself. He loves fearlessly and Kurt took advantage of that, whether it was knowingly or not. But it meant that Kurt had this control over him. Now he doesn’t have that any longer so he’s taking his frustrations out on the one who has stopped him from having that control…and that is Blaine himself.”

“So by hitting him he gets, well thinks he gets, some of his control back?” Sam asks, uncertain of what Quinn is meaning exactly.

“Partly yes, but also if the thing or person you’re craving to behave in a certain way isn’t, people more often than not punish it, to try and make it yield.”

“Yield?”

“Do what you want” Quinn explains, “Ultimately soon after Kurt started hitting Blaine, he soon stopped seeing Sebastian, therefore reinforcing the benefits of hitting him in Kurt’s subconscious.”

“Wow that sounds really messed up…but kind of makes sense”

“It’s just a theory…I’m not a psychologist”

“Yet” Sam adds, obviously proud of his friend’s achievements

“I’ve got to go and I know I don’t need to say it, but take care Sam and help Sebastian look after him.”

“Always…thanks Quinn”

“Any time…bye”

Later that evening, after he and Blaine have walked home and Sebastian has returned, he tells the couple what he’d been up to earlier in the day and tells them about Quinn’s assessment of the situation. They all agree it sounds plausible, but hope the whole situation finally blows over and soon, and of course Blaine, and therefore Sebastian, forgive him for talking to Quinn, knowing he only did it to try and get a better grasp of the situation and help them.


	65. The lunch date

A week or so later and it’s the girls’ turn to host the group weekly dinner. Sebastian is the last but one to arrive, “Where’s B?” he asks after he’s greeted everyone, “I thought he’d be here by now considering when he messaged me.”

Just then there’s a knock at the door and Brittany opens it to find Blaine there, laden down with his guitar and bass on his back in gig bags, his satchel over his shoulder and violin in hand. “Seriously killer, did you have to take them all with you?”

“Actually yes…it was orchestra today and I needed the other two for something I’m working on for class”

“I’ll let you off then”

“How gracious of you” Blaine sasses back playfully and greets everyone, after setting his stuff down, getting to Rachel last.

“Rach what’s wrong?” he asks, immediately noticing something is bothering her.

“Tell him” Santana insists, clearly not pleased with whatever it is

“Rach?” Blaine asks, clearly worried

“Kurt contacted me asking to go for lunch one day this week”

“Right…so?”

“Wait that doesn’t bother you?” Santana questions

“No…why would it? It’s up to Rachel if she wants to go or not”

“Told you” Brittany comments

“I don’t want anyone picking sides, so if Rachel wants to go to lunch with Kurt that’s more than fine by me. Wasn’t part of moving out of here to try and salvage your friendship?” Blaine asks Rachel.

“Yes”

“So what’s stopping you? You’re not going to salvage anything by avoiding him, but at the same time don’t feel pressured to go.” He tells her, receiving a hug and a kiss on the cheek in response.

“Told you that’s what he’d say” Brittany comments again

“Yes well not all of us can be as clever as you can we Ms Pierce? Not being rude, but how long is it until dinner? I’m starving!” Just then Blaine’s stomach rumbles loudly, causing everyone to laugh and him to blush faintly.

“When was the last time you ate killer? Your stomach actually sounded angry” Sebastian asks throughout his laughter, which stops when he notices Blaine’s expression change.   
“You worked through lunch didn’t you?” 

“Maybe” Blaine replies sheepishly, “I just lost track of time, but I did get my assignment finished and make a good start on another.”

Sam gets a message then looks up, clearly shocked, “I got the job!” the whole group erupt in a cheer, apart from Blaine who leaps across the room at his best friend, who picks him up and spins him around before putting him down and doing their blam handshake. They then spend a few minutes talking to each other, somehow managing to have a conversation even though they’re both talking at once, occasionally both slipping into Na’vi.

“Does anyone else understand what they’re saying?” Jean-Baptiste asks and receives a chorus of “No” in response.

“You get used to it…And before you ask the language they’re occasionally speaking is Na’vi…as in the one they speak in Avatar” Artie tells him.

They all have a great night, celebrating for Sam, although it isn’t a late one for any of them as they all have work or school the next day.

XXXXXXXXX  
Rachel can’t remember ever feeling nervous about meeting a friend for lunch before, but that’s exactly how she’s feeling at the moment. She takes a deep breath before making her way into the café and immediately spots Kurt sat at one of the tables, so makes her way over.

“Hi” she greets, slightly awkwardly

“Hi, I got you a tea”

“Thanks” she smiles as she slips off her coat and sits down

“So…how’s the new place?” Kurt asks stiffly 

“Oh…erm…it’s actually really great.” She answers, clearly unsure if she should admit that to him, “How are you doing? Have you found anyone to move in yet?”

“Actually if I’m careful I think I can manage on my own…plus my dad said he would help out so I should be fine”

“Well I’m glad” Rachel replies, taking a sip of her tea, “So is there any particular reason why you asked me to lunch?”

“Well you said you moved out to salvage our friendship right? So this is me salvaging”

“I did…and I meant it” Rachel takes a deep breath, “You know me moving out isn’t about choosing sides right?”

“I do”

“Good”

“But can I ask you how he is?”

“You mean you didn’t take the time to find out for yourself when you went to NYU?”

“Oh…so you heard about that” 

“I did…Kurt why did you do it?”

“I just wanted to see him…he wouldn’t answer my calls so I had no other choice”

“But you tried to force yourself on him Kurt…and you hit him again. How can you do that to someone you say you love?”

“Because I’m hurt, angry and frustrated?! I always thought I’d be the one living with Blaine, growing old with him. I just can’t get over that he’s with Sebastian” he says with disgust, “He’s only going to hurt him…and I need to make him see that.”

“Kurt that’s not for you to decide and they’re very happy together. I know you don’t want to hear it, but it’s true…I think you really need to give Blaine some space if you ever want to stand the chance of being his friend again.”

“Well I don’t have much choice since he’s clearly changed his number”

Rachel sighs, “So you’ve obviously tried calling him again. Kurt I mean it…you need to give him some space. But enough about that…how’s school going?”

“Really great actually”

The two continue talking while they eat and Rachel finally feels herself starting to relax around the boy, who had been her best friend, once again, “Sorry Kurt, if you’ll excuse me I just need to visit the lady’s”

“Of course” Kurt smiles and watches her go. However, Rachel has left her phone on the table so Kurt takes his chance and searches for Blaine’s new number, finally finding him saved as ‘Tony Warbler’. He’s just finished copying the number and has set her phone back down when Rachel re-emerges from the bathroom. “Wow I didn’t realise the time” the brunette comments as she picks up her phone, “I’m sorry Kurt but I’m going to have to shoot to get to rehearsal, or else I’ll be late.”

“Not to worry…let me know when your opening night has been confirmed. I’d love to be in the audience.”

“Of course” she smiles then heads on her way, messaging Blaine to let her know she’s okay, and to thank him for giving her the nudge to go.

Later that evening Blaine and Sebastian are cooking dinner together, both needing a break from school work when Blaine’s phone starts ringing. 

“Bas, can you check that?” Blaine asks as he is handling the chicken

“It’s an unassigned New York number B” Sebastian replies, then puts the phone on speaker so Blaine can answer.

“Hello?”

“Blaine?!” Kurt’s voice comes through

“How did you get my number?” Blaine asks quickly

“That doesn’t matter”

“Actually to me it does…What do you want Kurt?”

“I need to see you”

“No…I’m sorry but that’s not going to happen…so if you want to talk…talk”

“Are you alone?”

Blaine looks up at his boyfriend and Sebastian nods, “Yes I’m alone”

“He’s only going to hurt you Blaine”

“That’s your opinion…and I don’t think either of us can comment when it comes to hurting one another”

“And I’m seriously worried about the group you’ve found yourself in. They were beyond rude!” Kurt continues

“Wait what?”

“When I came to see you”

“They weren’t rude Kurt…they were looking out for me”

“Blaine you would never have hung out with people like that”

“Like what? We share lots of the same interests…and you can find most of their personality traits in the Warblers and some of my New Directions”

“That’s what I mean. You’ve changed so much Blaine…it’s clear you’re only doing it because of him.”

“No Kurt…this is me…I feel more like myself than I have in ages. Either you don’t remember the real me or you never really knew me.”

“But Blaine…”

“No buts…and actually I’d appreciate it if for once you could respect my wishes and give me some space”

“But”

“No Kurt” Blaine looks to his boyfriend, who disconnects the call

The phone starts ringing again immediately so Sebastian answers, “Give it a rest Hummel…you’re not wanted…and I doubt Rachel will be happy to find out that you took Blaine’s number from her phone”

“How did you know?”

“It was the only logical way you would have gotten it…and now you’ve just confirmed it…leave Blaine alone and you can kiss your friendship with Rachel goodbye” Sebastian threatens then hangs up the phone and wraps his arms around Blaine’s waist from behind, who’s started cooking the food.

“I’m sorry Bastian”

“You don’t need to be”

“I can’t believe I need to change my number again…and I’m going to have to tell everyone why”

“It’s for the best B…if you don’t tell them why they’ll jump to their own conclusions and it can only make matters worse.”

“I know” Blaine replies dejectedly and receives a kiss to the top of his head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So from the very beginning I said this fanfiction would be a twist of glee story lines and real life facts, including things the actors themselves have acheived,all jumbled together to create my story. I know putting real life achievements etc. in fanfictions can be controversial and obviously bits of real life have already creeped into this work, as I always intended.
> 
> However I also said from the beginning that I wanted this to be for everyone. So could you all please do me a huge favour and comment to let me know if you like real life events being weaved in, i.e things the actors have done, hate it or don't mind either way because it doesn't alter the overall story for you as they are ultimately add-ins.
> 
> Thank you!


	66. Another new number

“Bas I can’t just send a message out like before with my new number” Blaine says to his boyfriend as they cuddle on the sofa when he gets the confirmation through that his cell number has been changed yet again.

“Well you could but it would kick up a shit storm”

Blaine pinches his boyfriend’s side, “Stop being so pedantic”

Sebastian smirks in response and pulls the shorter boy even tighter into him, “Tell them at dinner tomorrow. It’s our turn to host so everyone will be coming round here anyway, though you better call your brother and anyone not in New York.”

“Yeah I know…I better call Cooper now or knowing my luck he’ll call my old number and freak out when it says it’s disconnected…Wes too for that matter” Blaine goes to stand up but Sebastian stops him.

“Where do you think you’re going killer?”

“To call Cooper”

“And that requires you moving?”

“I didn’t want to disturb you considering you’re actually watching whatever program this is”

“I can still watch it…and if it was a choice between having you lying on top of me, or watching this. I’d go for you every time…unless you wanted to take the call in private.”

“Nope” Blaine smiles as he settles on top of Sebastian once more

“Hello?” Cooper asks uncertainly

“Guess who Coop”

Cooper sighs so loudly even Sebastian can here, “Please don’t tell me you’ve had to change your number again because of that pain in the ass” he says clearly exasperated.

“If I didn’t I’d be lying” Blaine winces

“He’s alright Cooper” Sebastian says clearly, making sure the older Anderson can hear him.

Blaine puts the phone on speaker, “Bas is right Coop. I’m fine.”

“Then what happened?”

“He stole my number from Rachel’s phone when they went out to lunch…not that she knows that yet. She’s going to be so upset when I tell her tomorrow as everyone will ask why   
I had to change it again and she’s got a right to know.”

“But she’s not going to be upset at you Blaine, remember that”

“I’ll make sure he does” Sebastian replies

“How’s CSI going?” Blaine asks trying to change the subject

“Great. I love it. The cast and crew are awesome”

“I’m glad it’s going well.”

“It is. I’ve got to go actually as I’ll be called back onto set in a couple of minutes, and you two can get back to your nightly activities” Cooper adds, his tone of voice leaving no room for doubt as to what he was referring to.

“Cooper!” Blaine exclaims scandalised

“Now, now, killer…you heard him” Sebastian winks and disconnects the call.

“I hate you” Blaine grumps

“No you don’t” Sebastian smirks and kisses him until he can’t think straight.

XXXXXXX  
Blaine calls Wes first thing the next morning considering they got rather carried away with their ‘nightly activities’. Needless to say he was less than impressed with what had happened. Blaine then calls his other friends not in New York, leaving messages if needs be, explaining why he has a new number again but asks them not to say anything to any of the New Yorkers until he’s had a chance to tell them that evening. He was definitely glad Puck couldn’t leave the air force from the way he reacted, but knew it was because he cared.

Later that evening when they’ve all finished eating and are sat around in the living area talking, Blaine sends them all a message with his new number.

“Hang on, why have you just messaged me with another new number?” Santana asks straightaway, even before everyone has had a chance to check their phones.

“Because I wanted you to have it” 

“Come on dude, what happened?” Sam tries

Blaine sighs, “Kurt got hold of my other number”

“But how?” Thad asks

“Yeah it’s not as if anyone would have given it to him” Jeff adds

“You’re right they didn’t” Blaine confirms

“So you do know how he got it then” Nick asks

“Yes…Bas had a suspicion and tricked Kurt into confirming it”

“Then how did he get it?” Rachel asks

“He took it from your phone when you two were out at lunch together” Sebastian answers

Rachel's eyes go wide with shock, “No he couldn’t have…I didn’t give him my phone at any point”

“But could he have gotten hold of it?” Santana asks

Rachel thinks for a moment then realises, “I left it on the table when I went to the bathroom…I am so so sorry”

“Hey Rach you don’t need to be sorry. You didn’t do anything wrong. He’s the one who took your phone and went through it to find what he wanted. He’s your friend, of course you didn’t even think about leaving your phone there…like I wouldn’t question leaving mine with any of you.”

“You should set a password to lock your phone” Santana tells Rachel directly

“Yeah you should just from a general safety point of view” Jeff comments

“Particularly as you’ll be a Broadway leading lady before you know it” Jean-Baptiste adds

“I will…I can’t believe he did that” Rachel says, clearly still in shock and Blaine can see she’s also feeling bad.

“I meant what I said though Rachel, I don’t want you to feel bad over this” Blaine tells her firmly but kindly

“B’s right…it’s not your fault so you shouldn’t feel bad” Sebastian reaffirms

As if on cue Rachel’s phone goes off with a message from Kurt asking to go for a coffee in the next couple of days. 

“What does that pain in the ass want now?” Santana asks, recognising the notification Rachel has set for Kurt

“To go for a coffee in the next couple of days” Rachel replies as she fires back a response

“What did you say?” The Latina presses

“No”

“You can if you want to” Blaine reassures her

“I don’t” Rachel replies quickly, “How can I trust him after something like that? A friend wouldn’t do that” her phone goes again and Rachel quickly fires back another response.

“Care to share Berry?” Santana presses again

“Though you don’t have to” Blaine cuts in

“I told him I don’t know when I’ll be free as for the foreseeable future I’ll be washing my hair”

Everyone’s eyes go wide with a little shock, “Damn I’m impressed” Santana comments, “I would have expected that from me, Hunter, Sebastian or JB…hell even Thad, but not you.”

“Are you going to call Kitty dude?” Sam asks Blaine “You know she’ll flip if she receives a message with another number” 

“Actually I called her last night otherwise I know she would have just shown up here”

“And how did she react?” Artie asks, “Or is it obvious”

“Obvious” Blaine replies as Sebastian starts laughing, “Bas…” he warns

“I’m sorry B, but her reaction was priceless”

“You’re not sorry at all” Blaine replies flatly

“No…I’m not” Sebastian wipes his eyes, “But I am glad Puck can’t leave the air force at the moment”

“That good huh?” Santana smirks, knowing how Puck can get when riled up

“If he could I’d be preparing bail for him” Blaine comments making Sam laugh. “It’s not funny”

“It could be…come on man think about some of the stuff Puck’s done before. I kinda want to know what he would do”

“Yeah but given his previous record he’d probably have to do time” Blaine quips back

“That’s true” all the McKinley attendees comment

“Yeah…it’s good he can’t leave the air force” Sam decides

Blaine’s phone rings, “Oh hey Tey-Tey” he answers

“Don’t hey Tey-Tey me Blaine Devon Anderson” Tina shouts loudly enough that Sebastian can hear and Blaine moves his phone away from his ear, “Why exactly do I have a voicemail telling me you’ve got yet another new number because a certain someone got hold of your other one?” she demands

“Because you didn’t answer” 

Blaine’s flippant answer causes Tina to go off on a massive rant so Blaine just puts his phone on the seat next to him.

“Wow…how is she managing to breathe and go off like that?” Jean-Baptiste comments

“Huh I’ve never thought of that” Sam replies

A few minutes later Blaine hears her voice stop so picks it back up, “Are you done?”

“Yes, sorry…can we Skype sometime this week?” Tina asks now having gotten everything out of her system, “We’re doing poems and it would be great to go over them with my poem buddy again”

“Yeah of course…that would work for me as well actually as I’ve got to analyse a couple, just in Italian…message me with some options”

“Will do…speak soon Blainey days”

“Soon”


	67. The picture

Later that week, after dinner, Blaine is working in the office on his laptop with Tina on screen on the desk top, going over their poems together via Skype like they’d agreed.  
Thad and Hunter arrive to go over some materials with Sebastian, “Where’s Blaine?” Thad asks

“In the office…he’s Skyping Tina as they’re going over their poems”

“Tina takes Italian too?” Thad asks, obviously slightly confused

“No dumbass she does English Lit…Blaine’s translated them for her so they can go over each other’s together”

“If Blaine needed help why didn’t you go over them with him?”

“B doesn’t need the help Thad, you should know that, but it’s something the two used to do together during study hall and they’re keeping it up”

“Plus I doubt Blaine reading Italian poetry would be conducive to discussing ideas with Sebastian” Hunter smirks and Sebastian only smiles in response “Not going to deny it?”

“Why would I when it’s true” Sebastian winks

A while later the three guys hear a scandalised, “TINA!” come from the office

“I so didn’t need to see that” Blaine laughs. “How did you even get that picture…wait I don’t even want to know”

Tina giggles, “What can I say? He wasn’t shy. I’m definitely not seeing him again”

“It looks painful…I think you need to tell him to go to a doctor, that’s definitely not normal…I mean seriously!”

“For someone who didn’t want to see it you’re giving it an awful lot of attention”

“It’s kind of hard not to when it’s on the screen, plus seriously it’s got a right angle…let me go get Bas” Tina laughs as Blaine disappears from her screen. “Bas…Bastian you really need to see this picture Tina’s sent me”. Blaine calls through, “I’ve never seen anything like it”. Blaine rounds the corner, “Oh hi guys”. Both Thad and Hunter greet Blaine in return.

“What exactly is it killer?” 

“Oh erm” Blaine blushes, “Just come and see”

“And why should I?” Sebastian asks playfully as it’s clear Blaine had forgotten Thad and Hunter were coming round and is a little flustered.

“Because it will be the most crooked penis you’ve ever seen” Blaine replies flatly catching everyone off guard

“What? I’m not sure how I feel about Cohen-Chang sending you pictures like that. Or that you’ve been looking” Sebastian says as he narrows his eyes.

“You know nothing like that would ever normally happen, but this is really extreme. I’ve told her she needs to tell him to go to the doctor.”

“Hell even I want to see this” Thad comments so the three follow Blaine

“Fucking hell it’s at a right angle” Sebastian laughs as soon as he sees the screen, “Please tell me you didn’t go there blowing-wang. That looks like it would be painful for you”

“Bas!” Blaine says aghast while Tina just laughs

“Don’t worry Blainey Days I didn’t for that very reason” She replies obviously purposefully unshyly making them all laugh

“The owner of that penis really needs to see someone” Hunter remarks

“I know! I don’t understand why he was so proud of it, it wasn’t even big!” Tina replies through a giggle

“I’ll let you off for this one, but no sending B anymore penis pictures” Sebastian says to her

“Oh please, I never normally would. But this isn’t normal. Plus I wanted to see how red he’d go”

“I am never Skyping you again” Blaine pouts

“Sebastian I trust you to get that pout of his face” Tina winks, “Well boys it’s been a blast, but I’ve got to get going…bye!” With that, Tina disconnects the call.

“Did you actually get done what you wanted to?” Sebastian asks his boyfriend

“More…I just need to proof and edit my assignment tomorrow but I think I’ve got a pretty good first draft” Blaine smiles, “How are you guys getting on?”

“Not bad, I’d say we’ve got another hour to go” Sebastian replies and kisses Blaine’s forehead, “So what are you going to get up to?”

“I could do with practising a piano piece, but I’ll shut the door so it doesn’t disturb you guys”

Ten minutes later, not unsurprising to Sebastian, Sam arrives to see Blaine while he, Hunter and Thad finish studying. The three aspiring lawyers pause when Sam enters the music area, closing the door behind him and see him get a blanket out of the cabinet and lay it over the top of the piano before climbing on top and lying down, his head at the key end, while Blaine continues to play.

“The more I’ve gotten to know Sam…I can really see why the two are how they are” Thad comments

“Me too” Hunter adds

“So I assume you now know why how they interact doesn’t bother me at all” Sebastian says

“I never questioned it anyway but I definitely understand more. Plus I think even Jeff and Sam hug a couple of times every day now.” Thad replies

“So they really are two blondes in a pod” Sebastian smiles, “B said they were getting on really well…though I hope it isn’t causing any problems with Nick”

“None at all…you know he’s not as tactile as Jeff so it means he gets to enjoy their friendship without having to meet the daily hug quota” Thad teases, but is actually pretty serious.

Both Hunter and Sebastian laugh as Nick is much like the two of them and Thad in that he likes his own personal space – well apart from when it came to Blaine for Sebastian, but that was a completely different thing.


	68. The Encounter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So consensus seems to be that people are happy/don't mind real life slipping into the fic occasionally. Here it happens with character names, but I would like to take the time to explain that although the names are obviously taken, the characters are not meant to be the people from real-life and have been designed for this fanfiction.

“Is Rachel still going to meet you for a late lunch today killer?” Sebastian asks his boyfriend as they both head to the subway to start their day.

“She is…since my last class is cancelled today I finish at two”

“Do you know where you’re going to go?”

“She’s found out about this vegetarian café that’s only a slight detour on my way home she wants to try so I think we’re going there, but she’s going to meet me at NYU so we can go together seeing as she only has a half day of rehearsals today.”

“Sounds good…have a good day killer and I hope she’s doing better”

“Me too…though from her messages it seems like she is; I’ll see you later Bastian” Blaine kisses his boyfriend on the cheek. “I love you”

“I love you too sap” Sebastian replies before giving Blaine a kiss, the two parting ways to head to their platforms.

When his last class finishes Blaine heads to the front of the building to find Rachel sat on the bench waiting for him, “I hope you haven’t been waiting long” he says as he greets her with a hug.

“Not at all, and even if you had, it would be my own fault as you’re here exactly the time you said you would be” 

“Aren’t you going to introduce us?” Joe comments

“Joe this is Rachel. Rachel this is Joe, also known as Walker, and this is Joey and Nick.” Blaine then turns back to Joe, “Now back off Walker” making Rachel giggle and the other guys laugh. “I’ll see you all tomorrow”

After they all part ways Blaine and Rachel walk hand in hand, deciding they would take the subway only part of the way as it was a particularly nice sunny day, giving warmth to   
the air again despite the recent autumnal weather.

“I’m really glad we can do this today” Rachel comments just after they’ve gotten their food, “And thank you for agreeing to come to a vegetarian place with me.”

“I’m glad we could do it too and no problem. I actually have a bit of a thing for vegetarian dishes, ask Bas” he laughs. “I think one of my favourite things has to be eggplant parmesan.”

“Then you’ll have to make it for me” Rachel teases

“I think that can be arranged. I tell you what. Next time we host group dinner, I’ll cook it. In fact I’ll only make vegetarian dishes and we can see if anyone else notices” Blaine smiles, which Rachel mirrors.

“Apart from Sebastian” she comments, making Blaine tilt his head, “Come on we both know he would notice straight away even if he doesn’t see all the ingredients.”

Blaine chuckles, “You make a very good point”

“I’m really glad we’re friends how we are” Rachel says earnestly

“Me too Rach”

“And I’m glad I’ve gotten to know Sebastian. He really isn’t anything like I thought he was”

“Oh yes he is” Blaine laughs, “He’d readily admit that, but there’s so much more to him”

Rachel smiles, “Okay that might be the better way of looking at it. I can see why you always meant so much to each other even back then” Blaine furrows his brow and Rachel shrugs in response, “Now I know you…actually really know you I can see it now, even if at the time I couldn’t…and I have to say I love knowing the real you Blaine.”

“Thank you Rach” Blaine says through his blush, “I love having you as one of my close friends, I count myself very lucky.”

“Me too…I mean it Blaine and I need to tell you...I will never be able to thank you enough for everything you’ve done for me. You were there in exactly the way I needed when Finn passed away, you’ve always supported me, even when I’ve been in first class diva mode and you never ever put me in the middle of anything. In fact you were the person who made it easy for me to stay neutral…you can stop blushing” she teases

“Shut up” Blaine mumbles albeit playfully, “I can’t help my body’s natural reaction to compliments” he pokes fun at himself

“That sounds like something Sebastian would say” Rachel smiles 

“Funnily enough it was”

The two finish their meals then head on their way, once again walking hand in hand, conversation still in full flow so they don’t notice someone approaching until they’re right in front of them.

“Rachel”

Rachel moves her focus from where it had been on Blaine and looks to see the person in front of them, “Hi Jesse…well this is certainly a surprise”

“A good one?” Jesse asks hopefully

“I’m not sure yet” Rachel replies and notices Jesse’s gaze flicker to Blaine and their joined hands, “Oh sorry how rude of me…Jesse this is Blaine Anderson…Blaine this is Jesse St James”

“Why do that recognise that name” Jesse muses

“Blaine was the lead soloist of the Dalton Academy Warblers”

“Of course” Jesse looks back to their joined hands again, “I thought I heard you were Kurt’s boyfriend.”

“I was” Blaine answers, “But we split up over a year ago”

“Oh…sorry”

“Don’t be these things happen, plus I’m very happy with my life right now” Blaine says sincerely but lightly

“Well I just wanted to say hi” Jesse says, his attention back on Rachel, “I’ll let you two enjoy the rest of your date”

Rachel and Blaine both laugh, “I’m still very much gay” Blaine explains, “We’re friends and just had lunch”

“Blaine is very happy with his boyfriend, another former Warbler lead vocalist and captain” 

Jesse scratches the back of his neck, “This is really embarrassing…so are there any more Warblers and New Directions here in the city?” he asks to change the subject.

“A few actually” Rachel answers, “What about you, what are you doing here?”

“I decided that if I wanted my dream to come true it was no good me sitting in Lima waiting for it to happen so I decided to come and start auditioning. I’ll go for leads, but also for chorus roles and prove myself and work my way up if I have to”

That takes Rachel back a little as it’s so far removed from the Jesse she remembers, “I’m really pleased for you Jesse” she says honestly

“And I erm…I heard about Finn…I’m really sorry. He was a great guy. I’m sorry I didn’t say anything at the time, but I don’t have your number anymore and I didn’t think me coming round then would have been the right thing to do.”

Rachel nods, “You’re probably right…Thank you” and Blaine squeezes her hand in support, “I don’t mean to be rude but we better be on our way, we’re meeting Santana at the end of her shift”

“Santana’s here” Jesse asks obviously nervous by the idea

“She is” Blaine smiles, knowing all about what happened with Jesse, “As Rachel said, there are a few of us in the city”

“I don’t suppose” Jesse starts

“Yes Jesse?” Rachel asks when he trails off and doesn't continue

“That you’d want to go for a coffee sometime?” he asks nervously, “I could give you my number, then if you wanted to it would be up to you”

“Sure” Rachel smiles when she feels Blaine squeeze her hand again so hands her phone to Jesse so he can enter his number

“Oh and Rachel…congratulations…you are going to make the perfect Fanny…well hopefully I’ll hear from you soon…it was nice to meet you Blaine.”

“You too” When they’re a little further down the street Blaine looks at Rachel who’s still got a little smile on her face, “He’s totally still into you” he teases and gets a playful slap to his chest.

As the two round the corner to where they’re meeting Santana outside of the restaurant she’d got a few shifts in thanks to one of her friends, they don’t even notice they’ve got extra company as Blaine is still too busy teasing Rachel.

“Right that’s it” Rachel exclaims playfully and starts chasing Blaine, the two running down the street laughing.

“It sounds like you two have been having a good time” Sebastian comments through a bright grin as Blaine runs around to hide behind him, Sam and Jeff.

“What have you been up to Blaine Warbler?” Brittany asks through a giggle

“Nothing” Blaine replies innocently

“Then why is Berry chasing you?” Santana asks, also intrigued as to what had been going on.

“No reason” Rachel replies

“Bull!” Santana grins as they all start walking down the street to a small green area.

Rachel and Blaine share a look, “We’re not sharing, right Blaine?”

“Right” 

“That of course doesn’t count you Sebastian” she winks, “Blaine will tell you later”

Later that evening Blaine and Sebastian have just gotten into bed and into their usual position of Blaine being draped over his boyfriend, with Sebastian carding one hand through his curls and the other resting on his ass when Sebastian asks about what was going on earlier.

“So are you going to tell me what was up with you and Rachel earlier?”

“We bumped into Jesse…as in Jesse St James” Blaine replies, knowing Sebastian already knew all about what had gone down between him, Vocal Adrenaline and the New   
Directions”

“And?”

“He thought we were a couple at first…but then he got all flustered and is obviously still hung up on her”

“So you were teasing her about it” Sebastian says knowingly

Blaine lifts his head to look into Sebastian’s eyes, “I’d never do something like that Bastian” Blaine says too innocently and flutters his eye lashes for good measure making Sebastian laugh.

“Why didn’t she say anything earlier?”

“Because she could imagine how Santana would react I’d assume and to be honest I don’t blame her at this point…hell from what I knew of him it’s clear he’s grown up a lot, as we all have since that time, but I guess she wants to get to know him again for herself first, or at least get the chance to figure out if that’s what she really wants before everyone else throws in their opinions.”

“That makes sense”

XXXXXXX  
The following week everyone is gathering at the bachelor pad for dinner when Santana storms in with Brittany and Rachel following her.

“Woah what’s going on with you?” Artie asks

“Berry’s been talking to Jesse again”

“Who’s Jesse?” Nick asks and Santana goes on to tell them all that happened.

Sam looks at Blaine, and from the look he gets back knows his bro knew all about it. “So? What does it matter if she’s talking to him now?” Sam asks

“What do you mean ‘so’ Trouty? You were there!” 

“Yeah but we’ve all changed since then and it’s up to Rachel if she wants to talk to him or not” Sam adds and gets grateful smiles from both Rachel and Blaine.

Santana goes to retaliate but Sebastian cuts her off, “This isn’t any different from me and Blaine reconnecting again Satan.”

“Told you” Brittany comments, “You gave Sebastian a chance so surely Jesse should get one too”

“Urgh fine” Santana relents grumpily

Later that evening Rachel gets a chance to really talk to Blaine about how she’s slowly started talking to Jesse again, just a few messages here and there but that it’s as if no time has passed at all. It’s clear they still have the same connection they once did, which she knows from talking to Shelby was genuine. She also confesses that she wants to meet up with him, but is a little nervous and doesn’t want to get blind sighted so Blaine offers for him and Sebastian to go as nobody would be able to undercut his bullshit radar, making her laugh and accept the offer knowing Blaine is right.

XXXXXXX  
That’s how at the end of the week Sebastian finds himself with his boyfriend and Rachel heading towards a café where they see Jesse already waiting outside.

“So far so good” Sebastian whispers to Blaine so Rachel can’t hear.

They all greet each other and Rachel introduces Sebastian before they settle inside the café. It goes smoothly, Jesse obviously being a little nervous but being attentive of Rachel   
and clearly genuinely interested in her life since she graduated high school. At one point Rachel excuses herself to go to the lady’s.

“So how am I doing?” Jesse asks, “As you’re obviously here for a reason”

“We’re here because it’s how Rachel felt most comfortable reconnecting with you again” Blaine explains

“Well that’s why B’s here. I’m here as a bullshit detector” Sebastian adds flatly, “And to your credit, none is being detected so far”

“Good, because there isn’t any to be found; or ulterior motives…not this time…I never thought I’d see Rachel again so I’m not going to screw up my chance to be in her life once again.”

Blaine and Sebastian both nod in understanding as they can both relate to that. At the end of the meet Rachel turns to Jesse, “Would you like to join us for group dinner on   
Tuesday? It’s us girls’ turn to host it”

“Does that mean Santana will be there?” Jesse asks making Sebastian laugh

“Oh it’s not just Santana who you’ll have to watch out for anymore” the taller adds, testing how much Jesse is really committed to getting to know Rachel again.

Jesse gulps, “I’d love to join you” and gets a smile from both Blaine and Rachel in response and a small nod of approval from Sebastian.

“So what do you think?” Rachel asks Sebastian as they’re in the taxi taking Rachel home

“Well I have to say…B’s right…he’s totally still hung up on you” he teases. “And actually I think he genuinely wants to make the most of his chance to get to know you and be in   
your life again, even if that means just being friends…though he obviously wants more than that.”

After they’ve dropped Rachel off, Sebastian turns to his boyfriend, “How much do you think Santana is going to flip?”

“Oh she’s going to be ranting in Spanish” Blaine replies making his boyfriend laugh.


	69. The first group dinner plus one

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay in getting this chapter up - it's been a hellish few days.

Everyone bar Jesse has arrived on Tuesday, but Rachel knew he was nearly there as he’d messaged her. The door goes and Rachel quickly jumps up to answer and is greeted by Jesse with a couple of bottles of wine so there’s enough for everyone should they want a glass.

“Thank you” Rachel then guides him into the living area

“What the hell is he doing here?” Santana demands and jumps up

“I invited him”

“You should have asked first” The Latina argues back

“Why? It’s my home as much as it is yours Santana!”

The two argue for a moment and then when things escalate and Santana starts to rant in Spanish Blaine stands up, “Enough!” he shouts over everyone, surprising them all with the power behind his voice. “Rachel invited a friend to join us…if it was anyone else they wouldn’t be getting this reaction.”

“That’s because nobody else would have done what he has” she counters back, albeit calmer, “And don’t say we gave Sebastian another chance because to me that’s different”

“I don’t see how” Blaine retorts, “And actually that’s not what I was going to say…I was going to point out I gave all of you at McKinley another chance…though not counting Sam as he wasn’t there when I joined or Mike as he was actually the only one who tried to do something about it.” That shuts Santana up for a moment.

“But you weren’t there when he was” she starts again

“No I wasn’t but I stand by what I said, because I don’t know about you, but can you honestly say what you guys did to me isn’t as bad as what he did? And actually when I spoke to Jesse I believe him when he said he nearly backed out of following through with the plan. And do you know what gave him the final push to go through with it? All of you”

Santana raises an eyebrow, “And how exactly did we do that?” 

“By how you treated him” The Warblers, apart from Sebastian, are all a little shocked by how Blaine’s acting, but they don’t know the full extent of what happened when Blaine went to McKinley. “And actually Rachel’s confirmed it, not that she needed to as it was all far too familiar to be made up.”

“Yeah actually I think we probably owe Jesse as much of an apology as he owes us” Sam comments, never having been easy with what went down, “But I guess at least he wasn’t made to audition when he started” he says guiltily even though he hadn’t been there when the New Directions made Blaine formally audition and then spent time deliberating afterwards, with him waiting outside the room, before eventually saying he could officially join.

“Wait they made you audition?” Jesse asks Blaine, who nods in response, “Wow they didn’t even make me do that.”

“But you all knew he could sing” Thad comments obviously annoyed

“It was clearly a power and intimidation thing” Hunter remarks

“It was” Artie acknowledges, “And it was wrong of us.”

“And we’ve all moved on from that…in the same way all you guys are friends now, so don’t you think Jesse should get a chance too? Otherwise we’re all just massive hypocrites” Blaine says, looking at everyone in turn. 

“Ergh you’re right” Santana finally gives in, “Come on…dinner should be ready”

Jesse nods then actually takes his coat off now he knows he’s not about to be kicked out. Despite how tense things were to start, it doesn’t take long for everyone to relax and start enjoying themselves. Plus seeing Rachel happy and how attentive Jesse was being helped put Santana’s mind at ease.

Later as the guys get home Thad, Nick and Jeff turn to Sam before he can go to his room.

“So how much shit did Blaine really take when he went to McKinley?” Nick asks

“Too much” Sam replies

“They seriously made him audition though…I mean come on”

“Yeah well…you guys know I wasn’t there at the time but from what Mike told me and from what I saw when I did get there it was really awful for him…but it isn’t really my place to tell you if he hasn’t.”

“And we can respect that” Jeff says and the other two agree, “But I still don’t get the audition thing. I mean from what I understand from what you’ve both told us, it’s not as if everyone else had to audition, hell even Jesse said he didn’t.”

“Look all I will say is a lot of people were very threatened when Blaine joined so I guess did what they could to keep him down. I think the worst part about the audition for him though was they actually spent some time deliberating before actually letting him in, but I really don’t want to say anything else.”

“Of course…sorry Sam, but can I just ask you one thing?” Thad says and Sam nods in response, “Obviously we understand you were still in Kentucky when Blaine joined McKinley, but from what you know did Kurt ever try to stop him from essentially getting bullied?”

“Or Mr Scheuster?” Nick adds

“I don’t think any of you will be surprised that Kurt didn’t do anything, and actually from what Mike told me he encouraged the ‘formal’ audition process”

“Shit that must have really hurt Blaine” Jeff comments 

“And as for Mr Schue…I think you guys know enough that he didn’t really care about any of us who weren’t original members in Rachel and Santana’s year” Sam says, mood clearly changing. “I’m going to go to bed” but instead of going to his room, Sam leaves the apartment and heads straight to Blaine and Sebastian’s.

“Well if we’re going to be dealing with a pissed of Sebastian tomorrow I’m going to bed too” Thad remarks knowingly and they all head off.

Early the next morning there’s heaving knocking on the door, which Jeff answers, “Morning Sebastian”

“Save it, you know why I’m here” he then goes and finds Thad in the kitchen and wakes Nick up, herding them to the living area. “So who’s going to go first and tell me why we   
had to share our bed with Sam last night…and why it took an hour of B reading Star Wars fanfiction before he could finally sleep.”

“He didn’t say anything?” Jeff asks apprehensively

“Of course he did but I want to hear from you idiots why you pushed him like that” Sebastian barks at them

“We didn’t mean too…we didn’t think we were pushing that much” Nick replies

“Honestly man, we’ll make it up to him, we didn’t mean to upset him. But I’ve got to admit I don’t understand why he’s reacted so badly…I mean I know he’s sensitive about Blaine but…”

“It’s not that is it?” Jeff asks, having gotten to know Sam the best out of the Dalton guys, “I mean that won’t be helping because we all know better than to dig for information about Blaine if we haven’t already been told, so we obviously made him uncomfortable, but it’s about Mr Schue right?” and Sebastian nods in response.

“Okay so we know he wasn’t there for Sam and Blaine’s New Directions, hence how it became Sam and Blaine’s and that when he was there he had a tendency to butt heads with the two, particularly Blaine, but why do I get the feeling we’re missing something.” Nick says

“Because you are and I think you guys need to know why, but you don’t bring this up to either of them.” Sebastian tells them firmly and they all agree. “When everyone went back to McKinley for Finn’s funeral and vigil at the school, Mr Scheuster held a separate memoriam exclusively for the original New Directions members and went on about how they were the only ones who really knew Finn and really knew what it meant to be in the New Directions. To know how it really felt to be in that club…Well Blaine, Sam, Sugar and Kitty overheard and as you can imagine all got upset. Particularly B and Sam…it just seemed to reemphasise that they weren’t ever really accepted into the club.”

“To be honest it sounds ridiculous. Finn was friends with all of them, and taught some of them. And original member or not being in that club would have meant something to all of them.” Jeff says clearly a little annoyed. 

“You don’t have to tell me…I was seriously pissed when I found out what happened…but being who they are, B and Sam held their own memoriam for anyone excluded from the original members one in the court yard, so they could all have the moment they clearly needed. Not to mention the rest of their New Directions were pissed when they heard what Mr Schue had done. For them it again emphasised that he didn’t really care what happened to them, which stung more considering the stakes…but once again it meant that B and Sam had to be the real adults in the situation.”

“And it postponed their grieving process more as they were constantly having to be the strong ones.” Jeff fills in and Sebastian nods in confirmation.

“So although they never talk about it…Mr Schue and what happened is a sore spot, so by pushing about finding out what happened to B how you guys did brought everything else   
back up, not to mention Sam hates what happened to B when he started McKinley, even if he didn’t know him at the time.”

“That’s the kind of guy he is though” Nick comments

“Exactly”

“We know we screwed up and we need to make it up to him…and Blaine for upsetting Sam, but we obviously have no real idea how hard it was for Blaine when he started McKinley. I mean he clearly got bullied …and I’m not going to be an idiot and ask what did go down…but you obviously do know and well I was wondering when Blaine told you” Thad asks Sebastian.

“When we became friends in junior year” Sebastian answers, making the other three smile. “What’s with the looks? I thought if anything you three would be pissed he didn’t tell you considering you’d all been friends longer”

“It’s because it confirms what we all thought in that there was always something between the two of you even if you didn’t know it at the time.” Nick replies

“Well if Blaine didn’t know” Thad adds with a smirk in Sebastian’s direction

“I plead the fifth” Sebastian answers with a smile

“Come on man…we all know how Blaine reacts to new people. He was never nervous around you. Flustered yes, but nervous no” Jeff says through a laugh.

“Now come on you three have a Sam and a killer to make it up to this morning.” Sebastian tells them.

The three get dressed and head back with Sebastian where they find Blaine and Sam in the kitchen eating breakfast. Everyone clears the air, with Sam explaining why he reacted how he did, which is exactly as Sebastian said. All the guys get on well, but this little hiccup actually helped bring them all closer, particularly for Sam, and made him feel as a real piece of the group due to the effort the guys were putting in and he could see how bad they felt.


	70. Not far enough

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So hopefully things will calm down more now and I'll be able to post regularly as before. I am so sorry for not having this chapter up sooner and thank you for your patience. As always I'd love to hear what you all think and I hope this chapter isn't a let down after you've all had to wait so long.

Jesse is standing nervously outside of the girls’ apartment with a tea in his hand from the café down the street for Rachel and a chai tea for himself.

“Morning Jesse” Rachel greets as she opens the door

“Morning…I got you this” he says handing the tea over, “But if you don’t want it don’t feel like you’ve got to.”

“No that’s perfect thank you…I’m really glad to have some company for the commute to the theatre today.”

“Me too…I didn’t realise until the other night how close to each other we live…it’s kind of crazy”

“It really is” Rachel smiles as they head down the street. “So are you recovered from the first group dinner then?”

“Actually I really enjoyed it…after the beginning at least. I haven’t really made any friends since moving to the city yet. I didn’t expect Blaine to blow up the way he did though.”

“It shocked me too…yet if I think about it I’m not surprised. He was treated really horribly when he arrived at McKinley for quite some time. It’s ironic when you think about it that a group that was meant to be about acceptance couldn’t welcome him…or you.” She adds with a sideways glance to Jesse.

“To be fair I did have an ulterior motive when I joined.”

“But Blaine’s right in that you wouldn’t have necessarily followed through if you hadn’t been treated how you were…isn’t he?”

“He is…I was going to talk to you about it but I kind of had the feeling I needed to talk to him first...I’m not totally sure why…I guess I didn’t feel like I’d get close to you if I didn’t.”

Rachel giggles, “You must know that Blaine’s just a friend to me…an incredibly good one, but just a friend. I’ve long gotten over my crush on him.”

Jesse’s eyes go wide “What? You…err…had a crush on him”

Again Rachel giggles, “A very long time ago now. Besides he’s madly in love with Sebastian.”

“Please” a voice scoffs from behind. Rachel turns around to face Kurt. “You’ve been avoiding me” he accuses

“I haven’t had anything to say to you Kurt…and it’s very rude to listen in on other people’s conversations. Now if you don’t mind.” Rachel goes to turn but Kurt grabs hold of her arm.

“Hey! Let go of her!” Jesse demands

It’s then that Kurt takes notice of Rachel’s walking partner, “Seriously Rachel, Jesse St James? You cannot be serious?! After everything that happened! No wonder you’ve been avoiding me…you must have known I wouldn’t approve.”

Rachel snaps her arm away from Kurt, “Kurt…I don’t need your approval. I am a grown woman and will be friends with whoever I want.”

“This is Blaine’s fault…I heard you talking about him…and what would Finn think?”

“Then you should know that’s not true and that he’s been nothing but supportive and don’t you dare use Finn’s name in that way. You may have been related by marriage but you didn’t know him best Kurt.” Rachel links arms with Jesse, “Let’s go…we’ll be late otherwise” and hails a cab, the two quickly climbing in leaving a fuming Kurt on the curb.

“Wow…are you okay Rachel?” Jesse asks as they settle in the cab

“I’m fine” she replies too quickly as she fires off messages to Blaine. When she’s finished she looks to Jesse, “I just don’t understand why he can’t let go”

“Some people you never truly get over” Jesse says pointedly but Rachel doesn’t catch on as she’s still emotional from the encounter.

“I wanted to be his friend. I was his friend. Blaine even gave him another chance despite everything but now he’s done…and so am I. Why can’t he respect our wishes? Maybe someday we’ll be able to work things out, but not if he keeps pushing and acting like this…as if he’s the victim in everything.”

“I’m going to respect that I don’t really know what’s gone down and not push, but during my time at McKinley, Kurt was always jealous and resentful of others who had things he didn’t…who had money, yet he always aspired to having it, as if he felt like he deserved to have those things. Maybe there’s more to it than Blaine being the person he’ll always carry with him. Maybe he’s bitter because he feels as though he’s lost a prize that would have been the gateway to the life he’s always wanted. As for you…you’re about to be a fully-fledged Broadway leading lady…you’re achieving a dream you’ve both been chasing after. He was probably holding you back through jealousy of you getting the dream first.   
Everyone knows he’s always thought of himself as a star…I hope you don’t think I’m speaking out of turn or maliciously…it’s just how I’ve seen things.”

Rachel thinks for a moment, “That’s actually very insightful Jesse, and probably holds a lot of truth.”

The cab pulls in as Rachel’s phone starts ringing, the assigned ringtone letting her know who the caller is without her even having to check so ignores it. She sighs, “Well I’ll see you soon…let me know how today goes” she smiles then heads to the stage door. Jesse watches her go, a smile on his face. He’d never have thought he’d get to have Rachel back in his life, or become friends with members of the Warblers and New Directions, but that’s exactly what's happening. 

Later that evening the girls have just finished having dinner when Santana can’t help herself anymore.

“Spill Berry”

“Spill what?”

“Whatever is rattling around that big head of yours”

“It is really distracting” Brittany adds

Rachel sighs, “Fine but you’re only going to get annoyed” The three settle down on the sofa, Santana and Brittany tucked on one end facing Rachel, each with a glass of wine, “I bumped into Kurt today…well actually no that’s not quite right, I was walking with Jesse and he was clearly listening to our conversation until he had to but his nose in.”

“Let me guess you were talking about one Blaine Warbler” Santana raises an eyebrow knowingly

“We were…it was at the point I commented on how madly in love he is with Sebastian that he decided to have his say.”

“Yeah that would do it” Brittany replies, “It’s true though...they really are madly in love…If little hearts could actually appear they’d be floating around them the whole time”

Santana laughs, “Ain’t that the truth…Anyway what did Lady Hummel have to say?” Rachel then goes on to recount the conversation. “I assume you called Blaine afterwards…you know he needs to know so he doesn’t get blind sighted”

“Actually I messaged him, we didn’t go into the details as I was on my way to the theatre and he was about to go into class but he knows that I had a run in with Kurt…of course he was more worried about whether or not I was okay considering I was with Jesse when it happened.”

“You should give him a call Rachel” Santana pushes

“You can’t tonight! It’s their date night” Brittany interrupts, “And I’m not sure he really needs all the details unless he asks for them. It’s not as if Kurt said anything new.”

Santana kisses Brittany’s cheek making her giggle, “Damn I love it when you get all smart” 

When Sebastian gets home there’s no sign of Blaine which is unusual as he’s always first home on their date nights. “B?” he calls out but there’s no answer so he makes his way to their bedroom where he finds his grey suit, a white dress shirt and skinny black tie laid out on the bed. “Killer?” he calls out again and Blaine appears from their en suite in a black suite with a purple shirt and dark purple bowtie. “Damn B…you know what you in formal wear does to me…the way your ass fills out dress pants is spectacular.”

Blaine blushes slightly before giving Sebastian a chaste kiss and composing himself, “You have thirty minutes before car service will be here so you better hurry up and shower and get ready.”

Sebastian beams, loving Blaine when he gets like this, “Ready for what?”

“That’s for you to find out” Blaine chuckles, “I figure we both need a treat given the way our workloads have been...so a treat is what you’re going to get.”

“Can I at least get a hint?”

Blaine puts on an exaggerated thinking face for a moment, “You’ll have a chance to feel me up at dinner and make me get all flustered…but only if you get ready now” he teases and giggles when Sebastian strips and jumps in the shower in record speed. Blaine’s sat in the living room reading when Sebastian comes walking through in his suit, “You look amazing Bas” Blaine tells his boyfriend, his mouth suddenly dry.

“Yeah it’s both a blessing and a curse” Sebastian sighs dramatically making Blaine laugh.

“Come on, the car service should be here in a minute” They both put their coats on then head downstairs, hand in hand.

Sebastian kisses Blaine on the cheek when they get in the car, “You really have pulled out all the stops tonight Killer B”.

“Yeah well there was no way you were going to go on the subway in your Armani suit” 

“Damn straight” Blaine giggles as Sebastian pulls him tighter into his side. “And…there’s no way I’d let your ass on a subway wrapped up like that.”

“Possessive much?” Blaine teases

“Just protective...You’re mine” Sebastian nips Blaine’s jaw

“And your mine” Blaine returns the bite and squeezes Sebastian’s knee

It’s not long until the car pulls up and it’s only then that the taller takes in where they are, “How the hell did you pull this off B? There’s a waiting list for this place.” Sebastian comments as they exit the car.

“I know. I put us on it as soon as we agreed Wednesdays would be out date night and found out how much you really wanted to come here.”

“You’re amazing” Sebastian whispers, “But…”

“Don’t say it’s too much…please…this is something I really want to do and well…I’ve arranged for us to have the taster menu so it’s not that bad…honestly.”

“Then I won’t say it” Sebastian places a gentle kiss on Blaine’s forehead and they make their way inside.

By the time the plates from their starters have been cleared away Sebastian already has Blaine squirming in his seat, “Do you really have to palm me each time the waitress comes over?”

“I do…I really do” Sebastian takes a sip of his drink with a devilish glint in his eyes. “You knew what you were letting yourself in for killer” he goads

“That’s true” Blaine replies flatly before leaning in so only his boyfriend can hear, “But you’re forgetting two can play at this game”

Sebastian smirks darkly, “Game on Anderson”. Their mains pass with the couple running their feet up each other’s calves as hands run up and down thighs, teasingly, slowly. Blaine asks the waitress for the bill when she comes back to collect their plates, “Giving in B?” Sebastian asks smugly.

“No desert was always going to be at home.” Blaine grins in a manner that has Sebastian rather intrigued so they don’t waste time in getting back home. It’s not long before they’re both sat on the couch at opposite ends in just their boxer briefs, legs tangled together with bowls of dark chocolate ice cream – Sebastian’s favourite. “Tonight’s been amazing B…just what I needed so thank you.” Sebastian says lovingly as he puts his now empty bowl on the coffee table.

“I love you”

“I love you too sap…but if you keep eating your ice-cream like that you won’t get the chance to finish it.”

Blaine frowns, “I have no idea what you’re talking about Bas” before putting another spoonful in his mouth and pulling the spoon out slowly, licking it clean while maintaining eye contact with his boyfriend the whole time.

“Right that’s it” Sebastian pounces on Blaine, taking the bowl out of his hands and pulling him flat onto the couch somehow all in one movement, making the shorter giggle.

“I totally won” Blaine grins

“Yet I’m going to collect the prize” Sebastian grins before reaching down for a spoonful of Blaine’s ice-cream and uses it to create a melting-chocolatey trail down his chest and abdomen, finishing at the waistband on his briefs.

“Fuck Bas” Blaine arches his back at the cold desert now decorating his naked skin.

Sebastian chuckles enigmatically before making his way down Blaine’s body, licking, biting and kissing every trace of chocolate from his skin, before he finally peels their boxer briefs off of the two of them and lets their throbbing erections spring free.

“Bas wait” Blaine gasps as Sebastian covers his body and grinds their hips together.

“What’s wrong?” Sebastian frowns and pulls back so he can look into Blaine’s eyes

“I want to try something…” Blaine bites his bottom lip nervously

“What is it killer B?” Sebastian encourages

“I want to fuck you…but I don’t want you to come”

“Why not?” the frown remaining on Sebastian’s face in confusion

“Because then I want you to fuck me”

A half smile immediately forms on Sebastian’s face, “So you want to fuck me and fill me up with your come before I get to fuck you, while you’re still tingling and extra sensitive and fill you up with my come.”

Blaine’s confidence is back with Sebastian’s reaction so wraps his arms around his neck and giggles deeply, “That about sums it up yeah”

Sebastian growls before picking Blaine up roughly and carrying him to their bedroom to make the fantasy a reality. As Blaine’s pumping his hips, thrusting deep into his boyfriend, Sebastian begins to work him open, knowing he won’t be able to hold back once Blaine’s had his release.

“Fuck Bas” Blaine moans loudly as Sebastian works three fingers into his ass, a well-timed hook of his fingers as Blaine sinks deep inside of him causes the shorter to spill his load, feeling deeper than ever before inside of his boyfriend. As soon as Sebastian is confident Blaine has worked through his orgasm he flips them over so Blaine is pinned underneath him, forcing his cock out of his entrance. “Bastian” Blaine whimpers as Sebastian thrusts into him in one hard, almost harsh movement, and pins his hands to the mattress above his head.

Sebastian sets a gruelling pace, “Fuck B…you’re so tight…you’re always so boneless after you’ve come…is this what you wanted…wanted me to fill you up when there’s almost nothing you can do about it?” The words make Blaine moan beneath him. Sebastian throws Blaine legs over his shoulder so he can drive even deeper, but it’s not enough so he grabs two of the pillows and places them under Blaine’s hips, creating an angle that allows him to dive deeper than ever before. At this Sebastian slows his pace, wanting to last longer, wanting to take the time to feel Blaine like this.

“So deep” Blaine gasps, “Bas, you’re so deep” Blaine knows he’ll have bruises on his hip where Sebastian is gripping onto him and quite possible around his wrists where Sebastian’s other hand is still keeping the two of his trapped above his head and he’s never been more turned on in his life. It’s enough for Blaine to get hard again.

“I’m gonna make you come again” Sebastian growls lowly into Blaine’s ear

“I don’t think I can” Blaine’s head lolls to the side

“You can and you will”

Sebastian keeps his rhythm steady, allowing Blaine’s body enough time to recover so he knows he will be able to come again before picking up the pace. Blaine comes for a second time with a cry and Sebastian releases his wrists so he can pull Blaine’s hips even closer to his own body with both hands, spilling over when he’s as deep as he feels he can possible be, making Blaine cry out again as he feels hot come coating his insides, almost as if it was happening in his stomach.

Sebastian collapses to the side of Blaine and pulls his boyfriend into his arms as they both pant, trying to get their breath back. “We are definitely doing that again…and we have to try it the other way round” Sebastian comments and places a kiss into Blaine’s sweaty curls.

“You won’t get any arguments from me…that was…that was…yeah”

Sebastian laughs softly, “So articulate” Blaine grunts in response. “Ah ah ah, no falling to sleep yet…we definitely need to wash.”

“I can’t…you’ve turned me into jelly…you go on without me.” Blaine mumbles dramatically with a pout on his face that is so goddam adorable Sebastian can’t help but shake his head fondly at how his curly haired love can be a sex maniac in one breath and ridiculously cute in another.

Sebastian sighs, “Come on…I’ll wash you, all you have to do is stay propped up against the wall” and stands up, taking Blaine with him and carrying him to the shower. After washing himself he washes Blaine gently but thoroughly then wraps him in a towel afterwards and sits him in the chair in the corner of their bedroom while he makes quick work changing their sheets as they’re soaked with come, sweat and lube. When Sebastian turns around he sees Blaine is almost asleep so carefully picks him up and places him in bed then gets rid of their towels before joining him. “I love you Killer B” Sebastian mutters into Blaine’s curls

“I love you too Bastian” Blaine whispers back before completely succumbing to sleep.

If anyone notices that Blaine’s wearing extra bracelets with his watch the next day, none of them think anything of it, or at least comment on it, Blaine isn’t sure which, but smiles when he realises that he doesn’t care, at all, and shares a knowing smile with his boyfriend as he plays with a row of the beads covering up the elegant finger prints wrapping around his wrist.


	71. Halloween

It’s Halloween weekend and anyone in college near New York, well on the East coast, has travelled to the city to celebrate it together, including Tina, Quinn, Beat, Wes, Trent and David.

“Is there a reason why you’re not getting ready yet killer? Or why all of you New Directioners are getting ready together in the guest room?” Sebastian asks as he changes into his costume, a modern take on Dracula.

“You know there is, but I’m still not saying anything” Blaine smirks. Luckily for him the door goes before Sebastian can press any further so he quickly goes to answer and is pleased to see everyone else has arrived at once. Wes, David, Trent and Beat, who are already in costume in the living room, look to Sebastian in question when all of the New Directions members present bundle into the guest room complete with clothes bags, hiding their costumes, leaving Jesse in the living room with the others.

“Don’t look at me…I know as much as you guys do” Sebastian answers to the silent question.

“I have no idea either” Jesse adds when the gazes turn to him

“Are they seriously all getting changed in their together?” Trent asks

“They all got changed together at the graduation party at Sugar’s” Sebastian retorts

“Good point”

Meanwhile in the guest room the rest of them are all getting changed, “So Sebastian seriously doesn’t have any idea?” Tina asks

“None what so ever” Blaine smiles back

“None of them do” Sam adds

“How do you think Sebastian’s going to react?” Rachel asks, making the rest laugh.

“Oh there’s only one way he’s going to react” Santana smirks as Blaine pulls on his blazer, but he only shrugs in response as he looks in the mirror and styles his hair just in the way he did when he   
used to attend Dalton, gelled, but not flat and still a little wavy.

“You’ve already got some of that cockiness back Blaine Warbler” Quinn smiles as she kisses his cheek.

Blaine turns and looks at them all, “You all look great, I hope you girls realise you’re going to short circuit the guy’s brains with how you look”

“That’s the idea” Santana winks, “Trouty, stop drooling” she playfully snaps at Sam

“And thanks for all doing this for me” Blaine continues

“What are you talking about? This is great fun.” Tina smiles back

The girls lead the way out of the guest room, filing into the living room one by one. Thad is the first to spot them and stops dead partway through a sentence, making everyone else turn around and they find the girls stood in short pleated grey skirts, long white socks, black high heels, white button downs tied to reveal their abdomens, complete with Dalton ties and blazers. The guys then filter out, Blaine being the last one.

When Sebastian sees his boyfriend his mouth immediately goes dry and his eyes darken with want, “Looking good killer” he smirks and is pleasantly surprise when Blaine winks back flirtatiously. 

“How did you get so many Warbler blazers?” Jeff asks when he notices they all have one with the Warbler crest.

“That would be telling” Blaine replies, “But if you look closely you’ll see they’re not quite Warbler blazers”

Wes stands and looks at Sam’s as he’s closest, “New Warblers…very good guys”

“So you got them made up?” Thad asks

Blaine laughs, “God no. These are all Warbler blazers…It’s not hard to add the word ‘New’ and doesn’t take long…much easier than making them and a lot cheaper than getting them made” 

“I’ll take your word for it”

“You should” Santana retorts playfully

There’s a knock at the door so Blaine goes to answer, “Not bad Puckerman” he says when he finds Puck at the door complete in his own Warbler uniform, “She still has no idea you’re coming” 

“Good” 

Puck then walks through and is immediately spotted by Quinn, “Puck?” she gasps

“The last time I looked” he teases back and kisses her before greeting everyone else. “So we all good to head out?”

“Hell yes I need to get my drinks on” Santana replies as she reapplies her lipstick

“We’re going to the bar you used to work at right?” Wes asks the Latina

“We are…so let’s get this party on the road”

They all get to the bar and manage to grab a table, staying together to have drinks before some split off to dance.

“Do you like my costume then Bastian?” Blaine asks as he grinds chest-to-chest against Sebastian in the middle of the dance floor in time to the music.

“Surely you can feel how much I like it” Sebastian comments, rocking his hips forward to emphasise his point before sucking a mark on Blaine’s neck.

“That’s not playing fair Bas” Blaine moans before pulling his boyfriend’s body completely flush with his own and giving him a passionate kiss.

“I hope you bought your ear plugs with you,” Santana teases Wes and Beat who are dancing with her and Brittany looking over to the couple who are still caught up in each other. “If not I suggest you put your headphones in and listen to some music when you get back for a while.”

“You might have a point…surely they need to come up for air at some point?” Beat comments playfully. 

The couple go back to dancing, “Killer if you keep dancing against me like that we’re going to have to do something about this” Sebastian murmurs into Blaine’s ear, subtly running fingers against where they are both straining against their pants.

“No” Blaine replies, “You’ve always wanted to fuck me in the blazer and tonight you’re going to”

Sebastian’s breathing hitches, “Fucking hell B. I will, I promise, but I need you right now.” He groans, running his hands down Blaine’s back to cup his ass.

“Okay…okay” Blaine agrees breathily and pulls Sebastian towards the bathroom. Luckily for them when they get there it’s deserted so they both tumble into a cubicle, messily kissing, teeth clashing and tongues fighting for dominance. 

Blaine drops to his knees and unbuckles Sebastian’s belt and undoes his zip, maintaining eye contact the whole time as he slowly pulls his pants and boxer briefs down in one. “This is something else you’ve always thought about too right?” he asks but it’s not a question, still looking through his long eyelashes, Sebastian only answering in a series of rapid nods. Blaine doesn’t tease, now is not the time for that so gets to work sucking his way down and up Sebastian’s length and swirling his tongue round the head just how he knows his boyfriend likes. Sebastian stutters his hips slightly, catching Blaine unaware and making him gag a little.

“Sorry” Sebastian soothes and rubs Blaine’s cheek in apology, but Blaine just opens his throat and hums and taps Sebastian’s hip for him to continue, so Sebastian starts thrusting, watching his entire length disappearing into Blaine’s mouth while he’s there in his Dalton uniform, the sight enough to tip him over the edge. Once he’s fully spent, Blaine tucks Sebastian back into his pants gently, before being pulled up by his boyfriend. 

Sebastian kisses him passionately then drops to his knees to return the favour. Blaine’s already worked up so it doesn’t take him long to be brought over the edge, biting down on his fist to muffle his moan as his spills over. When they’re sure nobody is in the bathroom once again they both exit the cubicle and head to the bar where they find Tina and Rachel waiting in line with Thad and Nick.  
They all continue to dance and have fun for another couple of hours before agreeing to call it a night. When they exit the club Blaine and Sebastian both pause to make sure everyone is all together. After checking, they start walking passed where some people are still queuing to get into the club when Kurt steps out in front of the group.

“Well, well, well, what do we have here?”

“You got a problem?” Puck asks as he steps forward

“I just think it’s pathetic how you’re all dressed up” Kurt comments, looking at all the old New Directions members in their Warbler uniforms. “You really seem to have a thing for uniform now Puck, though I have to admit I always thought you’d be more of an orange all in one kind of guy.”

“What is your problem? You’re so fucking bitter and twisted.” Puck snarls

“So would you be if you’d been through what I have” Kurt spits back

“Oh give it up. We all know what you’ve been through but you seem to forget that you’re not the only one who’s had shit to go through…the rest of us deal with it and move on rather than holding on to it…face it Hummel, you like being the victim, when this time you’re really not.”

Kurt laughs but it’s anything but humorous, “You cannot be serious! As far as I remember lots of whatever you think you’ve been through was self-inflicted…let’s face it, if Quinn had kept her legs shut she’d never have got knocked up with your bastard.”

At that Blaine, Sam, Sebastian, Hunter and Beat all spring into action and stop Puck from launching at Kurt, while Wes, Jeff, David and Trent stop the girls from starting their own attack. After a moment Puck shrugs the guys off him, “Let go…I’m fine…I wouldn’t hit a girl”

“Seriously is that the best you can come up with?” Kurt taunts

“Come on guys” Blaine tries, encouraging them to move on, but Tina steps forward before he can continue.

“Do you know what I think is pathetic?” she starts.

“Enlighten me” Kurt sneers

“Oh I’ve got a long list and as you’re in this line you’ve clearly got a lot of time.”

“Tina don’t” Blaine tries again

“No…it’s about time someone said something to him and I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time.” She narrows her eyes.

“Then what are you waiting for?” Kurt jeers

“Nothing anymore…showing up at NYU, pathetic, still thinking you can get with Blaine, pathetic, stepping out in front of us all like that, pathetic, your costume, pathetic, stealing Blaine’s number from Rachel’s phone, pathetic.” At that Kurt’s eyes bug out, “Oh yes Kurt we all know about that. Why do you think Rachel has taken up such a stringent hair care regime so she can never see you anymore? But do you know what I think is the most pathetic?” Kurt goes to talk but Tina doesn’t give him the chance, “That was a rhetorical question. How you made everyone think the only reason you got bullied was because you’re gay…but I know the truth Lady Bits Hummel. Now leave Blaine and Sebastian and everyone else alone or you will regret it…that’s not a threat…it’s a promise.”

“Oh my god” Santana comments, completely amused by what’s just unfolded and not having seen Tina in full blown protective diva mode before while Sebastian and Hunter raise their eyebrows at each other, impressed.

“Wow I did not expect her to go there” Puck whispers to Quinn

Sebastian feels is boyfriend tense at his side, “Come on everyone, let’s go” and together with Hunter and Wes gets the group out of there.

“So there’s more to Lady Bits than him being gay?” Santana asks Tina wanting more information about something she can’t believe she doesn’t know.

“Ohhh yeah” Puck answers before Tina can, “It was a football team thing…everyone had a junk name, plus a couple of others who weren’t on the team…So Lady Bits Hummel came from the size of his junk, nothing to do with him being gay what so ever.”

“How did Kurt get a junk name then?” Thad asks

“He was on the football team at one point, when he was jealous his dad and Finn got on so well because they had a lot in common.” Rachel fills in

“How the hell did the whole penis naming thing even start?” Jeff asks

“Huh I dunno really. But open showers…guys look…was just one of those things…anyway the Puckasaurus doesn’t mind”

“Wait that’s your penis’ name? I thought you were just referring to yourself in the third person” Quinn frowns

“No…that would actually be more normal” Blaine responds then looks to Quinn for reassurance that she’s okay after what happened. Her smile lets him know that she’s fine, the guys already having known what actually happened with her, Puck and Beth meant that Kurt’s words were empty.

Before they split their separate ways Tina makes a point of talking to Blaine, who has by now managed to process what happened, “I’m sorry Blaine…I shouldn’t have gone off on one like that.”

“I know you did it from a good place, I just hope nothing happens because of it”

“I know and that’s why I’m sorry”

“I know, but actually I’m surprised it’s taken this long for someone to snap at him…he really does push everyone’s buttons. So honestly Tina it’s okay…I’m okay.” Blaine then gives her a hug, and Sam one goodnight, before heading back home with Sebastian, Wes, David, Beat, Quinn and Puck. 

When they walk through the door, Puck is quick to grab hold of Quinn and pull her towards the room they’re sleeping in, “Night guys!” he shouts over a giggling Quinn before closing their bedroom door.

Sebastian turns to Wes, David and Beat, “If you guys need anything…get it yourselves” before quickly pulling Blaine to their room by his tie and kicking the door closed before the shorter can say anything.

“So you want to watch a film or something?” Beat asks Wes and David, “I’ve got my iPad and a multi headphone splitter”

“Lead the way” Wes replies

In their bedroom Sebastian already has Blaine stripped down to nothing but his blazer and tie.

“You look so fucking hot” Sebastian moans breathily as he attacks Blaine’s neck

“You’re wearing too many clothes” Blaine moans so Sebastian quickly strips. When he’s completely naked Blaine pushes him back onto the bed and straddles him.

Sebastian pulls Blaine down by his tie so he can kiss him hungrily, trailing his free hand down to Blaine’s ass and trailing his fingers down his crack to his hole, “Killer”

Blaine sits up for a moment to reach the lube and opens the top, coating Sebastian’s fingers that are held out to him. They’re both worked up so Sebastian gets to work quickly prepping his boyfriend, but Blaine’s patience seems to wear out first as he moves Sebastian’s hand away and coats his cock before lowering himself in one swift movement.

“Fuck B” Sebastian moans, but can’t help but notice how Blaine’s moan was obviously a mix of pleasure and pain, “are you okay?”

“More than okay” Blaine leans forward to kiss Sebastian as he starts lifting himself up and down, starting off slow to give his body time to adjust before building up speed and intensity. Sebastian starts meeting Blaine’s movements, the sound of skin and skin echoing around the room. “Let go Bastian…I know you want to…fuck me” Blaine moans as he sits more upright, letting Sebastian thrust deeper.

If possible Sebastian’s eyes grow even darker with lust and he grips Blaine’s hips tightly with such force that there will definitely be bruises and starts thrusting with earnest, snapping his hips up and down with speed and force, knocking the air out of Blaine with each thrust. “Touch yourself killer” Sebastian orders so Blaine starts stroking his cock. The combination of the intensity of Sebastian repeatedly slamming into his prostate, and his own hand stroking his cock while he looks down at his debauched boyfriend cause Blaine to come with force; coating his hand and Sebastian’s chest with come and making his muscles clamp down hard. Sebastian continues to thrust at his relentless pace even as Blaine gets sensitive, edging as long as he can before he finally spills over, deep within his boyfriend. 

When Sebastian lets go of Blaine’s hips, he collapses forward. “You realise you’ve just covered yourself in come now?” he teases

“Shut up” 

“You okay killer B?”

“Mmmhmmm…you know it makes me sleepy when you do me like that” 

“Well you’re not going to sleep until we’re both cleaned up. And we need to get that blazer cleaned because there’s no way that was a onetime thing” he adds making Blaine laugh lazily.

They both stand and head to their en suite to clean up, “You sure you’re okay though B? You didn’t let me prep you properly” Sebastian comments with a worried tone as he finishes wiping over his own chest with a warm flannel, Blaine standing next to him doing the same thing.

Blaine smiles warmly, he loves that he gets to see this caring side of Sebastian, “I’m fine Bastian honest…I mean I can obviously feel it, but the amount it’s nice and not just sore.”

“Tell me if it does get sore” Sebastian requests gently as he kisses Blaine’s forehead

“I will I promise” Blaine replies as they both get into bed and cuddle onto each other.

In the morning both couples emerge from their rooms at the same time and find Wes and Beat already in the kitchen, “How did you sleep?” Blaine asks nervously

“Actually really well” Wes replies 

“Yeah we’ve let Santana know that you guys apparently have crazy good insulation so we hardly needed our headphones” Beat teases making Blaine blush

“Wouldn’t have bothered me if you had heard us do it” Puck comments.

Quinn shakes her head at her boyfriend, “Really Puck?” 

“There’s no shame in it. I think it’s wrong when people expect couples to abstain just because there are others staying with them, or they’re staying in someone else’s home” Wes comments, looking at Blaine in reassurance and receiving a smile in return.

Blaine’s phone goes off while he’s cooking breakfast so passes the spatula to Sebastian to flip the pancakes so he can answer, “Hey JB what’s up?”

“Is there any chance I can drop by? I woke up in the north section of the park and I can’t face the journey all the way home yet” 

Blaine laughs, “Of course you can…there’s coffee and food…or water and painkillers if that’s what you need”

“You’re a life saver…I’ll be there in a minute” 

“So I take it JB is on his way over?” Sebastian asks when Blaine disconnects the call.

“Yeah he woke up in the northern section of the park and can’t face travelling home yet” 

“Oh man what do you think he’ll be wearing?” Puck asks just as the door goes

“I guess we’re about to find out” Blaine says as he goes to answer the door.

The rest of them hear Blaine laughing and he soon walks back into the kitchen with Jean-Baptiste behind him.

“That’s got to be one of the skimpiest cave man costumes I’ve ever seen” Sebastian laughs

“There was more to it when the night started…I don’t suppose I could borrow some clothes” Jean-Baptise asks as he clutches onto a small strip of fabric he’s holding around himself to cover his modesty.

“Yeah come on…” Blaine then takes Jean-Baptiste to his and Sebastian’s room and gives him a pair of his sweats and a t-shirts. “I hope mine are okay, but Bas’s would drown you.”

“They’re great thanks Blaine…anything is better than this”

“Erm do you want some underwear too?”

“If that’s okay it would certainly be appreciated” Blaine gets Jean-Baptiste a pair of boxers and some socks before leaving him to get dressed.

“Do you want some food JB?” Blaine asks his friend as he re-joins them all in the kitchen

“That would be amazing…by any chance do you have some orange juice?”

“Yeah it’s in the fridge…there’s some aspirin in the bathroom cabinet if you want that too.” Jean-Baptiste goes and grabs the pain killers and pours himself a glass of juice before sitting down to eat with them all.

“So how did you end up practically naked in Central Park?” Sebastian asks, eyes full of glee

“I don’t even know” Jean-Baptiste grumbles, “I swear I can’t remember half of what happened last night, but I obviously lost the rest of my group at some point”

“You’re lucky man…you could have been mugged or something” Puck comments

“Really? I think it was obvious I had nothing to take” Jean-Baptiste retorts light heartedly

“Yeah fair play…though you still had your phone”

“How do you know you weren’t mugged?” Quinn asks

“Or that anything else didn’t happen” Beat adds

“From the flashbacks I’ve had nothing like that happened but I’m not getting into that state again.”

“Very wise…it’s amazing what can happen in such instances…waking up in random places…tattoos” Wes remarks clearly looking at Blaine, drawing everyone else’s attention to him.

“Hey I love my tattoo” Blaine quips back

“Yes and you are very lucky you got done what you did”

“Wait you got a tattoo when you were drunk?” Jean-Baptiste asks Blaine clearly amused

“Oh not just any tattoo…a tattoo from the finest parlour in LA normally reserved for the rich and famous…but I love it so I’m not complaining. It’s where and when Sam also got his hair cut…and neither can remember a thing after the first round of drinks” Sebastian answers

“Okay that makes me feel a little better”

“I’m glad to be of service” Blaine grumps making everyone else laugh. “Have you got any plans today JB? We’re all going to Liberty Island before the non-New Yorkers head back home this evening if you want to join us.”

“That would be great…do I have time to go home first?”

“We were going to head off at 11, so you could always meet us at the boats for 12”

“That works…I’ll see you guys then” Jean-Baptiste says as he goes to leave.

XXXXXXX  
“So are we good to go?” Tina asks as they stand at the boats ready to go to Liberty Island

“Not quite yet, JB is coming too, he’ll be here in a minute”

“Sweet” Sam replies

“I’ll see about that” Tina responds

“Tina, don’t…he’s a good guy…just give him a chance…for me” Blaine says and gives her his best puppy dog eyes

“Well how can I say no now?” Tina grumbles, making everyone laugh at yet another occasion where Blaine’s puppy eyes strike again

“Hi sorry I’m a couple of minutes late…but I did manage to get your clothes washed and dried Blaine” Jean-Baptiste greets them and hands a bag over to Blaine with his clothes in.

“Wow thanks man…I didn’t expect you to do that”

“It was only fair after you saved me this morning”

“No problem…I couldn’t have you getting arrested for indecent exposure on your way home now could I?” Blaine teases as they all board

As Blaine and Sebastian are sat eating dinner later that evening after everyone else has gone Sebastian turns to his boyfriend, “Penny for your thoughts B?”

“I just can’t believe we hadn’t been to Liberty Island yet…there was something pretty magical about it…not like the Eiffel Tower, but something none the less”

“I’d have to agree” Sebastian smiles

“Really?”

“Really really” he responds, getting a pizza kiss from his boyfriend.

“Plus I’m really happy, but not surprised, that Tina and JB got on so well”

“I think her outburst at Kurt got her a lot of kudos from him”

“Yeah you could say that” Blaine laughs, “I know I didn’t take it well as it was happening, but it didn’t take me long to realise that it was a credit to everyone that they hadn’t gone off before…and I guess it drove home how much it was affecting everyone else.”

“And that they’re only as affected as they are because they love you” Sebastian adds

Blaine nods, “I know it took long enough for me to get there, particularly because you all kept telling me, but yes…I get it now.”

Sebastian throws his hands in the air, “Hallelujah” 

“Shut up” Blaine pouts through a laugh, but Sebastian just kisses the pout away.


	72. The appointment

One evening Blaine returns home to find Sebastian, Thad and Hunter still studying together in the living room.

Sebastian looks up and smiles, “Hi killer” 

“Hi” Blaine smiles back, but Sebastian immediately tells something is up with his boyfriend.

“B what’s wrong?”

“Nothing…I’m just really tired” Blaine replies, not even looking at his boyfriend, and heads to their bedroom

Sebastian frowns. “He could just be tired man…his schedule is pretty crazy” Thad tries to reassure his friend, but it’s pointless.

“Let’s get to the end of this page then call it a night” Hunter suggests also getting the feeling something is up with Blaine and knows Sebastian won’t really be able to concentrate until he knows what is going on.

They get to the end of the page and Sebastian shows his two friends out, “I’ll see you guys tomorrow”

“Tomorrow” they both respond

On their way down Thad looks to Hunter, “I seriously just think it’s probably Blaine’s schedule catching up with him”

“Yeah you’re probably right…but you know Sebastian is protective of him so even if it is just that he’ll want to take care of Blaine…and given everything he’s been through and they’ve been through as a couple, it makes sense.” Hunter replies but still can’t shake the feeling something else is going on so messages Sebastian to let him know if they need anything to ask.

Meanwhile back in the apartment Sebastian locks the door and makes his way to his boyfriend. When he pokes his head into their bedroom he can’t help but notice that Blaine’s closed their heavy curtains, plummeting the room into darkness, “Have you got a headache killer?”

“No” Blaine replies, but even with the shortness of his response Sebastian can tell Blaine’s got tears in his eyes.

“Come on B tell me what’s wrong” Sebastian soothes as he lies down behind his boyfriend and holds him tightly. Blaine rolls over and presses himself impossibly tightly into Sebastian’s body, holding on as if his life depended on it.

“They think there’s something wrong with my vocal chords…I have to go see a doctor for them to investigate.” Blaine manages to force out, tears falling down his cheeks

“What? That’s crazy” Sebastian responds, shock evident in his voice

“Not really…you know I’ve been struggling with proper vibrato…they think it’s because of my vocal chords rather than me not getting the technique”

“Okay” Sebastian replies as he processes what his boyfriend has just told him, “But you know if there is a problem it won’t make a difference right? I mean you’ve been singing since you could talk and you’ve got a stunning voice. Plus vibrato is over rated.”

“Not if you want to do Broadway”

“But there are lots of parts that don’t demand vibrato and personally I’d rather go see a good actor that can’t do vibrato that a bad one who can. Plus…your main dream of being a musician is unaffected…it hasn’t stopped you so far and it won’t stop you now…if you don’t let it”

“Okay…you’re right” Blaine sniffs reluctantly, not wanting to get stuck on the topic

“So when’s your appointment?”

“I haven’t made it yet…Dr Green gave me the number of the physician I should call, but I was kind of hoping you could come with me, but didn’t want to book and then tell you.”

“Call them now then B”

Blaine nods and takes out his phone to make the call. Luckily the doctor has an appointment left the following week that works around both Blaine’s and Sebastian’s schedules, though Blaine is warned he won’t be able to go back to school for the rest of the afternoon as he will be sedated for the procedure so will need to go home and rest in bed while the drugs wear off.

For Blaine the morning of the appointment comes round far too quickly and before he knows it they’re at the hospital. “It’s going to be okay killer” Sebastian says firmly but reassuringly, knowing how much Blaine hates hospitals, let alone how nervous he is about the procedure. 

Blaine doesn’t say anything but squeezes Sebastian’s hand a little harder and manages a weak smile, earning him a kiss to his forehead. Blaine tightens his hold on Sebastian’s hand more permanently when a nurse calls his name and shows him into a cubicle, providing him with a gown to change into and leaving him to get changed.

After changing Blaine sits on the bed and looks to his boyfriend, “Are you still okay to stay for the procedure?”

“Of course I am B, the doctor said I could when you booked right?”

“She did”

At that moment the curtain opens and Dr Khan walks in with the nurse, “Mr Anderson, I’m Dr Khan, it’s lovely to meet you; how are you doing today?”

“Kind of nervous I guess. This is Sebastian…is it still okay for him to stay for the procedure?”

She smiles kindly, “Of course…so as we discussed you’ll be conscious for the procedure but we are going to give you a sedative to help you relax. You can’t drive for twenty four hours after and you shouldn’t go back to school this afternoon. You need to go home and get some rest. It’s a simple procedure but the sedative will remain in your system for a while. If you experience a sore throat for a couple of days that’s perfectly fine, but give us a call if it persists. Now as we are examining your vocal chords I may need you to use them at some points, but it’s important you don’t try to talk so only ‘ahhh’, as biting around the probe would not be good for it or you. Do you have any questions?”

“Are you able to provide me with a letter of the results for NYU?” 

“Of course…I will draft one for yourself and provide you with a copy for you to give to your professors. Sebastian, do you have any questions?”

“Not at this moment”

“Great so before we get started is there anything I need to know? Any conditions or allergies?”

“None” Blaine replies

“So Kate is going to give you the sedative now. It’s just a small injection. Then we’ll leave you for a couple of minutes for it to take affect then see how you feel. We can always give you some more if needs be.”

Blaine smiles at Kate as she administers the injection, “Thank you”

Kate returns his smile, “That must be the first time someone has thanked me for giving them an injection” Making Blaine blush lightly and Sebastian laugh breathily. 

“How are you feeling killer?” Sebastian asks when the two are given some privacy for the drugs to take effect.

“Awesome” Blaine smiles dopily, the sedative already clearly already starting to work.

“Maybe we should have warned them how easily affected you are by drugs” the taller teases, receiving an incoherent mumble in response.

“So how are we feeling?” Dr Khan asks as she and Kate enter the cubicle once more with the equipment for the procedure. 

“Awesome apparently” Sebastian smirks

“Are you ready Blaine?”

“As I’ll ever be” he slurs back

“Let’s get started then…Sebastian can you go round the other side for me?”

“Of course” Sebastian goes to move but Blaine clings to his hand, “B you need to let go…I’m just going round to your other side…I promise.”

Blaine nods then lets go of Sebastian, who immediately holds his other hand when he reaches the other side of the bed. When the bed is lowered flat Sebastian can immediately feel Blaine tense even more so begins rubbing his thumb across his knuckles and caresses his forearm with his free hand, instantly helping Blaine relax.

The procedure lasts for about 30 minutes. After Kate and Dr Khan leave so Blaine can get dressed again and to process the paper work and draft the results letter. While they are waiting another nurse gives Blaine a drink and a slice of toast to eat, which he manages to get down.

Blaine is more with it when the doctor returns but is still feeling groggy.

“I can see you managed to eat something” Dr Khan smiles at Blaine, “I just need you to sign these forms then I’ll explain what we found and you can be on your way. Oh and here is your results letter plus the copy for NYU” she says handing an envelope over to him. “So first things first, your vocal chords are healthy…but there is a slight abnormality in that they do not fully close, which is why you can’t do vibrato. There aren’t any options available to correct this but you should be assured that it won’t cause any future problems and there may be some techniques you can learn that will enable you to help mimic the vibrato effect…Do either of you have any questions?”

“No…thank you” Blaine forces a smile and signs the forms.

“So just to confirm medically everything is fine and the abnormality won’t cause any future problems.” Sebastian says.

“That’s correct. The vocal chords are in fact very healthy and no, it’s only a very slight abnormality and it’s one that won’t cause any problems…So if there’s nothing else you can be on your way, but remember you need to rest for the rest of the day. If you do have any queries at all, please don’t hesitate to call my office and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible if I can’t take the call at the time.”

When they get into the taxi Sebastian wraps his arm around Blaine, “How are you doing killer B?”

“I want to sleep” Blaine grumbles

“We’ll be home soon and then you can…but you know that’s not what I meant.”

“Well there’s nothing I can do about it”

“No there’s not…but you need to remember it hasn’t stopped you so far…and it won’t now if you don’t let it…and now you know what’s different about your vocal chords…”

Blaine interrupts, “You mean wrong”

“No I mean different. You heard Dr Khan, you have very healthy vocal chords, there is nothing wrong with them at all, they are just a little different from the average persons, yet the average person could only dream of singing how you can. Like I was saying, it’s not stopped you from achieving anything so far, and it won’t now, if you don’t let it.” 

“I suppose”

“No I suppose about it, it’s how it is killer”

“Mmmm…I don’t want to talk about it right now…my mind is too groggy”

Sebastian relents knowing how stubborn Blaine can be, “Okay…later”

When they get back to their apartment Blaine changes into sweats and Sebastian’s old lacrosse jersey and Dalton hoodie and puts on his slipper socks. He stops when he notices   
his boyfriend also change into something more comfortable and bring his laptop and books into their bedroom.

“Bastian what are you doing? You’ve got a lecture you need to go to”

“No I don’t…I’ve already spoken with the professor who cleared it for me to stay home with you if needs be after I explained what was happening, and Hunter has agreed to pick up any handouts and record the session for me.”

“You can go Bas…I’ll be fine…honest”

“But I’d feel better if I stayed…and I know you want me too really”

“Thank you for knowing me” Blaine smiles and gives his boyfriend a hug, kissing his collarbone through his t-shirt.

They settle on the bed, Sebastian sitting up against the headboard in the middle, his laptop on his lap and books to his right. Blaine lies down on his side and presses his face into Sebastian’s waist and throws a leg over his boyfriend’s, his arm wrapping round his body just below where the laptop is resting. It doesn’t take Blaine long to go to sleep with Sebastian running one hand through his curls.

A couple of hours later Sebastian receives a message from Hunter letting him know he’s on his way, so replies, telling him just to let himself in, as he doesn’t see Blaine waking up any time soon, though he is prepared to wake him up for dinner if needs be. 

“Hey man” Hunter greets quietly as he finds Sebastian with an asleep Blaine still wrapped around him in their bedroom.

“Hey…did I miss much?”

“No…to be honest it’ll probably take you half the time to watch the recording…he kept waffling again…here are the handouts, and I’ve put the recording onto a USB so you can download it onto your laptop and save it to your phone if you want to” Hunter says as he places a folder on top of the nearest chest of drawers. “So is it stupid asking how things went earlier considering you stayed here?” 

Sebastian looks down at his still sleeping boyfriend and starts carding a hand through his curls again, “His vocal chords are slightly abnormal in that they don’t fully close so he won’t ever be able to do proper vibrato. There isn’t anything they can do about it, but medically they are fine…great in fact…apparently he has very healthy vocal chords, they’re just a little different…a bit like their owner I suppose” Sebastian half smiles.

Hunter nods and processes the information for a moment, “How did he take it?”

“Not great…but he was still pretty out of it with the sedative and hadn’t really had chance to process it all.”

“He’ll be fine…he’s too good not to make it because of this…it hasn’t stopped him so far.”

“You don’t have to tell me Hunter” Sebastian replies shortly

“I know…but even if it takes him a while to come to terms with it…he has to be the strongest person I know…he’ll get through this and I bet be even better.”

“I have no doubt…he’ll get to grips with it far quicker than he thinks he will…he doesn’t give himself enough credit.”

Blaine starts grumbling in his sleep, obviously slowly starting to come to, so Hunter says goodbye to Sebastian, telling him to let him know if he can do anything.

“Hey there sleepy head” Sebastian says softly when he knows Blaine has woken up but has yet to open his eyes.

Blaine tilts his head and slowly opens his eyes, golden-honey staring into forest green, “I love you”.

Sebastian smiles, “I love you too sap” and moves his things so he can pull Blaine up, so he’s sat next to him but draped over his chest in an embrace. “So how are you feeling?”

“Better for that sleep…thank you for staying with me…and I don’t mean just now, but obviously thank you for that too.”

“Nowhere I’d rather be killer...do you want anything?”

“Some tea would be nice, my throat feels a bit scratchy, but I can get it”

“No, let me” Sebastian doesn’t give Blaine the chance to argue as he quickly heads towards the kitchen.

While Sebastian is making Blaine a cup of tea, his boyfriend is busy moving his laptop and books into the living room and places them on the coffee table, which he then moves closer to the long sofa.

Sebastian steps out of the kitchen, two cups in his hands and sees his stuff settled on the coffee table and Blaine stood staring out of the window. Sebastian places the cups down gently, then wraps his arms around his boyfriend’s waist and nuzzles into his neck, “Is this your way of trying to get rid of me so you can have the bed to yourself?” he asks playfully.

Blaine turns in Sebastian’s arms and wraps his arms around his waist, cuddling into him, “No I can’t spend all day in bed and this will make it easier for you to work while I can still get my cuddles…if that’s okay?”

“You don’t even have to ask” Sebastian leads them back to the sofa and sits down in one corner so Blaine can rest his head on his lap and stretch out across the length of the seat. After a moment of sitting in silence Sebastian leans forward and starts working once more, knowing Blaine will talk when he’s ready. A little while later Sebastian pauses what he’s working on, “Sorry killer, you need to let me get up for a moment.”

“Is something wrong?”

“No I just need to pee…stop thinking something is wrong”

Blaine smiles shyly and sits up. When Sebastian has left the room Blaine picks up his tea and drinks it quickly as it’s on the cooler side before looking over to his piano. Slowly he stands and makes his way over to the music area, looking at each of his instruments in turn before settling on the piano bench. He takes a moment, just staring at the keys before he starts playing. Sebastian smiles when he spots his boyfriend and listens to the music flow from him as he knows this is Blaine’s way of processing everything. Silently the taller settles and starts working once more, the piano helping him plough through quicker. 

After thirty minutes or so Blaine stops playing and looks up and smiles when he sees his boyfriend close his laptop and stretch, “Finished?”

Sebastian looks over to Blaine and smiles when he sees that he looks far more relaxed and at peace, “Finished…you were playing beautifully B…you know I love listening to you as I work.”

Blaine smiles bashfully before joining his boyfriend on the sofa once more and leaning his head on his shoulder, “So when I go to school tomorrow I’m going to go and see Michael and Dr Green and tell them about the results and talk about different options in terms of techniques”.

“So you’re not going to switch to pre-med or teaching then?” Sebastian prods teasingly

Blaine lifts his head and looks into his boyfriend’s eyes, “No…someone may have been right in that it doesn’t change my dream, and the more I thought about it the more Broadway roles there are that don’t need vibrato. I know I’ve got more of a pop rock voice anyway and as you said Broadway isn’t my dream exclusively. Yeah I’d love to do it at some point, but I’d also love to do TV and movies, but most of all I want to do concerts, play my music, and actually I’d love to write and compose for other people too…maybe I could do the songs for a new musical one day.”

“I have no doubt that if you go after it Blaine, you can do it all…you have no idea how incredible you are…and I’ll be with you every step of the way.”

“That’s why I know I can do it” Blaine leans forward to kiss his boyfriend but Sebastian stops him.

“No killer…I’m going to be with you every step of the way, but even if I wasn’t…you could and would still do it. You need to give yourself some credit. Everything you’ve achieved so far, two show choir nationals wins, an impossible second place and a cheerleading nationals win, plus all your other awards and achievements are down to you…yes you might have had people around you, supporting you for some of them, but ultimately, when it comes down to it, it was all you.”

For once Sebastian isn’t sure how to interpret the look in Blaine’s eyes, the windows to his sole, “You still surprise me every day” Blaine gushes, “I love you so frigging much”

“I love you too killer B” this time Sebastian lets Blaine kiss him, but as the kiss turns a little heated pulls back, “Not to be a cock block but you have a couple of phone calls you need to make as I don’t plan on letting you out of bed again once we start.”

Blaine gulps audibly and nods before taking his phone out to call Cooper, as he’s on the phone Sebastian goes to the kitchen and heats up some vegetable soup he’d made the night before for their dinner and smiles when he hears his boyfriend laughing, albeit with a raspy edge, giving away how sore his throat must be feeling. 

“What was so funny?” Sebastian asks as he enters the room with two bowls of soup and sees Blaine end the call.

“Surprisingly Cooper…does my voice really sound that bad? He said it would be easier to understand Chewbacca…and then proceeded to try and do a Chewbacca impression.” 

Blaine shakes his head fondly and takes a mouthful of soup, “Wow Bas…this is really good, thanks.”

Sebastian smiles, “Thanks B…I’ll be better than you in the kitchen in no time” he winks, “And I wouldn’t say you sound like Chewbacca, or that he’d be easier to understand…but you’ve definitely got a kind of growl going on…it’s kinda sexy Anderson” he teases. “How did Cooper take the news?”

“After he let me actually explain everything to him he was okay. He said the same as you, that it will only make a difference if I let it.”

“He actually said that?”

“Weirdly yes…but then he made the Chewbacca comment and noise and everything felt normal again.”

“Are you going to call Sam? You know he’ll be freaking out.”

“Yeah…I know…it’s why I wasn’t going to tell him, but you were right, he’d have been majorly pissed if he found out and I hadn’t told him beforehand.”

“Are you going to let the others know?”

“I don’t know…maybe…at some point I guess...I just don’t want a pity party”

“I won’t let them”

Sebastian goes to clear up once they both finish so Blaine can call Sam and has just finished rinsing the last bowl when his boyfriend comes wondering through, “Bas will you talk to Sam…he doesn’t believe that I’m okay.”

Sebastian laughs, he’d half expected this…this or Sam actually coming round to see for himself. “Sam you can untwist your panties…he’s fine…and you know I wouldn’t say that if he wasn’t.”

“But his voice sounds rough” the blonde replies down the phone

“Yeah well yours would too if you had a camera rammed down your throat and were made to sing.”

“Okay fair point…but is he really okay about everything?”

“Yes…he took some time to process it this afternoon and will continue to process it, but as I’m sure he’s already told you, it doesn’t change anything if he doesn’t let it…he can still follow and live his dream…you’ll see him for yourself tomorrow night and you can see how alright he is, but I promise you there’s nothing to worry about.”

“Okay man…sorry…”

“It’s okay…you need to remember I know how much you mean to each other…you can stay over tonight if you want but I plan on having my wicked way with him”

Sam laughs when he hears Blaine tries to shout at his boyfriend, only emphasising the growly rasp of his voice, “No I’m good dude…walking in on you two those times has been more than enough…I’ll see you both tomorrow.”

Sebastian ends the call then looks to Blaine who is glaring darkly, “Relax killer…he found it funny…well your reaction funny at least.”

“I’m pretty sure he’s scarred from when he’s walked in on us” Blaine grumbles with a pout.

“He didn’t sound that scarred to me…just said he doesn’t want to see it again”

“You still didn’t have to say that to him”

Sebastian kisses Blaine’s pout away, “Well we don’t have to if you don’t want…”

The rest of Sebastian’s sentence is cut off as Blaine crashes their lips together and pulls his boyfriend’s body flush with his own. The couple stumble to their bedroom, lips not parting the whole way, all teeth and tongue.

“Let me take care of you tonight killer” Sebastian requests when they’re both stripped and naked on the bed, the taller covering the shorter boy’s body with his own, and Blaine can see from the look in his eyes he not only wants but needs to.

Blaine caresses his boyfriend’s cheek, “You always do…I’m yours”

Sebastian smiles and presses a much tenderer kiss to Blaine’s lips, but it’s no less heated.

After they’ve cleaned up they climb back into bed and Sebastian pulls Blaine so they’re laying chest-to-chest and forms a protective cocoon around him with his limbs. Although the results hadn’t really changed anything, it had yet again been another obstacle Blaine had to overcome and would not doubt mean he has to fight harder for some opportunities than others and it brought out his protective instincts. 

XXXXXXX  
The next night everyone is gathering at the bachelor apartment for weekly dinner. 

“What have we got for dinner tonight then? I’m frigging starving!” Santana asks as they’re waiting for Blaine to arrive, the one with the latest finish of that day.

“I’ve made spaghetti plus we’ve got salad and garlic bread” Sam answers having made a big batch of Blaine’s comfort spaghetti dish earlier.

Just then Blaine walks through the door, “Hey guys…Please tell me I can smell what I think I can smell.”

“You can” Sam grins at him

Rachel cuts in before anyone else can say anything, “Oh my god…your voice…keep away from me.” She panics and hides behind Nick as he’s the closest to her.

“Rach it’s okay” Blaine tries to reassure her but she cuts in again.

“No it’s not! I can’t risk my voice at this point.” She says still panicking.

“Rachel if it was something you could catch I wouldn’t be near you with your opening night getting closer. It’s not a sore throat you can catch.” Blaine explains as they all settle down to eat, Jeff passing him a glass of water to help ease the obvious dryness of his throat.

“How did you get it then? Been sucking too much Frodo?” Santana smirks causing Blaine to choke on his mouthful of water.

Sebastian doesn’t say anything, not sure if Blaine was ready to tell them all yet, but he doesn’t have to wonder for long because as soon as Blaine’s coughing settles down he tells them all, “Yesterday I had to go and have my vocal chords examined as it was suspected there might be a slight abnormality, which there is. They can’t fully close. All it means is I won’t ever be able to do true vibrato, but there are other techniques that can help me mimic the effect a little. So my throat’s sore because I had a camera shoved deep down there for about thirty minutes. It’s one of the side effects.” When he stops talking Sebastian kisses his temple.

“Oh my gosh Blaine I’m sorry” Rachel says, “Not just for over reacting but…”

“Rach, it’s fine…honestly…it doesn’t really change anything”

“But still”

“I’m sorry to hear that man” Jean-Baptiste adds 

All of a sudden Blaine’s being bombarded with apologies from everyone apart from Sebastian, Sam and Hunter, who all knew the full story and how Blaine is coming to terms with it. It’s obvious Blaine is getting frustrated and a little upset with all the pity he’s receiving as that’s the last thing he wanted so Sebastian cuts in.

“I think you’ve all said enough now” he glowers at them all

“We’re just upset for him” Thad comments

Blaine sighs, “I’m right here…please don’t talk about me as if I’m not…and I don’t want anyone to be upset for me.”

“So just all back off” Sebastian adds

“But…” Rachel starts again

“Seriously guys…I’m dealing with it and you all going on won’t help…now can we change the subject and eat or shall I just go home now?”

“You’re right…sorry” Santana tells him sincerely

“So…I’ve been thinking of looking at colleges” Brittany says, completely changing the subject and taking the focus away from Blaine, receiving a massive smile from him in both gratefulness and happiness for her.

“That’s amazing Britt…so are you going to be a math genius…or a dance genius…or both?” Blaine asks

“As much as I know I am a math genius I really want to dance…It’s the only thing that makes me feel like a phoenix.”

“I know what you mean” Blaine says, completely understanding the feeling as that’s exactly how he feels each time he performs.

“I’m sorry…a phoenix?” Thad asks obviously confused.

“Yes” they both respond in unison

“How does a phoenix feel?” Jean-Baptiste asks, trying a different approach

“A different sense of freedom and flight, and passion and fire…but like nothing else you would’ve ever experienced...almost to the point where you don’t feel like yourself anymore, but at the same time you feel more like yourself than you ever have before…it’s kind of hard to explain unless you’ve felt that way…it’s a different level of feeling…would you say that’s about right Britt?”

“Exactly right” Brittany smiles

Sam stands up from the table and makes Blaine a hot honey and lemon, “Here you go dude” he passes the drink to Blaine.

“Thanks Sammy…and thanks for dinner…I think that might have been the best you ever made it.”

“How do you know it wasn’t one of us who made it?” Nick asks

“One…because it’s edible and two…only Sam can make that kind of spaghetti like that.” Blaine replies flatly, a huge smile appearing on Sam’s face in response.

“I’m going to Julliard tomorrow Brittany, if you’re looking at colleges for dance they’d be worth a look…would you like to come with me?” Jean-Baptiste asks

“Why are you going to Julliard?” Sam asks

“Because when I was visiting schools I loved it…I should have listened to my gut instead of someone else and gone there instead of NYADA…I’ve got a meeting about transferring across so I can join there after Christmas and a private tour booked with the head of admissions…it’d be a great chance to see classes in session.”

“I’d love to go” Brittany beams, “What time is it?”

“At 9…so I understand if you don’t want such an early start”

“No that works…you’re working then tomorrow right Santana?”

“I am…but I’m sure JB will take good care of you” the Latina replies

“Of course I will…I can meet you at yours if you like and then we can travel together.”

Brittany squeals with excitement then gives him a hug.

Later that evening Sebastian has just wrapped his arms around Blaine after they got into bed, “Are you going to tell me how it went with Michael and Dr Green then B?”

“They just confirmed there are other techniques I can learn, that although won’t sound like full on vibrato will give a hint of it. Plus, as you said, that it doesn’t stop me from auditioning or for continuing to pursue music or singing, in a theatre or not, in anyway…They were both very supportive about it all.”

“Good…what about your friends, did you tell them anything?”

“I did…I told them everything. It just felt right and made sense to considering we’ll be performing a lot together over the years. They actually took it better than everyone did tonight…I know they only reacted how they did because they care but still…”

“It was too much”

“Exactly” Blaine says through a yawn, “I love you”

“I love you too sap” Sebastian places a kiss on Blaine’s forehead, just as his eyes are fluttering closed. It’s not long until they are both asleep.


	73. Ready

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's taken me a while to post this chapter but I've been at a music festival and unfortunately camping and laptops plus a lot of mud don't go hand in hand. I promise I'll get the next one up within the next few nights.

One late afternoon Blaine’s sat studying as he waits for Sebastian to come home when he’s surprised by a Skype call coming through from Ryder. They’d kept in contact, not as regularly as he and Kitty, but regularly enough. They always exchanged emails though, it was a way of getting Ryder to keep up with longer pieces of writing and keep his confidence up, which Blaine knew was one of his biggest issues. They’d spoken about school and Blaine still gave Ryder lessons and tips on the drums, but they hadn’t ever called or Skyped each other that term.

Blaine answers the call, “Hey man”

“Hey” Ryder shifts nervously

“Are you okay Ryder?” Blaine asks, immediately aware something is making the younger boy nervous and he knows it will be the reason why Ryder decided to call him.

“Yeah, I just really need some advice and you’re the best guy I know to talk with about this.”

“Ookaay…how can I help?” Blaine smiles reassuringly

“How do you come out?” Ryder blurts out after a moment

Blaine clears his throat, “So you’re…”

“Bi” Ryder fills in then takes a deep breath, “If I’m honest I’ve known for a while but now I feel ready for other people to know to, but I’m nervous and I don’t know how to do it…Jake knows, but he kind of worked it out. He’s been really great about it and hasn’t said anything to anyone but he can’t really help me with this bit.”

“Well I’m really glad you feel like you can talk to me about this and hopefully I’ll be able to help, but you’ve just come out to me so you’ve already done it.”

Ryder lets out a breath he hadn’t realised he was holding, “You’re a good friend Blaine and I hadn’t even thought of that…I never counted coming out to Jake as he’d already worked it out.”

“See you can do it” Blaine smiles, “So there aren’t any rules about how to do it, I personally told my parents over dinner one evening, but you’ve got to do it when you feel comfortable.”

“Dinner sounds good…I’m scared how they’re going to take it though.”

“Do you know how they feel about different sexualities at all?” Blaine asks

“My mum’s brother, who is also best friends with my dad, is gay so they aren’t homophobic or anything…but some people say that bisexuality isn’t really a thing.”

“Unfortunately that’s true, even some gay people feel that way, but ultimately they’re wrong. You can’t help who you love and it sounds like your parents appreciate that. They   
might be a little shocked but honestly Ryder your mum is awesome, I’m sure your dad is too but I never met him.” Blaine laughs and Ryder joins in. “So how are you feeling about telling them now?”

“Still nervous but a lot better about it”

“Good” Blaine beams

“What about friends though? How did you do it...if you don’t mind me asking that is.”

“I told those closest to me one night when we were hanging out…do you know who you’d want to tell or is that a stupid question?”

“It’s a pretty stupid question” Ryder teases, “Glee may be no more but we’re still a close group.”

“Then you’ve got nothing to worry about, you know how those guys were about me and none of them are bigoted enough to dismiss bisexuality.”

“What about everyone else, how did you handle that?”

Blaine pauses for a moment, not wanting to scare Ryder but also feeling the compelling need to be honest, “In all honesty Ryder my friends didn’t take it too well and spread it around that I was gay. It didn’t go down well…there’s a reason I transferred to Dalton when I did. But don’t let that scare you, McKinley isn’t like that anymore and actually Sue is a massive supporter of LGBT rights and is a big part of that.”

“Oh I’m sorry man”

“Don’t be, honestly…look where I am now. I have Bas and all you guys” Blaine gushes genuinely and immediately Ryder feels more peaceful about the situation. Blaine notices him relax, “So is there anyone who’s caught your eye?” Ryder blushes, “There totally is. I won’t make you tell me about them, but whoever they are they’re very lucky.”

“You really think so?”

Blaine scoffs, “I know so. Seriously though, rewinding for a moment, tell the people you want to tell and let the others figure it out if you want to, don’t keep it a secret but don’t go shouting it from the rooftops unless you want to. Straight people never have to declare their sexuality so why should we…and if you want to ask a lucky boy or girl out of a date, go for it.”

“I’d never really thought about it that way before, but you’re right, straight celebrities never have to come out as straight. I don’t think he’d be interested in me that way.”

“Ah so it is a lucky guy. Well assuming he’s bi or gay himself then I don’t see why he wouldn’t be. Get to know him a bit so you can ask him on a date he’d enjoy. Honestly though I’m terrible at that kind of stuff, thank god Bas isn’t.”

Ryder’s mum shouts up the stairs for him, “Sorry Blaine but I’ve got to go…thank you for everything though…seriously. I think I’ll take some time to think about it all before I do anything, but I’ll let you know when I do. I know I don’t need to say it, but can you not say anything to anyone about this. I know it’s not fair to ask you to keep things from Sebastian but…” Ryder starts to ramble.

“Ryder it’s okay, it get it and so would he. He’s been through it too remember. I haven’t told him the other thing you trusted me with and I won’t this until you tell me it’s okay to and in both cases he’d more than understand. Speak soon. Let me know how you get on with that new drum piece when you’ve had a go to tackle it.”

“Will do…thanks again Blaine…bye.”

“No worries man…bye.”

Blaine stops and thinks for a moment before getting back into his studies, knowing Sebastian will be home soon and would be able to tell something was going on, and annoyingly probably be able to guess immediately if he knew Ryder had just called him seeing as he’d already worked out Ryder’s sexuality. By the time Sebastian gets home Blaine’s gotten so in the zone it’s as though nothing unusual had happened that afternoon. He hated keeping stuff from his boyfriend but Blaine knows that in this situation it really is the best thing and that Sebastian honestly won’t have a problem when he finds out. They both spend a large amount of time studying that evening and order take out for dinner so they can get as much done as possible ahead of date night that week


	74. Blam night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Screw it to make up for the delay have another one! Warning though the next chapter is a monster so it will take a little longer to post.

“Are you sure you don’t mind Sam and I having our geekfest here Bastian?” Blaine asks his boyfriend one morning as they are both getting dressed after a rather long shower together.

“Of course I don’t mind. Your late class has been cancelled so you might as well make the most of the time. I know you two haven’t been able to spend much time as just Blam for a while.”

Blaine smiles and walks over to give Sebastian a kiss, “Thank you”

They both head to the subway together before splitting off and going to their respective schools. Jeff meets Blaine at lunch, “What and you are Sam up to tonight exactly?” he asks just before taking a bite of his sandwich.

“We’re just having a guy’s night like we used to when we lived together.”

“Then why is he being secretive about it?”

“Because it’s a Blam night” Blaine smiles back

“I’m not going to get any more than that am I?”

“Nope” Blaine grins cheekily and Jeff is happy to see it given that Blaine had been a little up and down since receiving the news about his vocal chords.

Blaine finishes lunch with Jeff before going to his last class of the day and heading home.

Meanwhile at Columbia Sebastian has settled in the library with Thad and Hunter, making the most of the time in between classes to get some work done.

“So what exactly are Blaine and Sam up to tonight?” Thad asks Sebastian

“Having a Blam night”

“Yeah but doing what? Sam’s been really secretive about it.”

“I don’t get why you’re so obsessed Harwood…they’ll just be comparing comics again or something.”

As soon as Blaine gets home he calls Sam, who is round in a couple of minutes. They both get everything ready together. They close the blinds most of the way in the living room, using their light sabres and green lanterns to provide light and put their PowerRangers DVD on while they set up a game of Dungeons and Dragons and make popcorn. Blaine also pours them both a drink into their Tardis cups. Out next comes their Pokemon cards and Blaine sets his Optimus Prime model with Sam’s Millennium Falcon one and their Quidditch awards on the coffee table, and grabs his Pikichu cushion before taking the cushions off the sofa and setting them on the floor for them to sit on while Sam grabs their comics they were going to read and go over and the popcorn.

Finally they both change into their onesies nobody else knows they own, Blaine’s a fleecy Iron Man one and Sam’s a fleecy Captain America one. “Man this is so awesome!” Sam beams as he sits down on the cushions on the floor, Blaine joining him.

“I know…it’s been too long since we did this…I’m sorry” Blaine bites his lip guiltily

Sam furrows his brow, “What are you sorry for?”

“It’s my fault…I’ve been too caught up with school and things and I promised we’d still get to hang out when we moved here.”

“Don’t apologise…we do still hang out and I want you to be busy with school cos then I know you’ll do awesome...plus I was thinking that maybe I’d look to go back to it.   
Modelling is great and all but I love drawing more.”

“Like illustration type things?”

“I guess…I mean it would be amazing though if I could create my own successful comic…but I also really enjoy painting and other art stuff so maybe I could take some classes to find out what I really want to do.”

“That sounds like a great idea Sam...let me know if I can do anything to help”

Sam scoffs, “Like I need to…I know you’re already mentally making a list of things to research”

Blaine smiles shyly, “Maybe”

It’s not long before they’re fuelling their many fandoms, flitting between playing different games and with different toys and watching different DVDs, but going back to the PowerRangers as they hadn’t seen any of the series for so long. Time was passing far quicker than either of them realised as they started to debate about some of the points in their comics.

Thad and Hunter are accompanying Sebastian home as they’d been given some work to do in their last class and they knew if they just sat down and worked on it together that they would be finished in no time, plus they were all a little curious about what exactly Blam would be up to if they were honest. As they get closer to the front door they can hear Blaine and Sam’s raised voices so all stop talking and enter the apartment silently. None of them expect to see the sight they are greeted with and all stay silent and stand back as they watch the two friends arguing.

“No Sam that’s not the same thing!” Blaine says, frustration clear in his raised voice

“Why not?! I don’t understand why you won’t even consider it!” Sam says, equally as loudly and as annoyed.

“Because you’re comparing Thor’s hammer and Harry Potter’s wand!”

“Yeah and why shouldn’t I?” Sam snaps 

“Because they’re from completely different universes and one was created by gods!”

“Yeah but they both choose who they work for”

“Not in the same way!”

“Oh my god you are so stubborn…would it kill you to even consider it?”

“Well you’re just as bad!”

“I’m nowhere near as stubborn as you…I listened to your point now you should listen to mine. Thor’s hammer can only be picked up by the worthy, so it’s choosing who it will be picked up by. How can you tell me that’s different from when Harry’s wand chose him?!”

“Because his wand was connected to Voldemort’s, who Harry is connected with. It’s not about being worthy…plus you can win someone’s wand…you can’t win Thor’s hammer, it’s not winning that makes you worthy.”

“Then the Hulk is worthy”

“How?”

“Because he’s picking up the Hammer!” Sam points furiously at the comic, by now they are both practically shouting at the other.

“No he’s not he’s picking up Thor!”

“Who is holding the hammer”

“Yeah so Thor is holding the hammer and the Hulk isn’t!”

“Oh my god Blaine seriously!” Before Sam can say anything else Blaine has picked up his Pikachu pillow and hit him with it square on his head. Sam pauses for a moment, eyes going wide, “Did you just hit me with your Pikachu pillow?”

“Erm no…” Blaine winces

“You’re totally going to get it” 

The next thing Sebastian, Hunter and Thad see is Sam lunge across the comics at Blaine and they start play fighting, albeit roughly, rolling around and sending their Pokemon cards everywhere. Sam finally spins Blaine down, but the shorter boy manages to bring his legs underneath Sam and puts his feet flat on his chest before flexing his legs with force and knocking Sam backwards hard, landing against the sofa with enough impact to move the heavy piece of furniture.

At this point Sebastian flicks on a light, making them both stop dead in their tracks as they’d been about to wrestle again. 

“Bas what are you doing home?” Blaine asks wide eyed and shares a sideways look with Sam

“You have no idea what the time is do you?” Blaine shakes his head in response.

“What the hell are you two wearing?” Thad asks, making both boys look down at their attire.

“Our onesies” Sam shrugs, trying to sound casual, but it’s obvious they never intended anyone else seeing them like this.

“Is that the Power Rangers?” Hunter enquires, looking at the TV

“Yes” Blaine replies

The three Columbia students walk further into the room and take note of everything around them.

“I have to admit killer when you said about you and Sam having one of your geek nights I didn’t picture something on this level…are you seriously drinking out of Tardis’?”

“We are” they both chorus

“Hang on…are those X-men transfer tattoos on your hands”

“Yes” Sam replies, starting to feel more at ease with the whole situation as the other three aren’t seeming to judge them, more be curious.

Sebastian shakes his head fondly; locking his eyes on Blaine’s, “You’re ridiculous” and pulls his boyfriend into a kiss.

When the kiss breaks Blaine wraps his arms around Sebastian’s neck, “We’ll tidy up as you three clearly have something to work on.”

“It’s okay…we can work at the dining table”

Blaine and Sam still get to work tidying up with it being later than either of them realised. It’s only about 30 minutes later when the other three finish so pack up their things and make their way back into the, now back to normal, living area and see the two now out of their onesies and having a slow-mo light sabre battle, even doing their own sound effects. Sebastian pauses and takes a picture of the two of them and sends it to Cooper before interrupting.

“Sam are you coming home now?” Thad asks as he’s ready to go

“Yeah” Sam gives Blaine a big hug before leaving with Thad and Hunter

“How come I’ve never seen that onesie before B?” Sebastian asks as he settles on the sofa and pulls Blaine onto his lap so he’s straddling him, “Or your apparent full on geek mode?”

Blaine bites his lower lips nervously, “Because I was scared of how you’d react”

“Well I kind of think you looked pretty adorable” Sebastian says, his hands sliding lower down Blaine’s back and settling on his ass. “But you two were really going at each other when we came in.”

“Nah that was nothing…it’s all in good fun. It might seem serious or nasty but it’s just comic talk.”

“Now where did you get those onesies big enough and in such good quality?”

“Why?”

“Because I’m hoping wherever it is might have a Superman sweatshirt I can have for hanging around here in.”

Blaine beams and leans into give his boyfriend a deep kiss, “I might be able to come up with something.”

“I’ll leave it up to you then killer.” Sebastian says before leaning into kiss Blaine again, but before he can they are interrupted by Blaine’s phone going off. When Blaine sees the caller he frowns, “Who is it B?”

“My dad” Blaine replies, brow still furrowed as he climbs off Sebastian’s lap and answers. “Hello” Blaine answers cautiously.

“Blaine when is your flight getting in for thanksgiving”

“I…I don’t know yet”

“What do you mean you don’t know yet?”

“I…I…h” Blaine stutters again, the phone call and his dad making him uneasy. Sebastian hates what’s unfolding in front of him so he places a hand on Blaine’s lower back, hoping it will give him some comfort.

“Spit it out” Blaine’s dad barks down the phone at him

Blaine takes a deep breath, “Well I haven’t booked my flight”

“Then I suggest you do it tonight. It’s very important to us that you come home. Email me the confirmation when you’ve done it.”

“Yes sir” Blaine answers and the next thing he hears is his dad end the call.

“What was that about killer B?” Sebastian asks as he pulls Blaine into his side.

“My dad wants me to go home for thanksgiving…he said it was very important to them that I’m there.” Blaine shakes his head, “I need to book a flight and forward him the confirmation” he says as he grabs his iPad and gets to it.

“Book one for me too then killer”

Blaine turns to look at his boyfriend, “I didn’t think you wanted to go back?”

“And neither do you, but you are…and if you’re going to be in Ohio…I want to be in Ohio, so that’s exactly where I’m going to be.”

Blaine nods, knowing there’s no point in arguing and is feeling a little relieved that his boyfriend will be in the same town at least.


	75. Thanksgiving

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So this is a long one. The longest yet. This chapter will probably divide opinion. I had a friend who went through something similar, the only difference was that he wasn't actually in a relationship at the time. He kindly read over this chapter and edited it, so here it is in his approved form. I hope nobody finds it distasteful and I hope it does not cause triggers for anybody, having seen what he went through, I genuinely appreciate how difficult such situations are for those going through them.

It’s not long before all the New Yorkers, apart from Sam who’d gone to Kentucky to see his family, are heading back to Ohio on the same flight. Even Rachel is with them as all the Funny Girl cast were given a long weekend for down time before tech rehearsals and then opening night a couple of weeks later to rest.

“I can’t wait to get back and take a break from it all” Rachel gushes, “And I never thought I’d say that.”

“We never thought you’d say it either” Thad teases good naturedly 

“Do you mind if I sit with Blainey and Sebastian?” Brittany asks Santana as she notices Blaine’s nervous about going back home.

“I think I can deal with that” Santana says with a wink knowing Brittany would have asked for a reason.

Brittany takes the window seat then Blaine sits next to her and Sebastian on the aisle. Hunter messages Sebastian asking why Blaine seems anxious but Sebastian ignores it, knowing Hunter wouldn’t believe him if he lied.

“It’ll be okay narwhal” Brittany comforts as she takes his hand

“I hope so” Blaine practically whispers back, “This is stupid…I shouldn’t feel this way about going back.”

“No you shouldn’t…your parents shouldn’t make you feel like this” 

“Britt’s right killer…and you know she’s a genius so you should listen to her if you won’t listen to me.”

“It’s not that I didn’t listen or not believe you…I just…”

“I was only teasing B…I know you can’t help you feel” Sebastian gives Blaine’s cheek a kiss then wraps his arm around his boyfriend.

Between Sebastian and Brittany, Blaine manages to almost enjoy the flight and even starts to think that maybe this is a turning point. After all, his Dad did say it was important he was home and that’s not something Blaine ever remembers him saying before.

When they land they all split off to get back to their final destinations, Brittany giving Blaine a hug and a kiss before heading off with Santana.

“Are you sure Sarah won’t mind giving me a lift home Bas?”

“Of course she won’t…she did offer remember and it does make sense…your parent’s house is just an alternative way back from the airport from my Dad's, it doesn’t take any longer going that way…I still can’t get over the fact that she’s still married to my dad…it just doesn’t make sense…she’s actually nice and cares about people.” Sebastian says in such a way and with a wrinkle of his nose that it makes Blaine laugh.

“Hi boys!” Sarah greets them happily when she gets out the car as they load their bags into the trunk. “You’re both looking well”

“Thank you” Blaine smiles shyly, “So are you”

Sarah giggles, “You’re too kind Blaine” 

They all get in the car and Sarah starts driving, “So are you both glad to be home?”

Sebastian raises an eyebrow, “That’s a dangerous question to ask” 

“Well think about it this way…you’re getting a free Thanksgiving dinner without having to do any work. Your dad is actually looking forward to seeing you”

“I doubt it and if he is then he’s rubbish at showing it…he hasn’t emailed or called me once so far this semester to see how I’m getting on”

Sarah sighs, “Well we’ve got some friends joining us tomorrow for dinner”

“Great” Sebastian grumps

“Actually I think you might like one of them. He’s your age and is going to college in New York too, I can’t remember which one…but his name is Hunter, it’s not exactly a name you can forget” she giggles.

“By any chance is it Columbia he goes to?” Blaine asks

“Actually I think it is…that’s right and his family name is Clarington” Both Blaine and Sebastian burst out laughing, “Okay what am I missing?”

“We know Hunter” Sebastian says, “In fact I share most of my classes with him, we know him from high school originally but we got close during the summer and actually spent some time at his parents’ house in the Hamptons.”

“Talk about a coincidence…and at least it should make it better for you then” Sarah says sincerely, hating the relationship between Sebastian and his father.

“Thank you for the lift Sarah” Blaine says after he’s grabbed his bag from the back once she parked at the end of the drive.

“Any time…have a lovely thanksgiving”

Blaine smiles shakily and turns to embrace his boyfriend who’d also got out of the car. “Call me if you need anything killer or if you need me to come and get you at any point if it gets too much.”

“I’ll be okay”

“No…Blaine I want you to promise me” Sebastian presses firmly

“I promise Bastian” Blaine then leans up on his toes to give his boyfriend a kiss

Sebastian presses their foreheads together, “I love you”

“I love you too” They share one final kiss before Blaine walks up the driveway and into the house.

“Is everything okay?” Sarah asks once Sebastian’s back in the car having noticed how apprehensive Blaine was at being back.

“Hopefully” Sebastian replies, his eyes not leaving the Anderson house, even as she pulls out. The rest of their drive is quiet.

“I’m back” Blaine calls out as he enters the house

His mother walks through from the living room, “Good…there’s an outfit in your room for you to wear for dinner tomorrow”

“I brought one with me”

“No…I want you to wear the one in your room… your aunt and uncle are coming round for dinner tomorrow so it’s important you look and act the part. Have you got some work you need to do?”

“A little”

“Then I suggest you get on with it this evening”

Blaine just nods and heads upstairs and into his room. After putting his things down he looks at the outfit that was put out for him. To be honest it was nice, just not what he’d want to wear. It consisted of black suit pants and a dark navy button down shirt and black tie.

XXXXXX  
The next day Blaine heads downstairs after changing into his thanksgiving outfit before his aunt and uncle and cousins arrive and his mother tuts as soon as she sees him.  
“Where’s the tie I left out for you? It was a nice black tie Blaine…I don’t know why you had to put that silver thing on…go and change.”

“I just thought…”

“No you didn’t think” his dad cuts in, “Don’t argue…go and put the black tie on.”

Blaine just turns and goes to do as he’s been told, not wanting to make the situation any worse. 

Meanwhile at the Smythe residence the Clarington’s have just arrived.

“Hey man” Sebastian greets Hunter as soon as he sees him

“Hey yourself” Hunter laughs, not having realised where he was going.

“You two know each other?” Hunter’s dad asks 

“Most of our classes are together” Hunter answers

“Are you an aspiring lawyer too?” Xavier asks Hunter as they make their way through to the dining room

“I am”

“Good…maybe you can talk to Sebastian about specialisms”

Hunter raises an eyebrow at Sebastian who simply rolls his eyes. 

It was the best thanksgiving Sebastian could remember for some time, his dad leaving him alone in favour of showing off to his guests and him and Hunter having a laugh together.

For Blaine however it’s a different story, without Cooper there, too much attention is falling on him and it has to be the most uncomfortable dinner of his life so far, and that says a lot.

“So Blaine…any girls on the horizon?” his aunt asks, “I’m sure there must be lots of eligible girls in New York…If not I’m sure Imogen would always set you up with one of her   
friends.” She continues, gesturing to Blaine’s cousin who’s been giving him evils from across the table the whole time.

This was the question Blaine has been dreading so he sets his cutlery down and takes a steadying breath, “Actually Aunt Beatrice, I’m gay.”

Blaine’s mother drops her cutlery and his dad is literally red with rage.

“He’s still going through that faze then Richard?” Blaine uncle sneers viciously 

“It’s not a faze…I’m gay” Blaine replies, somehow managing to sound calm

“Now Blaine you can’t be sure” his mum tries as she clasps her napkin tightly.

“Actually I am”

“Maybe you just need to find the right girl” his aunt smiles with false sweetness

“I think my boyfriend might have something to say about that” Blaine responds

“That’s it!” Richard Anderson shouts and stands up, “I will not have you talking about such things in this house.”

“But I haven’t said anything wrong…I haven’t done anything wrong…all I’ve done is love and live with someone.”

“You’re living with him?” Blaine’s mum asks clearly shocked, “Blaine answer me!” she practically shrieks when he doesn’t respond immediately.

“Yes” Blaine replies flatly, knowing he’d emailed them and left them messages about it when they wouldn’t answer their phones. His parents’ reactions letting him know they really did just delete messages from him without reading or listening to them.

“Get out” Blaine’s dad glowers, but before Blaine has chance to move he’s being yanked out of his chair by his father and practically dragged to the front door, his mum quickly following.

Richard Anderson opens the front door, but keeps his grip on Blaine’s shirt, “You listen to me…this is the last time you will ever disrespect this family…we’ve given you ample chances and now enough is enough…you are not our son…you are not part of this family…from now you are cut off for good…try funding your faggy college choices now…Never come back Blaine…I mean it.” He threatens

“Out of all the mistakes I’ve made in my life…you are the one I regret” his mother spits aggressively at him.

The next thing Blaine knows, he’s quite literally been thrown out of the house, landing on the edge of the top step in the snow, pain shooting through his knee as the door slams shut. He stands up and looks at the door for the moment before turning and starting to walk, with anger flowing through his veins and tears in his eyes he becomes numb to everything else around him.

At the Smythe’s, they are just finishing desert when Sebastian feels his phone ring, then start again immediately after it stops, so takes it out of his pants’ pocket to check.

“Sebastian…you know better than to have phones out at the dinner table” Xavier snaps at him

Hunter immediately notices the look of concern across his friend’s face, “Who is it?”

“It’s Sam” Sebastian frowns and excuses himself to go and take the call when it starts again, Hunter quickly following him.

“Sam what’s wrong?” Sebastian asks as soon as the call connects

“Have you heard from Blaine?” Sam asks, panic just as clear in his voice

“No…what is it Sam?”

“Blaine never logged onto Skype…me, Stacy and Stevie waited for a whole ten minutes after our agreed time for him to talk to them, but he never showed. So I messaged him and called his phone but there was no answer. So I called the house phone and his dad answered. When I asked to speak to Blaine he said nobody of that name was there or lives there and told me I must have the wrong number. I can’t get through to him Sebastian.” Sam says, tears clearly in his eyes.

“I’ll call him…I’ll find him” Sebastian says quickly, “Keep your phone to hand Sam, if you hear anything let me know”

“Likewise”

Sebastian disconnects the call then looks to Hunter, “Did you hear that?”

“I did”

“Then you know why I have to go”

“I’m coming with you…I’ll drive, you tell me where to go and look out and try to get hold of him.”

Both boys grab their coats and just as Hunter takes out his car keys, having driven separately from his parents in case he needed to make a getaway, Sarah comes walking through, “What’s wrong?” she asks immediately when she sees their expressions.

“Blaine’s missing…I need to find him” Sebastian says hurriedly, and then is out the door, Hunter following him closely.

They drive to the Anderson house and try to look for signs of Blaine in the surrounding area, but the heavy snowfall means any footprints have been covered. Sebastian calls Sam to ask him for any places he thinks Blaine might go after they’ve looked everywhere he can think of. After looking at the additional place Sam could think of Sebastian calls Wes. At the Montgomery house Patrick tells his son to stay put in case Blaine turns up, and goes to look at all the locations Wes can think of so they can cover more ground at once, which Sebastian is grateful for.

Sebastian then calls Cooper as Hunter continues to drive up and down the streets, “Hey Cooper has Blaine contacted you?”

“No…what’s wrong?” Cooper asks, immediately picking up on the desperation in Sebastian’s voice.

“He’s missing Cooper…Sam tried calling the house for him and your dad said that nobody called Blaine lives there or was there and told him he must have the wrong number…and now he won’t answer his damn phone! Do you have any idea where he could be?”

“Have you tried the park down the street from the house?”

“Yes”

“The woods at the back?”

“I looked in the usual spots”

“Damn it! Find him Sebastian! I’m going to the airport…I’ll be on the first flight I can…call me if anything changes.”

“I will…I’m sorry Cooper”

“It’s not your fault…just please find him” Cooper’s voice breaks

“I will…I’ll call you” with that the call disconnects and Cooper speeds his way to the airport.

“Where the fuck is he Hunter?” Sebastian shouts as Blaine’s phone goes to voicemail once again.

“We’ll find him, but I think we need to get everyone looking…it’s too cold for him to be out in this”

“I fucking know that, but he’d hate it if everyone knew that his parents are homophobic assholes who can’t accept they have a gay son so only tolerate seeing him about once a year.”

“They were never around were they?”

“They did everything they could to avoid him after he came out and the Sadie Hawkins incident. He wasn’t sent to Dalton to keep him safe Hunter…he was sent so he was out of the house and couldn’t bring any more shame on the family” Sebastian spits out

“Okay” Hunter nods in understanding, “But let me call the guys.”

Hunter uses the car’s system to get all of their New York friends in Ohio on a multiple call, plus Beat, Trent, Tina, Quinn and Puck, knowing they are also in the area for the holiday, and Kitty, knowing how close she and Blaine are, “Okay everyone listen carefully and do exactly as I say” he instructs when they are all on, “And so you know, Sebastian is here with me…Blaine is missing, we don’t know for how long exactly but probably for a couple of hours, we’ve looked everywhere we, Cooper, Sam and Wes can think of but there’s still no sign. I need you all to go and look anywhere you think he might be. He’ll be on foot and is unlikely to have a coat. If you do find him, it’s critical you don’t approach him…you need to call me and Sebastian as Sebastian is the only one who should approach him…now is not the time for questions. Do you all understand?”  
There’s a chorus of panicked yeses and soon everyone is out looking. 

Meanwhile Blaine is still walking, he’s been randomly walking, head down since he’d been thrown out. Too many emotions coursing through his body meaning that he doesn’t have a clue how far he’s walked or where he is, he just has a strong need to keep going. 

When he finally looks up he realises he doesn’t know the part of Westerville he’s in and that he’s freezing, that he’s actually shivering forcefully from the cold. He looks around and spots a downtrodden looking play park, and makes his way over to it and sits underneath the slide for some shelter from the constant falling snow. He can barely move his fingers his hands are so cold, but he somehow manages to pull his phone out of his back pocket and calls his boyfriend.

“Blaine” Sebastian answers, a mix of relief and worry in his voice and he puts the phone on speaker so he doesn’t have to waste time relaying everything to Hunter, “Where are you killer?”

“I don’t know” Blaine says, his voice sounding weak

“What can you see B?”

“I’m in an old play park sat under the slide”

“Are there any street signs nearby?”

“No” Blaine stutters out, his teeth now chattering violently and making it hard to talk

“Blaine can you load up Google maps and use the GPS to pinpoint where you are?” Hunter asks, not wanting to lose a moment more.

Blaine manages to do as Hunter asks, not even questioning him being with his boyfriend, “East Westerville, round the back of the old paper factory there’s a housing estate. I’m in the park in the middle.”

“We’ll be there soon killer, just stay on the phone with me” Sebastian tells and has never been more grateful for four wheel drive as Hunter turns the car around and goes as quickly as he can.

Hunter calls everyone to call off the search and then calls Cooper and Sam to update them. When he pulls up at the park Sebastian is out of the car before it’s even fully stopped and Hunter takes his own coat off and puts it in the back seat and turns up the heating.

“Jesus Christ Blaine” Sebastian gasps as soon as he sees the state his boyfriend is in, the thin shirt and pants giving him no protection from the cold and still covered in a dusting of snow due to the freezing temperatures. Sebastian scoops him up and puts him in the back seat of Hunter’s car, sliding in beside him and wrapping his and Hunter’s coats around him. “Don’t go to sleep killer” Sebastian orders as he sees Blaine close his eyes, “You need to have something to eat and drink and get warmed up” he pulls Blaine into his side and lets some silent tears fall down his cheeks.

When they get back to the Smythe household Sebastian takes Blaine straight up to his room and gets him to put some of his clothes on, “Put these on B…your clothes are like ice” Blaine just nods and complies, “I’m going to get you some tea and something to eat okay?” Again Blaine just nods.

Sebastian heads downstairs as Hunter is on the landing talking to Cooper, Wes and Sam.

Blaine’s just sat on Sebastian’s bed when Xavier Smythe walks in. “I don’t know what kind of trouble you’ve gotten yourself in…but if you really loved my son, you wouldn’t be putting him through this…you’d let him go. What could an aspiring musician possibly offer him anyway? And tonight…well that just proves you’re no good.”  
Blaine doesn’t say anything but just stands up, walks down the stairs and leaves. When Hunter hears the door slam shut he races down the stairs and bumps into Sebastian. 

“What did you just say to him?” Hunter glares at Mr Smythe

“I did it for the best”

“You don’t know what you’re fucking on about!” Sebastian shouts at his father

“I did it for your own good Sebastian…he’s obviously trouble.”

“Yeah right, as if you really care and actually…he got thrown out for being gay and having a boyfriend.” 

With that Sebastian and Hunter both run out of the door, Hunter jumping in his car again as Sebastian runs down the long driveway after his boyfriend and bundles him into the back seat when Hunter pulls next to them, Blaine’s protests weak with the tiredness he’s feeling.

“Hunter…can you take us to Wes’”

“Sure”

“Talk to me B…what happened tonight?”

“I’m still gay…that’s what happened. I’m gay and have a boyfriend who I live with” Blaine replies in monotone, but then his emotions get the better of him and he starts shouting, clearly angry and his eyes start to swell, “But hey, I should have expected it right? I mean it was only a matter of time. In fact I’m surprised they didn’t disown me sooner, but they clearly thought the girls in New York would turn me, but guess what? I’m still fucking gay! Well at least they’re happy…my dad doesn’t have to have the shame of having a gay son or having to waist his money on my faggy college choices and now and my mother has just got rid of the one mistake in her life she actually regrets!”

Hunter grips the steering wheel tightly finding it very difficult to hear everything Blaine is saying and feeling even worse for how he treated Blaine back at Dalton. But once again it just proves how strong Blaine really is, and how good an actor as it’d become apparent that the only people who knew about issues with his parents were Sam and Brittany as they lived with him, Sebastian and Wes and his family. 

“Shh Blaine please” Sebastian tries to calm his boyfriend, the sight and everything Blaine was saying breaking his heart.

Blaine’s breathing has just calmed down as Hunter parks his car on the Montgomery driveway and they all get out, Blaine, now not saying a word to anyone, rings the doorbell.

As soon as the door opens Patrick Montgomery pulls Blaine into a hug, Wes and his mum, Natasha, joining in. 

“Come on…have you had anything to eat and drink?” Patrick asks when he breaks the hug and they are all properly inside the house.

Blaine just shrugs his shoulders so Sebastian answers, “No I was getting him something, but…then my dad happened.”

“Well a piece of warm chocolate cake and warm milk sounds good to me right about now” Natasha says, “Anyone else want some?”

“That sounds great” Sebastian smiles tiredly and everyone else agrees, apart from Blaine who again doesn’t say anything.

“Those clothes are a bit big on you Blaine” Wes teases gently, only getting a blank look in response.

Everyone has finished their pieces of cake and milk as Blaine just sits at the table, holding onto Sebastian’s hand underneath with force as he stares at his slice.

“You know killer…you’re not actually a Jedi, you can stare at it as much as you want, but it won’t go into your mouth unless you make it” Sebastian says quietly to him, actually managing to get a faint smile. “Or maybe you’re just using those Jedi mind tricks on me” he adds as he picks up Blaine’s fork and starts feeding him cake. “Yep definitely using mind tricks.”

“They only work on the weak minded Bas” Blaine replies quietly, his voice sounding raw before taking a sip of his still warm milk.

The others start tidying up, knowing the couple don’t need an audience right now.

“You’re staying with us tonight too Hunter aren’t you?” Natasha asks

“Oh I wouldn’t want to impose”

“Yeah you don’t actually have a choice…that wasn’t a real question” Wes responds

“You might have an SUV but the snow is still coming down thick out there and I’d rather you not drive off anywhere.” Natasha reinforces

“I’m more than happy to stay if you’re sure…to be honest I don’t really want to go anywhere at the moment.”

Hunter’s phone starts ringing so he excuses himself and moves to the side, “Puckerman, what can I do for you or do I already know?”

“I just need to know how he is Hunter…I know it would’ve been something to do with his parents.”

“I’m not sure what you mean Puck”

“Bull…after tonight you’ve got to know they’re homophobic assholes”

“I didn’t know you knew”

“I only do cos we used to go to the gym together…parent issues are something we’ve got in common…it’s actually how we became friends…I know better than to try and talk to him unless he reaches out, but can you just let me know how he is…keep me updated.”

Hunter never thought he’d hear this tone of voice from Puck so quickly agrees, “I will and so you know I think he’s about as okay as can be expected at the moment.”

“Thanks man…speak soon”

With that the call disconnects.

“Puck okay?” Wes asks Hunter

“I guess…I didn’t realise he and Blaine were so close…yet it kind of makes sense”

Wes smiles, “That’s the general consensus”

Hunter then gets a message from Cooper telling him he’s about to board a plane so he fires one back with Wes’ address.

“I probably should have asked first, but Cooper’s just boarding a plane so I sent him your address, I’m assuming that’s okay.”

“Of course it is” Patrick replies and then sees Blaine walk into the kitchen with Sebastian, complete with his plate and mug, both of which now empty.

“I just really want to have a shower and go to bed” Blaine says to Patrick, just wanting this night to end.

“And you will…after you’ve let me have a look at that knee” Patrick tells him, gesturing to a blood stained patch on Sebastian’s light grey sweats that Blaine’s wearing. The curly   
haired boy nods and heads off with Mr Montgomery.

“How are you doing Sebastian?” Natasha asks

“I’m fine” he replies quickly

“You know it’s okay not to be…it’s hard seeing him like this”

“It is, but he’s the one going through everything.”

“Just don’t be surprised if he tries to push you away”

Sebastian looks at her with a steely gaze before he manages to school his expression, “I think I know Blaine well enough to know how he’s going to react. And I can tell you he   
won’t consciously try and push me away, but I’m prepared for it if it does happen.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to imply that, or that you wouldn’t be ready for it if it does happen…it’s just…”

Sebastian takes a deep breath, “It’s okay, I get it…I know you were the ones who were here for him after everything before.”

Natasha smiles at him in response.

“Cooper’s on a flight” Hunter tells Sebastian

“Good…if B’s asleep when he gets here…”

“We’ll try and keep him at bay” Wes smiles

Patrick walks back through, “He’s just gone up Sebastian, I asked if he wanted me to ask you to go up with him, but he said I wouldn’t need to.”

Sebastian smirks, “He’s right…you don’t” then walks out of the kitchen and up to where Blaine’s room is.

Hunter’s phone starts ringing again and he sighs until he sees it’s Sam, “Sam we’re at Wes’ and Blaine’s just gone for a shower, hang on one sec” Hunter then lowers his phone   
and looks at Wes, “Can you take this one?”

“Sure” with that Hunter hands his phone over to Wes so he can talk to Sam.

“So did you manage to stop him from leaving his family in Kentucky?” Hunter asks after Wes has ended the call and handed his phone back over.

“I think so…I just kept reminding him that Blaine wouldn’t forgive himself if he did”

Upstairs Blaine and Sebastian are cuddling on the bed after taking a shower together. 

“Thank you for not pushing Bastian” Blaine says as he nuzzles his boyfriend’s neck

“Never…I know you’ll talk to me when you’re ready”

“I will…and I am.” Blaine then goes on to relay word for word what happened at Thanksgiving dinner, from the awkward tension and constant evils from his cousin, to the question and everything that unfolded.

“You should have called me B…you promised you’d call me.”

“I know…I’m sorry and I should’ve done, but I couldn’t think. I couldn’t do anything but walk…I didn’t even feel cold until I realised I had no idea where I was and then it all hit me, so then I called you.”

“I’ve never felt so relieved when I saw your name flash up on my screen.” 

Blaine furrows his eyes in confusion, “What do you mean Bas?”

“There’s something you need to know” Sebastian then goes onto tell Blaine about Sam’s phone call, the search and everything that happened on his side of things.

“So I’m going to have to tell them all.”

“No you’re not…they did it because they love you and respect they may never know what happened.”

“Can you message Sam and tell him I’ll call him in the morning? I’m too tired to do it now.”

“Of course killer” Sebastian kisses the top of his head then fires off the message to Sam.

“And Cooper is currently on a flight”

“I have no idea how he’s going to deal with this”

“I think he’s feeling the same way about you…I know it might not have always seemed like it but…he loves you so much B”

Blaine smiles, “I know.”

“So do you just want to sleep now…or do you want to watch a movie or something?”

“Actually there’s one room in this house I really want you to see” Blaine stands up and takes Sebastian’s hand and walks them down the corridor to another room. “This is Tabatha’s room” Blaine opens the door to reveal a huge bedroom with walk in wardrobes and en suite and a baby grand piano on a raised area in front of the window. Sebastian takes a look around and notices the shelves where violins were obviously stored once upon a time and looks at the awards and pictures on the dresser, some of them including Blaine. “I used to spend hours with her in here playing different instruments.”

Blaine then sits down on the piano bench and gestures for Sebastian to join him, which he quickly does, before starting to play. Sebastian just sits and watches the beautiful sight of Blaine getting lost in music, knowing it’s helping him process everything and loving the fact his boyfriend is choosing to keep him close.

Downstairs everyone smiles when they hear the piano drift through the house, “Safe to say he’s in Tabatha’s room” Wes comments

“Who’s Tabatha?” Hunter asks

“My older sister”

“Is she not home for the holiday?”

“No…she lives in London”

“She’s part of the symphony orchestra” Patrick adds, “She gets some down time after Christmas before they start gearing up for the summer proms so she normally visits then.”

“And I know she’s planning on visiting Blaine at some point so no doubt you’ll meet her” Natasha continues

“She loves him more than she does me” Wes only half jokes

“Now that’s not true…you know she loves you both equally” Natasha says levelly 

“It’s just they have more in common” Patrick teases

“And I can’t say I really blame her man” Hunter says with such a straight face it has everyone laughing.

Hunter messages Cooper telling him to call him when he arrives so he can let him in and everyone can go to bed. Nobody is sure what time the piano playing stops.

Sebastian feels exhausted, but Blaine’s fingers keep gliding over the keys, albeit steadily slowing down. It’s then that Sebastian realises that Blaine is actually falling asleep while playing.

Sebastian stands up and stretches his back before hooking his hands under Blaine’s arms and gently lifting him from the seat, “Come on killer…it’s bed time”

Blaine just nods in response and as soon as his head hits the pillow and his and Sebastian’s arms are wrapped around the other, he falls to sleep.

XXXXXXX  
When Cooper arrives at 6 am he’s about to call Hunter when another car parks in the Montgomery’s driveway and a man who is clearly Wes’ father gets out, “I take it you’re Cooper? I’m Patrick Montgomery, Wes’ dad”

“I am...how is he?”

“He’s actually doing okay considering. I know you want to see him Cooper, but if he’s still asleep you best let him be. I was called in to the hospital last night and he was still playing the piano when I left at 2…you look like you could do with some sleep too.”

Cooper nods, “I could do with a nap…I won’t wake him, but can you show me where he is. I just need to see him.”

Patrick smiles in sympathy, “Of course…his room is this way”

“He told me about everything you guys have ever done for him…I just want to say thank you.”

“No need to thank us…he’s an incredible young man. Just be there for him Cooper, no matter what.”

“I will. I’m not letting him slip out of my life”

Patrick stops in front of a bedroom door and lowers his voice, “Just so you know Sebastian is in there with him.”

“I had no doubt” Cooper silently opens the door and smiles when he sees his baby brother cuddling into Sebastian’s chest. It’s obvious that under the covers Sebastian has in turn formed a protective cocoon of limbs around his boyfriend, with Blaine’s head tucked under his chin. After looking at the two for a few moments and noticing how peaceful they look he closes the door.

“Come on…you can use this room” Patrick opens another door further down the landing and leaves Cooper to get settled.

Cooper can’t really sleep though with too many thoughts running through his mind so gets up as soon as he hears other people moving about the house and heads downstairs.

“I thought you were going to call me when you got here” Hunter says when he sees Cooper

“I didn’t need to, so I thought I’d let you sleep”

“How thoughtful”

“I try” 

“So have you called your grandparents?” Wes asks Cooper

“I have…I managed to convince them not to try and bribe their way onto a flight considering neither are meant to fly at the moment. But they want Blaine to call them when he’s up.”

“Have they been unwell?” Natasha enquires

“For their age I don’t think so. My grandmother had a blood clot in her leg removed and my grandfather had a ganglion removed from his wrist that was starting to cause problems. Considering they’re both in their nineties now though they’re doing well.”

“They are if they’re their only ailments. Though they shouldn’t really do long haul at that age anyway, it’s not good for blood flow.” Patrick comments

“Try telling them that…How much longer do you think they’ll sleep for?” Cooper asks no one in particular.

Wes laughs softly, “Who knows? We have no idea what time they went to sleep and well…this is Blaine we’re talking about.”

Cooper smiles, “That’s true”

“So how does breakfast sound to everyone? You never know…the smell of food and coffee might get to them.” Natasha teases lightly and they all help get breakfast ready, Cooper being given table setting duty after managing to burn toast.

Blaine’s coming to when he feels a kiss gently placed on the top of his head so he smiles and kisses Sebastian’s neck.

“Hmmm that feels nice” Sebastian says groggily as Blaine continues to place little kisses along the skin in his immediate reach.

Giggling, Blaine looks up through his own sleep filled eyes to see Sebastian’s half open ones, “Morning gorgeous”

Sebastian smiles and opens his eyes fully, “Morning beautiful”

“I love you”

“I love you too sap”

“Do you think Cooper will be here?” Blaine asks as he shifts up and places his head on the pillow next to Sebastian’s, their noses just millimetres apart.

“I’d think so…unless he got on the wrong flight”

“Don’t joke…I could actually see that happening”

“Me too…I wasn’t joking” Sebastian deadpans.

Blaine smiles and gives Sebastian a kiss. “I don’t know what he’s going to want to do Bastian.”

“What do you mean?”

“He’ll probably want to go and see my parents, but I don’t know if he’s going to want to get us all to sit down or something.”

“You only have to do what you want to B…what you’re comfortable with.” Blaine nods slightly in response. “How are you feeling about it all?”

“Kind of weird…I mean it’s not really going to change anything. I barely saw them because they ultimately couldn’t stand my company and well…really I couldn’t stand theirs either. If the only thing it means is that I’m not going to have to see them for a horrible Christmas or thanksgiving again then I guess I can deal with that.” Blaine says, obviously trying to convince himself and Sebastian can see right through it.

Sebastian nods in understanding anyway, but can tell there’s something more Blaine’s not saying, “What aren’t you telling me B?”

“I’m not stupid…I know they never really wanted me…that I was an accident. That was clear even before I told them I'm gay. You know they were never there. It was Cooper who made sure I got on the school bus for my first few weeks of school in the morning before getting on his own. They never came to any of my plays or concerts or anything. It just got worse when I came out. I know all that, but yet I guess I hoped apart of them still loved me, still cared if I was alive or not and that’s why going home for the holidays was important, but it was all just about keeping up appearances. I knew they didn’t really like me, I’m not like Cooper and they don’t seem to get that, but I didn’t realise how much they really hate me…how disgusted they really are...how much they must be to have said those things.” A lone tear runs down Blaine’s cheek which Sebastian softly wipes away.

“As long as you know that you aren’t disgusting and that you are loved by so many and never forget that, you’ll be okay B.”

“You need to remember that too Bastian” Blaine whimpers

“I think I can do that if you help me” Sebastian says and kisses Blaine again

“As long as you help me” Blaine smiles before nibbling on Sebastian’s lower lip

They lose themselves kissing for a while before talking again. “So what would you do if Cooper wants you to go and see them with him?” Sebastian asks.

“Tell him to talk to them first”

“And if they wanted to try and make amends?”

“I don’t really see that happening, but if they did it would have to be for the right reasons and it would have to be on my terms. I may be related to them, but they aren’t my family. They don’t really know me and I guess I don’t really know them…you’re my family Bastian, and Cooper and Sam and Wes and the guys and girls…but mostly you.” Blaine adds with a slight sparkle back in his eyes.

“And you’re mine too killer B…so who do you want to deal with first. Cooper or Sam?”

“Sam…I can talk to him and stay in bed with you.”

“I’d say that’s an excellent idea.”

After talking with Sam, Blaine and Sebastian both get dressed then head downstairs and find everyone sat at the kitchen table finishing breakfast.

“Sorry squirt there’s none left” Cooper teases but Blaine just rolls his eyes and heads to the oven he knows Natasha will have left plates for him and Sebastian in to keep warm, and looks very smug when he turns around with them in his hands.

“Told you he wouldn’t believe you” Patrick laughs 

Blaine puts his plate on the table and is about to sit down next to Sebastian when he is engulfed into a hug by his brother. “Coop can I eat now?” Blaine asks after a few times of trying but failing to break the lingering hug.

Cooper let’s go reluctantly, “Sorry” then sits back down, “So what happened?”

“Seriously can I just eat first and then we’ll go into it?”

“Of course…but you should know that you’re going to need to call Nona and Grandpa”

“I know, but I take it you’ve already spoken to them”

“A little but obviously I don’t really know anything either.”

Blaine looks to Patrick, “When I’m done can I use the TV in the living room to Skype them? I’d like you all to be there too as it makes sense to talk to everyone at once.”

“If that’s what you want…then of course you can.”

“It is…Hunter thank you for last night”

“Don’t mention it…let’s just have a couple of duelling sessions and maybe a last hurrah sparring one when we get back to New York.”

“I was going to say the same to you”

Cooper messages his grandparents telling them to log onto Skype and to expect a call shortly. After Blaine and Sebastian finish their breakfast everyone makes their way to the living room. When they’re all settled Blaine Skype’s his grandparents who answer immediately. After making introductions and pleasantries he goes on to recount the whole affair again, just as he had the night before to Sebastian and to Sam earlier. 

When Blaine’s finished Cooper stands up, “Cooper where are you going?” 

“Where do you think?”

“And what exactly are you going to do when you get there?” Blaine challenges 

“Make them see sense”

“How?”

“I don’t know, but they’ve got to”

“No they don’t and if, and it’s a big if, they do have some form of epiphany, then they need to have it on their own. They need to really want it.”

“It sounds like you don’t want them to.” Cooper frowns.

“That’s not it at all Coop…of course I do. But seriously just stop and think about it. When was the last time they actually acted like my parents?”

Cooper goes to answer but he genuinely can’t think of a time he could remember his parents ever doting on Blaine or caring like they did for him.

“What do you want to do little one?” Joseph asks through the television screen

Blaine turns so he’s looking into the camera and shrugs, “Carry on with my life”

Blaine’s grandmother then starts talking to him in Tagalog, which he starts replying in, nobody else in the room minding given the situation.

“It’s rude to talk in front of other people so they can’t understand you” Cooper grumps as he sits back down.

“Well you should have listened when I was trying to teach you then, shouldn’t you Cooper?” Camille tells him and Blaine sticks his tongue out at his brother, who retaliates.

Blaine then starts talking to Sebastian in French, obviously enjoying winding his brother up. Everyone else is just glad to see him back out of the shell he’d gone into the previous evening. 

“What was Nona saying to you?” Cooper asks when the call disconnects

“That they’re going to talk to our parents”

“How come you’ll let them talk to them and not me?”

“Because they’re coming at it from a different perspective Cooper”

“Huh, what do you mean?”

“They want to pay for the rest of my college tuition as they don’t want me using my savings for it.”

“Man I hadn’t even thought about the money side of things”

“Well I have…and we’re going to be fine” Blaine says, taking Sebastian’s hand for strength, finding the situation much more difficult than he's trying to show

“Of course we are killer” Sebastian smiles, which quickly disappears when his phone starts ringing with a phone call from his dad. “Excuse me” he leaves the room and answers and it’s not long before everyone can hear him having a heated conversation in French. Blaine goes to his boyfriend when things start to turn nasty and it’s not long before the couple re-join everyone else.

“Well what would everyone like to do today? You’re welcome to stay too Cooper, though I understand if you do want to go and see your parents, but know you are welcome back here for tonight if you do.” Patrick says. 

“Thanks, but actually I’m kind of in the mood to hang. What do you want to do squirt?”

“Don’t call me that” Blaine replies automatically, “And actually I was thinking…” Blaine starts coyly

Sebastian raises an eyebrow, “Really killer?”

“Absolutely”

“Is one of you two going to enlighten the rest of us?” Hunter muses

Blaine smiles, “I really want to build a snowman…or an igloo…wait…no…a snowman to start”

Wes starts laughing, “Not the snowman versus igloo internal battle again” he quips making everyone else laugh.

“Or a snow fort would be pretty awesome…wait…a snow fort for the snowmen” Blaine continues.

“And how old are you now little brother?” Cooper asks through his laughter

“A lot younger than you” Blaine replies flippantly making Cooper’s jaw drop but everyone else laugh harder.

“Just everyone wrap up if that’s what you’re going to do” Natasha tells them, “Borrow whatever coats and boots and things you need.”

“Particularly you Blaine” Patrick says kindly but firmly, leaving no doubt in Blaine’s mind that he’d be watching him considering the state he’d gotten himself into last night, meaning his body would be more sensitive to the cold than normal in the short term.

“Aren’t you going to come out?” Blaine asks Natasha as she stands and heads to the stove

“Yes after I’ve made up a vat of hot chocolate and started the fire”

Outside, after they’ve all wrapped up, Blaine starts making a snowman with Sebastian, Wes and Hunter. “So what are you going to do about a certain group of people killer?”

“Tell them”

“Are you sure?” Wes asks as he and Hunter lift the middle section of the snowman onto its base.

“Yeah…otherwise I’m just hiding something from them, as are you guys and Sam.”

“And Puck” Hunter adds, “He called last night and said he knew it would be something to do with your parents.”

“He would”

“So are you going to do it when we get back to New York or before?” Sebastian asks

“Before would be easier so everyone who I want and need to tell is in one place…Wes do you think I could invite them all over for a couple of hours tonight?”

“You know all you have to do is ask”

With that Blaine walks over to Patrick and Cooper, “Hey Patrick could I invite everyone over tonight? It’d be easier to talk to them while everyone is still in one place.”

“Yeah of course…just warn Natasha that Nick will be coming round so she knows to make Nick quantities.”

Blaine laughs then gives his brother a hug, taking him a little by surprise, “What’s this for?” Cooper asks as he wraps his arms around his brother in return.

“Thank you for coming Coop…and for listening”

“Of course…you mean the world to me little brother” 

Patrick moves over to the other boys to give Blaine and Cooper some privacy, though the display of brotherly affection isn’t going unnoticed by any of them.

“I know you’re still going to want to talk to mum and dad about everything, and that’s fine, just keep me in the loop with what’s said.”

“Of course Blainey”

“And will you stick around tonight? I could do with all the help I can get with who I’m going to tell.”

“You know you don’t have to tell them right?”

“I know…but it will be easier if I do…and they’re people I trust that it won’t go any further.”

“Good…I’m glad you’ve got so many good friends in your life.”

“Me too…I’m lucky”

“Nope…it’s because of who you are” Blaine can only smile at his brother in response, before looking back over to everyone else.

“Uh oh”

“What is it?”

“We need to get to cover…now”

Both Blaine and Cooper sprint off and jump behind a garden wall, managing to dodge any snowballs on route.

“Follow me” Blaine says before taking off the hat he’s wearing and filling it with a little snow to make it look as though he’s sat behind the wall to anyone on the other side before he starts crawling off, Cooper quickly following, both keeping low so they can’t be seen.

They get all the way to a section of the rose garden that’s raised above the rest of it and both start making snowballs. It’s not long before they hear the shouts of the others when they’ve obviously discovered they’d long left their original section of wall behind and that the hat was a decoy. Hunter sounds particularly annoyed to have fallen for it given his stint at military school.

“Keep down Cooper; we don’t want to give our position away too soon…and keep making snow balls” Blaine whispers

“You sound like you went to military school” Cooper teases

“I didn’t, but Hunter did so you should really keep down until they’re in firing range” Blaine says as he peeks through a small gap in the wall where some mortar has come away and watches the others search for them. “Okay…now”

Both Anderson brothers jump up and start firing their large collection of snow balls, pelting their friends.

Hunter and the others start charging at them so Blaine and Cooper return the charge, running down the hill at them. Before he knows it Blaine’s been scooped up by Sebastian before he can land a tackle, “That wasn’t very nice killer” Sebastian smirks before kissing Blaine.

“Yeah and neither was your ambush”

“It’s all fair in love and war” 

Blaine’s smile gets Sebastian’s attention so he turns around to follow his boyfriend’s line of sight in time to see Natasha dump a large handful of snow on top of her husband’s head.

Everyone heads back inside and gets a mug of hot chocolate before gathering in the living room, Blaine sitting on the floor in front of the fire with his boyfriend sat behind him, legs on either side of his body. 

When he rests his head on Blaine’s shoulder, Sebastian can see the turmoil in his eyes so whispers, “It’ll be okay killer…I promise you, you’ll be okay.” When a silent tear runs down Blaine’s cheek Sebastian continues, making sure nobody else can hear what he’s saying, “I’m never going to leave you B…I love you too much, so don’t go thinking that I’m going to, or that anyone else is either. You know you’re stuck with Sam for life” he teases. “And…don’t be worrying that anyone else will think differently of you. It’s your parents they’ll think differently of and considering they never met them, it doesn’t really make any difference.”

Blaine closes his eyes and turns his face into Sebastian’s. When he was busy and having fun in the snow it was easy to forget what had happened. Despite his frail relationship with his parents, what happened still hurt, to hear his mum and dad say those things to him was like a stab in his heart. After all, they were supposed to love him unconditionally so it made him start to wonder how anyone else could love him if they couldn’t.

“I need you to believe me killer B” Sebastian continues whispering so only his boyfriend can hear him when he can tell Blaine’s starting to mull over his words. “I really do love you so much. I know people say you’re parents are meant to love you unconditionally, but that’s not always true…I know that. Being biologically related doesn’t determine love. Look at Wes and his family…they love you as if you were a Montgomery...but you could also be an Evans…but I’m greedy and I want to keep you all to myself so you might just have to be a Smythe, though maybe we should make our own name up, one that both of us like and are proud to be called.”

Sebastian can feel Blaine smile softly against his cheek and place a gentle kiss there, “I love you too Bastian…and that sounds like a great idea.” With that Blaine’s eyes start to flutter closed and he’s soon drifting off.

Sebastian looks over his shoulder when he’s sure Blaine’s sound asleep, “Hey Hunt can you pass me a couple of cushions and that blanket?” 

Hunter grabs the blanket from the back of the chair he’s sitting on and takes a couple of cushions from the free seat and settles them down so Sebastian can gently lower Blaine’s head onto one of them. Sebastian then takes the blanket and throws it over himself and Blaine and cuddles the shorter boy. 

Cooper walks over and crouches above both boys, “How much sleep did you both get last night?” he asks Sebastian quietly.

“Not much…plus he’s emotionally and physically drained from it all.”

Cooper nods in understanding, “Get some sleep…I’ll wake you up in an hour…has he asked everyone to come round yet?”

“Thanks Cooper…Not yet…I’m not exactly sure what he’s thinking of doing…I know he keeps changing his mind”

“No thank you…I know this has hit him harder than he’s trying to let on and you’re the one keeping him going. If you need anything either Sebastian, please just ask.”

“I will” with that Sebastian gives in to his tiredness too and soon falls asleep, keeping a firm hold on his boyfriend.

XXXXXXX  
Sebastian doesn’t feel ready to be woken up yet, but the gentle nudging on his arm is pulling him back into consciousness so he opens his eyes slowly to see Cooper crouched over him.

“Hey…Sam said you’re the only person who can wake Blaine up without him turning into the mini Hulk so can I leave it to you? Just remember you’ve got company” Cooper winks and Sebastian rolls his eyes in response before waking his boyfriend up.

When Blaine opens his eyes he smiles at his boyfriend. 

“How the hell do you do that?” Wes asks Sebastian as the couple sit up

“It’s a gift” Sebastian smirks before turning to Blaine, “Okay killer so what do you want to do? You can tell them all, tell some of them or tell none of them…it’s completely up to you…there is no right or wrong.”

As Blaine’s thinking Natasha comes back into the living room with a tea for him and Sebastian. Blaine’s drunk most of his before he says anything, “Some of them.”

“Are you sure?” Sebastian asks

“Yeah…but they should all come round…maybe I could just ask the others to come over for a later time.”

“Who are you going to tell?”

“Puck, because he’ll already have a good idea, Quinn, for much the same reason…”

“Wait Quinn knows?” Hunter asks

“She doesn’t know much, but she knows enough, she’s in our club. Bas is in it too.” Blaine smiles, but that just leaves Hunter more confused, “So Britt too as she’ll also know it’s something to do with them and because of that Santana, though I’m worried about how she’ll react considering, and Jeff, Nick and Thad…and Kitty.”

“Because she’ll find out one way or the other and you want it to come from you”

“Exactly”

“What did you mean about Santana though B?”

Blaine bites his lower lip, “You know she had a hard time when she came out, well was outted?” Sebastian nods in response, “Well she’d been close to her grandmother, but when she told her, her grandmother didn’t want anything to do with her anymore so I just don’t want it to bring up bad memories.”

“But you can’t talk to Britt and not her” Sebastian says in understanding

“Pretty much”

“One thing though B”

“What?”

“Is it worth waiting to talk to them until tomorrow…they’ll all have questions you won’t have answers to…maybe you should wait until Cooper has gone to see your parents.”

Blaine frowns for a while as he thinks again, “Yeah okay…that actually makes a lot of sense.”

Cooper and Patrick are both a little relieved as they’d been thinking the exact same thing. 

“I would like to go with Cooper if that’s okay Blaine…but I think you should come too.” Patrick says.

“I want Bas with me if I do”

“Blaine…” Cooper starts

“I’m not saying that to cause trouble Coop…I just…”

“Hey hey…it’s okay…I get it” Cooper cuts in as he can tell Blaine is getting upset and clearly needs the support of his boyfriend.

“I’ll drive Sebastian and Blaine so they can leave sooner if needs be” Hunter offers not wanting to be far from his friends given the situation they were walking into.

Blaine smiles in gratitude, “Thanks Hunter, if you don’t mind that would be great.”

It’s not long before they’re pulling up at the Anderson’s. Sebastian can feel his boyfriend growing increasingly tense as the car is parked, “Hey B…Blaine look at me…I’m here…Patrick is here and so is Cooper…you are going to be fine…plus Hunter is here if we need him too okay?”

Blaine nods, “Okay.”

Both boys get out of the car and join Patrick and Cooper at the front door before ringing the bell.

“Cooper darling!” Mrs Anderson greets before she notices her younger son and the other two visitors, “Cooper…what’s going on?”

“Is dad here? I think we all need to talk.” With that Cooper pushes into the house, him and Patrick leading the way, and find Mr Anderson in the living room.

“What are you doing here?” Mr Anderson spits when he sees Blaine, who steps back a little, Sebastian hates how small his boyfriend seems to look all of a sudden.

“Dad…we need to talk” Cooper starts and Mr Anderson gestures to the seats for everyone to take. “First off I would like to introduce you to Patrick Montgomery and Sebastian.”

“And how can I help?”

“You must know this is to do with what happened yesterday Mr Anderson” Patrick starts

“I don’t see how that’s any of your business”

“Because your son is a remarkable young man who is very dear to me and my family”

“Then you can have him” Mr Anderson dismisses

“Dad!”

“No Cooper…last night was the final straw…and then today he turns up with his boyfriend. He’s got a nerve.”

“I’m sat right here” Blaine challenges

“I wasn’t talking to you” Mr Anderson dismisses Blaine

Mrs Anderson joins them all so Patrick tries talking to her, “Mrs Anderson, do you really want to miss out on your son’s life?”

“As far as I’m concerned he doesn’t have a life” Blaine just ducks his head at her words and Sebastian has to stop himself from launching into the two bigoted people sat in front   
of him, insulting his boyfriend and him in that way.

“So there’s nothing that will change your mind? You fully intend on cutting Blaine off completely from the family, both in terms of contact and financially?”

“He’s not part of this family” Mr Anderson snipes

“The only way I would consider it is if he were to date a girl.” Mrs Anderson adds snootily.

“Jesus Christ…he’s gay!” Cooper exclaims with a raised voice

“He hasn’t even tried Cooper”

“Do you even realise what you’re asking of me?” Blaine starts, “You’re asking me to go against everything I am…to never have love and never be happy…how can you ask such a   
thing of anyone?” 

“Spoken like a true fag” Mr Anderson snipes 

Patrick stands up already having heard enough and not wanting to put Blaine through anymore as he can tell he’s in a delicate state, “You’re going to regret this decision one day. Will you at least let us take his things?”

“Suit yourself; it will save me the trouble of taking them to the dump”

Blaine stands up and heads to his room with Sebastian and Patrick while Cooper sits and tries to convince his parents to change their mind but to no avail. After receiving a message from Sebastian, Hunter heads inside to help gather the things Blaine wants to take and the luggage he arrived with.

There isn’t much extra that Blaine wants to take with him, some trophies and awards and keepsakes and books, but he’d pretty much cleared his room when he moved to New York. Between them they would be able to fit everything in their suitcases as they hadn’t packed much, rather than having to worry about getting it shipped.

Between the four of them they carry Blaine’s things down and load them into Patrick’s car before the curly haired boy heads silently back into the house, Sebastian following him. 

“What do you want?” his father asks as soon as he sees him, stopping his conversation with Cooper.

“To say goodbye” Blaine says quietly

“You realise this is your doing Blaine…this is your choice” his mother presses, her words cutting through Blaine like a sharp knife.

“Did you get everything squirt?” Cooper asks and Blaine just nods, “Let’s go then” With that Cooper guides his brother and Sebastian back out to Hunter’s car before joining Patrick to head back to the Montgomery house.

“Hunter can you go a longer way back?” Sebastian asks

“Sure…I tell you what we’ll do a detour so I can pick up my things.”

“You’re staying at Wes’ again?” 

“Yeah…I don’t want to miss out on another chance to get that breakfast” Hunter jests, but Sebastian can see from the reflection in his eyes in the rear view mirror his real reason why, and in truth is grateful.

Blaine barely tolerates any physical contact and just keeps tucked into a corner of the back seat, staring out the window. It’s only when Hunter gets back into the car after grabbing his bag that Blaine moves or does anything, and it’s only to punch the headrest of the front passenger seat with force, taking both Hunter and Sebastian by surprise.  
Blaine then leans forward, dropping his head onto his lap and pulling at his curls with both hands, rocking backwards and forwards slightly just before his whole body starts shaking with sobs.

“Hunter can you just drive for a bit?” Sebastian asks and Hunter doesn’t say anything, but just complies.

They’ve only got to the end of the street when Blaine’s trying frantically to open the door so Hunter pulls over. Immediately Blaine jumps out of the car and starts throwing up into the gutter. Sebastian and Hunter both calmly get out of the car and stand either side of Blaine, but keep their distance, neither sure of how he’s going to react. When Blaine stops vomiting he goes to punch the tree next to him, but Hunter gets in the way, stopping the shorter boy from damaging his hand. 

In response Blaine just falls to the floor and starts crying and doesn’t protest when Sebastian picks him up and puts him in the back of the car. “You’re not doing that again killer. You’re not hurting yourself.”

Hunter furrows his brow and makes a mental note to ask Sebastian about his comment at a later date. 

“Why are you still with me?” Blaine asks his boyfriend when he’s managed to calm his crying down and get his breathing back under control.

“Because I love you”

“But I’m a fuck up”

“That’s why we work so well…we’ve both been abandoned by our parents on some level and are both fuck ups…See? We’re a perfect match”

Once again Hunter furrows his brow and realises that most people don’t have a clue what the two boys have been through in their lives, but it does actually help partly explain why they work so well together.

Blaine finally lets himself be pulled into his boyfriend’s arms and, thanks to Hunter’s detours, by the time they get back to the Montgomery’s, all his tears have dried. 

“You guys took a while” Cooper comments clearly worried when the three boys enter the Montgomery house.

“Sorry that’s my fault…we went to get my things” Hunter says and lifts up his bag. As none of the others know where he lives they all buy the excuse.

“So do you want to watch a movie squirt?” 

Blaine shakes his head, “No thanks” then heads straight up to Tabatha’s room

Before Sebastian can follow Cooper grabs his arm, “Tell me how he is Sebastian, honestly”

“As well as can be expected I guess” Sebastian brushes him off, not knowing how else to answer.

Just then the sound of the piano comes crashing down to the bottom of the stairs, anger and pain filling the melodies as the keys are hammered down at a frantic rate. 

“Is that really my baby brother playing?”

“Yeah Cooper…that’s Blaine” Wes answers as Sebastian excuses himself and heads up the stairs to sit with his boyfriend.

“Wow…I had no idea he could play like that…that he was so good…I mean I hate how angry and hurt it sounds, but he’s amazing.”

It’s an hour or so until the melody begins to calm and another couple before Blaine stops playing all together. When he stops he turns to where his boyfriend had pulled a chair up to be at his side without disturbing him and folds himself into his arms.

“You need something to eat B” Sebastian says gently as he runs his fingers through Blaine’s curls.

“I’m not really hungry”

“What about if we get some popcorn and watch a movie?”

Blaine smiles, “That could work”

When they stand up Sebastian takes Blaine’s hand to guide him downstairs, the curly haired boy following surprisingly willingly.

“We ordered pizza” Patrick says as they enter the kitchen, “It was the only thing we could all agree on…do you want some?”

Sebastian looks to Blaine before answering, “No thanks, could we get some popcorn?”

Natasha smiles, “Of course” and starts some off for them.

“Hey Blaine…I got a weird message” Cooper starts and Blaine just nods his head to encourage him to continue, “It says ‘Fuzz ball, I’m messaging your even dorkier brother because I don’t want to bother you, but know he’ll read this out to you when you aren’t busy. I don’t care what last night was about but I do want to see your perky ass before you swan off back to NY. If I don’t, you better protect those eyebrows next time I see you.”

Blaine closes his eyes and smiles for a moment. “She could join us for our movie night B” Sebastian says and looks to Patrick and Natasha for confirmation, both of them nodding.

“Is it Kitty?” Wes asks

“Yeah” Blaine actually replies and messages her, ‘wild cat…movie night at the huge house with the squirrel tree…you, me and Bas…you in?’ He quickly gets a reply, ‘Hell yes…gets me out of visiting this old person I’m meant to be related to. If I ever smell like this when I’m old…kill me. Be there in 20.’ Blaine smiles again then looks to Patrick, “Is it okay if Kitty has a shower when she gets here?”

“I guess, but may I ask why?”

“She’ll think she smells like old person.”

“It’s better to just go with it” Sebastian says when he sees the puzzled look cross everyone’s faces, bar Wes who remembers her and her arrival during the New York visit before college and school started.

When the door goes Blaine answers and the others hear a high pitched squeal. The next thing they hear is Kitty’s voice, “Where’s Mr Grab-ass?” Blaine then appears still holding Kitty, her legs wrapped around his waist and arms around his shoulders. “So first movie we’re watching is Princess Bride…it’s not an option.” 

“I can live with that…what’s in the bag?” Sebastian replies

“Ice cream…I took a guess at what you’d like, but yours is basically a little bit of everything as you didn’t strike me as a vanilla type of guy” she winks and passes Sebastian the bag, “But first…”

“You want a shower?” Blaine cuts in

“Awww you know me so well” Kitty plays as she ruffles Blaine’s curls, “I don’t care if you’re old or not there should be a law about smelling like that.” Blaine just rolls his eyes then swings her round onto his back and takes her upstairs.

“Did I meet her in New York?” Cooper asks Sebastian 

“You did briefly…you should also recognise her from the Cheerios’ national performance video”

“Oh man that’s right…she’s certainly got character.”

Sebastian laughs, “You don’t know the half of it”

“Shall I put that ice cream in the freezer?” Natasha asks

“No thanks…she won’t be long”

“Come on…I’ll help you set up the den” Wes says as he shows Sebastian the room and helps get the projector and blu ray player set up.

It’s just over five minutes later when Blaine appears with Kitty on his back once again but this time she’s wearing a pair of his old sweats he’d left at the Montgomery’s from his sophomore year, one of his t-shirts and a hoodie, her still wet hair pulled into a bun.

“Feel better?” Sebastian asks the blonde girl

“Yes I no longer smell like…”

“Kitty do not finish that sentence” Blaine cuts her off, “Can Kitty stay tonight?” he asks Patrick and Natasha.

Mr and Mrs Montgomery look at each other before answering, “Sure” with a smile

After gathering the ice cream, popcorn a selection of drinks and various other snacks, Blaine, Kitty and Sebastian head to the den. When the Princess Bride finishes Sebastian heads back to the kitchen to get rid of their ice cream cartons and get some more popcorn.

“Thanks for letting her stay…it’s really helping him” he says to the Montgomery’s 

“No problem” Patrick replies.

With that Kitty and Blaine come back into the kitchen to get some more drinks, “I swear…we had to explain to them why ‘flowers in the attic’ isn’t a love story to aspire to!” the blonde laughs as she gestures animatedly.

“Who are you talking about?” Cooper asks, trying to get more insight into one of his brother’s obviously close friends.

“The incest twins” she replies flatly before continuing her conversation with Blaine, “Oh you’ll never guess what happened to our least favourite Cheerio!”

“Bree?”

Kitty rolls her eyes, “Duh who else”

“If it’s about her then why haven’t you told me sooner and I dunno, what happened?”

“She got expelled…that bitch has left the building.”

Blaine’s face lights up, “Shut up! What for?”

“Well for obvious reasons Sue couldn’t get rid of her for the Carrie slushie as she wasn’t the one who pulled the chord, but she was getting too big for her boots, it was a genuine concern she wouldn’t be able to get in and out of the building with the size of her ego, that and she was actually trying to queen bitch slap Sue.”

“Dangerous” Blaine comments

“Mmmhmm, well then the other day a stash of coke and laxatives was found in her locker.”

“Sue?”

Kitty scoffs, “Of course…Steroids McGee are you coming?” Kitty asks Hunter before the duo head back to the den with more drinks.

“It’s probably better not to ask” Sebastian says when he notices the rest have blank expressions on their faces.

“How come she’s made him so much happier? I mean I’m glad she has but…” Cooper starts

Sebastian shrugs, “He’s had some time to process everything and she’s not treating him any differently, or pushing him, or even looking at him any differently. She’s basically doing the talking and it’s taking his mind off everything. Plus it helps she’s really funny.”

“You would think that…you’re kindred spirits” Wes smiles

Sebastian winks, “Not denying it…Hunter you coming?”

“Yeah why not?” Both boys then head back to the den with more popcorn.

Halfway through Pitch Perfect, Blaine is sat on a bean bag in front of Kitty, who’s sat on an arm chair, plaiting his hair, “My parents disowned me” Blaine all of a sudden admits, but levelly. Sebastian and Hunter share a look while Kitty just hums a little as she carries on creating little plaits with his hair. “They’ve never gotten over the fact I’m gay and me being with and living with Bas was the final straw. So they kicked me out. They don’t want anything to do with me and have cut me off, though I don’t care about the money, but I’m officially out of the family.”

“Well it’s their loss” Kitty says, managing to stay calm as she continues plaiting. “You’re still going to be a big gay rock star.”

“Yeah that’s another thing…I’ve got weird vocal chords…I’ll never be able to do proper vibrato?”

“And you’d want to do that why? And don’t say Broadway because you can still kick ass at that too…Anyway I don’t get vibrato…it literally sounds like someone’s got a vibrator shoved somewhere the sun doesn’t shine. Hey maybe that’s why it got its name.”

Her comment makes Hunter, Sebastian and even Blaine laugh. For the start of the third film, The Breakfast Club, Blaine pulls the sofa bed out. It’s not long until he and Kitty are both asleep, chest to chest and Hunter is dozing on one of the reclining arm chairs.

Sebastian heads out to the living room where everyone else is, “Hey where can I find a couple of blankets?”

Patrick stands up, “I’ll get them for you. Are you guys getting cold in there?”

“I’m fine, but B will soon…but erm…he and Kitty have actually fallen asleep…and Hunter’s not far off.”

Cooper smiles, “Seriously?”

“Yeah…she really is a good friend to him. He actually told her what happened.”

“What did she say?”

“That it’s their loss…I won’t repeat what she said about what vibrato sounds like.” Sebastian smirks

When Patrick passes Sebastian a couple of blankets Cooper follows to go and see his brother and can’t help but smile, “Did he seriously let her mess with his hair?” The older Anderson asks when he sees Blaine’s still plaited do. 

“Yeah”

“Wow…you’re right they really are good friends” Cooper jokes

Sebastian goes over to Hunter who’s still not fully asleep, “Hey Hunt…go sleep in a bed. Plus if you snore chances are you’ll wake one of them up and that’s not something I want to deal with…and you could lose your eyebrows.”

Hunter doesn’t say anything and just heads off to bed. Sebastian throws one blanket over Kitty and Blaine before lying down behind his boyfriend and spooning him, covering himself and again Blaine with the other blanket, that way ensuring his curly haired love won’t get cold.

“Can I do anything for you Coop?” Sebastian asks when he realises they’re still being watched.

Cooper smiles and shakes his head, “No…I’m good” when he leaves Sebastian turns off the projector and blu ray player and is soon asleep himself, also drained from the last couple of days.

XXXXXXX  
When Sebastian wakes up the next morning he’s starving having not eaten properly the day before so heads to the kitchen where he can hear everyone else, after giving Blaine a kiss on the top of his head. They’ve just sat down to eat when Blaine comes stumbling through, eyes barely open with one of the blankets wrapped around him.

“You okay B?”

“Cold” Blaine grumbles barely coherently in response and lies down on the large sofa in the family area of the sizeable kitchen, covering himself with the blanket. Kitty then appears a moment later in much the same state and cuddles up next to Blaine under his blanket, once again chest to chest, before throwing her blanket over the two of them as well. They quickly go back to sleep, though it’s clear they’d barely been conscious in the first place.

After the others have finished eating there is a knock at the front door. Wes answers and as soon as Sebastian hears Santana’s voice, he heads to the front door too, to see her stood there with Brittany.

“Hi Sebastian…I’m really sorry to disturb you all but Britt really wants to see Blaine and knew you’d both be here…I couldn’t hold her off any longer.”

Sebastian smiles at the blonde girl, “He’s in the kitchen but he’s still asleep…Kitty’s with him too”

“I promise I won’t wake him…and I’m glad she’s here…I won’t wake her either” Brittany promises earnestly so Sebastian shows her to his sleeping boyfriend, leaving Wes to introduce Santana to his parents and explain who Brittany is.

Brittany crouches down next to the sofa and speaks gently, “It’s just me narwhal…I like your hair.”

Blaine makes a grumbling sound then rolls onto his back, taking Kitty with him so she’s lying face down on his chest and holds an arm out for Brittany. When he makes a small grunting noise, Brittany takes off her coat and shoes and carefully climbs under the blankets. She lies on her side facing Blaine and rests her head on his shoulder, his arm wrapping round her in response.

“That’s so adorable my teeth might actually rot” Santana comments

“Most guys could only dream of being in that situation” Cooper adds

“Watch it…that’s my girlfriend there” the feisty Latina glares playfully, “It is pretty hot…I won’t push, but is he alright?” Santana asks no one in particular

“He’s as okay as he can be…did Britt say anything?” Sebastian responds

“No…just that she’ll be having words with Lord Tubbington. Apparently Blaine’s a favourite of his too and if she’s right then he won’t be very pleased.”

“Who’s Lord Tubbington?” Cooper asks

“Her cat” Sebastian replies

“It’s best not to ask” Hunter adds

“That seems to be said a lot” the older Anderson comments

“For good reason” Santana smirks, “You’re best just going with the flow of things”

“But I don’t get what her cat can do about him being disowned” Cooper frowns and Sebastian has to stop himself from shouting at him.

“What wait?” Santana asked wide eyed

“Well fucking done Cooper” Sebastian sneers

“Shit…I didn’t mean…” Cooper stutters obviously stutters

“Let me take a wild guess here that he got disowned because he’s gay…because his feelings are wrong and because he wasn’t hiding them from the world” Santana snaps, channelling memories of what her grandmother said to her.

“He was going to tell you…he was just trying to work out how…he didn’t want it to bring up painful memories for you” Sebastian explains and it melts Santana’s resolve   
The Latina smiles fondly, “He’s seriously such a wonder boy…he just got kicked out the family and yet he was worrying about telling me because of what happened with my grandmother? He’s unreal…in the best possible way. One question does…”

“Sam know?” Sebastian cuts in and she nods, “I doubt it’ll surprise you that he knows everything…and he’s thinking about telling some of the others, but he really doesn’t want this going any further than he lets it.”

“You know I won’t say anything…particularly about something like this. It’s nobody else’s business…but know that Quinn is having a hard time keeping Puck away.”

“I’ll let him know when he’s awake”

“I’m already awake because some people won’t stop talking” Blaine grumbles angrily and Brittany tells them to shush. 

“You’re in the kitchen Blaine…if you want quiet go upstairs” Wes tells him firmly but fairly 

“But it’s warm here” Blaine moans, “Anyway I’m awake now” he grumps and runs a hand through his hair, “What the hell is going on with my hair” he says grouchily but more coherently. 

Kitty giggles in response, also awake, “Wait till you see what it will look like when I take them all out.”

“Why am I friends with you again?”

“Because I’m all sorts of awesome” she grins at him, lifting her head from his chest to look him in the eye, Blaine just scowls in response.

“I’ll help you take them out” Brittany chimes in, “It’s going to be even bigger than your dinosaur hair” she beams.

Blaine sighs, “Okay okay…but know I will be jumping in the shower straight after”

Blaine and Kitty both have something to eat before he settles on the floor in front of one of the sofas in the living room and she and Brittany set about undoing the many little   
plaits the shorter blonde had spent a couple of hours on the night before.

“Oh my god if it was a little longer you’d look like a troll doll” Kitty quips as she undoes the last plait, making everyone else turn around and burst out laughing as soon as they see him.

“It feels so awesome” Brittany beams as she plays with his ridiculously frizzy and standy-up hair.

“Let me feel” Santana grins and before he knows it everyone is playing with his hair

Blaine jumps up when he’s had enough, “Right I’m going for a shower” and heads upstairs. As soon as the water’s warm enough he steps in and puts his head under the cascade, immediately calming his hair. When he’s working the second round of shampoo through he feels strong arms encircle his waist and he hums with contentment, “I was beginning to think you weren’t going to join me.”

“And miss the chance of being near your wet ass…never” Sebastian smirks and trails small biting kisses along Blaine’s shoulders, playing special attention to his birth mark.

“Hmmm, that feels good”

“I can tell” Sebastian says playfully and wraps his hand around Blaine’s rapidly hardening cock.

“Bastian” Blaine moans then turns around and pulls him down for a deep kiss. Sebastian takes both their lengths in hand and starts pumping his fist at a steady pace. It’s not long until they’re both spilling over, not having been intimate with each other for a few days given the circumstances. “It’s been too long since we’ve been able to do something like that”. Blaine comments when they’ve both finished washing the other and are stepping out of the shower.

“And I thought I was meant to be the sex maniac…not that I don’t completely agree” Sebastian winks, making Blaine giggle and pull him down for another deep kiss.

When it breaks they both get dressed knowing they can’t stay hidden away for too long. Blaine opens his bedroom door but is stopped from going anywhere by his boyfriend.  
“There’s something I need to talk to you about killer” Sebastian says as pulls Blaine down onto the bed so they’re both sat crossed legged facing each other before he cups Blaine’s left cheek with his right hand and runs his thumb up and down his cheek bone.

“What Bastian?” Blaine asks, his eyes once again showing fear

“It’s nothing bad, in fact it’s a sign that people really care about you, but Santana said Quinn is having a hard time keeping Puck at bay, and well you obviously heard Cooper be Cooper and let slip what happened to Santana.”

“So I need to decide if I’m going to say anything and who I’m going to say it too.”

“Pretty much…but you know you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to”

“I know” Blaine thinks for a moment, “Despite how Sadie Hawkins came out; it did actually feel like a weight was lifted once everyone had asked their questions…I wasn’t hiding anything anymore.”

“But…” Sebastian prods when Blaine doesn’t say anything for a while but is still obviously mulling things over.

“I don’t want them to see me differently, or pity me, or ask questions…what happened, happened. They don’t need to know the ins and outs of my relationship with my parents, and I don’t want to have to go into everything about that night.”

“Then don’t…just tell them the basics. I’m here, so is Wes, Kitty, Cooper and Santana. And we all know Brittany can go into protective mode too, plus Sam if he’s on Skype. Nobody is going to push you because they love you too much, but also because they know if they try then they’ll kick up a shit storm. And if, remember it’s a monumental if, they do think of you differently then they aren’t real friends and aren’t worth bothering with anymore.”

“You make it sound so simple”

“Sometimes it is B” Sebastian says tenderly then leans forward and kisses Blaine’s forehead. 

Blaine thinks for a moment, “I know who I want to tell”

“Just remember, if you decide not to that’s fine too, and I’m right here with you, every step of the way.” Blaine smiles softly then leans in to give his boyfriend a kiss on the lips.

They’re interrupted by someone clearing their throat, “Can I come in?” Cooper asks sheepishly. When Blaine nods he walks into the room and stands awkwardly for a moment 

before taking a seat on the desk chair. “Your hair is back to normal” he comments to Blaine.

“What is it Cooper?” Blaine asks not wanting to skirt around the subject

“I wanted to say I’m sorry…for not thinking before I opened my mouth”

“You’re Cooper…It’s one of the things you do” Blaine smiles

“But…”

“It’s okay Coop…I know you didn’t mean anything bad by it”

“I just don’t want to screw up with you again”

Blaine shrugs, “You won’t if you don’t disappear again”

“Never” Cooper promises, “When do you guys fly back?”

“Tomorrow morning, why?” Sebastian answers

“Because I need to book my flight and was thinking we could go to the airport together”

“I hope you haven’t gotten in trouble leaving set” Blaine bites his bottom lip

“Of course I haven’t” Cooper grins, “Since when do I get in trouble?”

“Do you really want me to answer that?” Blaine says flatly, raising his eyebrows

“Okay…since when do I stay in trouble?” Cooper retaliates

“I’ve got to give you that one…but still…”

“Blaine, even if it meant getting fired I would have still come. How could I not when I heard that my baby brother was missing?”

“I’m sorry”

“No…don’t be…you don’t need to be” Cooper moves to sit on the bed next to Blaine and pulls him into a hug.

“If there is anything you two need, call me at any time” Cooper says sincerely when he breaks the hug, looking at both boys in the eye.

“We will Coop” Blaine replies and Sebastian agrees

“Good…is there anything I can do to help tonight…did I hear right that you’re going to tell some of your friends?”

“Yeah…considering they all helped look for me they know something happened and I don’t want to feel like I’m hiding something and feel on edge because of it.”

“That makes sense…but is there anything I can do?”

“Be there”

Sebastian’s phone goes off with a text message, “Sarah says she’s washed your clothes B” he frowns, “I suppose I better go get them and my things”.

“Do you want me to come?” Blaine asks

“I’m not sure that’s wise killer”

“I can handle your dad Bas…if you want me to come, I’ll come. You don’t have to deal with him on your own anymore either.”

“Do you mind me asking what the situation is with your parents? I mean obviously you don’t have to tell me, but you know.” Cooper shrugs his shoulders slightly, not sure what to say. 

Sebastian thinks for a moment before saying anything, “The only people this side of the Atlantic who know about the fucked up situation are Sarah, my dad’s wife, and B.”

“Like I said you don’t have to tell me…”

“That’s not what I was saying…just if I tell you I can’t risk you opening your mouth, but actually you knowing could be useful.”

“Okay…I can promise I won’t open my mouth again…but I’m not sure how I could be useful”

“Because I want you to come with us”

“Bas?” Blaine asks, as confused as his brother by the situation

“Trust me B” Blaine nods then Sebastian looks back to Cooper, “Okay so long story short, I was an accident, my mum was quite a lot younger than my dad and never planned on having kids anyway. They got married but got divorced quickly as my mum didn’t want to leave France but my dad refused to leave his life here. I got passed between the two, neither wanting me until my grandmother took me in so I lived with her and my grandfather in Paris for a while until she died. My grandfather couldn’t cope on his own, but my mother still refused to really have anything to do with me, she’d take me to clubs and things when I was 14. Basically a lot of shit went down then I got shipped here and sent to Dalton and have tried to avoid going home as much as possible as we don’t get on, in fact we basically hate each other. He didn’t want me either, I’m a burden that’s not good enough for him but the only reason he hasn’t got rid of me is because it wouldn’t make good press.”

“To put things into perspective a bit, Dalton’s curriculum in senior year equals freshman year of college and Bas got a 4.5 GPA, but it still wasn’t good enough and his dad wasn’t going to go to his graduation even though he was getting an award for graduating with the highest, most consistent GPA in Dalton’s history, but Sarah made him. And last time Bas was in Paris he saw his mum, but she pretended not to know him because she was out on a date.” Blaine adds.

“Shit okay…What did you mean about the press stuff though?” Cooper asks

“My dad’s the state attorney” Sebastian answers and Cooper’s eyes bug out a little.

“So why do you want me to come?” 

“Because he hates an audience and there are some things I want to say, and you being there should mean I get to, it’s been a long time coming.”

“What if it doesn’t work out? What if he disowns you?”

“Fine by me, but then Sarah will divorce him and the press will have a field day. So are you in?”

“I am…if you need to do this I’m right there with the two of you”

“Thank you Cooper”

“Yeah…thanks Coop” Blaine smiles at his brother

“So when do you want to get this show on the road?”

“The sooner the better so B doesn’t feel pushed if he wants to get people round tonight”

Cooper stands up, “Let’s go then.”

“We’re just going to get Bas’s things and my clothes from his dad’s house” Blaine tells the others in the living room when they get down stairs.

“Do you want me to come?” Hunter asks, not having liked Mr Smythe or the way he treated his son or Blaine – he’d seen through the charade of pretending to care about Sebastian and knew it was only his reputation he gave a damn about.

“We’re good Hunter…Cooper’s coming” Sebastian replies

“Oh he’ll love that then, an aspiring performer and an actor accompanying his son”

Sebastian smirks, “I hadn’t thought of that”

Hunter laughs, “Sorry man but I’m going to have to call you on your bullshit right there”

“What am I missing?” Cooper asks

“You’ll find out, unless you’d rather know beforehand” Blaine replies

“Nah, I’ll think of it like improv.” Cooper grins making the other two laugh and shake their heads 

Blaine looks to the three girls, “Are you three going to be okay? We shouldn’t be too long and I’d like you to stay if that’s okay, I’ll tell you why when we get back.”

“We’ll be fine fuzz. I’m sure the boys can keep us entertained.” Kitty smirks

“I don’t even want to know what you’re scheming” Blaine comments then heads to the Smythe residence with his brother and boyfriend.

When they arrive the three head straight inside the large house and Sarah appears as soon as the front door closes.

“Sebastian I’m so glad to see you I was getting worried” she gushes, “Blaine how are you doing?”

Before either can answer Mr Smythe appears, “I was wondering when you were going to show your face again…and who’s this?” he says sneering at Cooper, “Another conquest?”

“Actually this is Cooper Anderson, Blaine’s older brother, he was kind enough to give us a lift so I could come and collect my things.” Sebastian replies levelly, knowing his dad is trying to get him to react.

“It’s nice to meet you Mr Smythe” Cooper says as he offers his hand to Mr Smythe to shake, “I have to say your son is a remarkable young man.”

“I’d say it depends on the context” Xavier answers and narrows his eyes, “Why do I recognise you?”

“I’m the star of the free credit rating commercials and have appeared as minor roles in various programs, I’m currently working on a more permanent, bigger role.”  
Xavier scoffs, “It figures, poor actor is big brother to aspiring musician and actor who will no doubt take all my money.”

Sebastian grins, his dad has finally tripped up, “First, Blaine is incredibly talented and one day you will see his name in lights, second…it’s not your money is it dad? It’s mine and you can’t stand that can you? Even if I can access a lot of it until I’m twenty five, it was explicitly left to me and it’s driving you mad.”

“How dare you talk to me like that” Xavier says threateningly

“And how dare you tell my boyfriend to leave when he was close to having hypothermia and had nowhere to go purely because he’s gay. If you people never wanted us, then you should have thought about it before having kids you resent and can’t stand so make their lives hell.” 

“You’re nothing but a failure Sebastian, I should have pushed your mother to go through with the abortion.” 

“Xavier!” Sarah shouts at her husband

Sebastian just smirks, “Thanks dad…I’ll be getting our things now…B, Cooper, if you’d like to come with me”

“What do you look so happy about?” his dad glowers

Sebastian pulls a tape recorder out of a pocket and rewinds it a little before pressing play, “If you pull funding for college or try any other stunt to make mine, B’s or Cooper’s lives hell, I will send copies of this to every national and local news broadcaster and paper, you will lose everything. Do I make myself clear?”

“This is slander! And anyway, you don’t have the guts”

“Do you really want to risk it?” Sebastian says calmly, “Because whether you like it or not…I am your son.” With that Sebastian walks upstairs, the two Anderson brothers following him.

They make quick work of packing up anything Sebastian wanted to take in addition to the belongings he had taken with him and Blaine’s clothes that had been left from thanksgiving night. Like Blaine, there really isn’t much extra to take, having basically packed up almost everything he cared about when they moved to New York.  
When they climb back in the car Cooper looks into the rear view mirror to look at Sebastian, “I thought you said me being there would stop him from exploding…it only seemed to make things worse.”

Sebastian smiles, “I know…and that was even better” Blaine looks to his boyfriend worriedly, it had been so long since he’d seen this side of him. Of course Sebastian notices, “It’s okay killer, first class bastard mode only came back to deal with him…you know that’s been a long time coming.” Blaine nods, “Hey come on…it’s okay…this isn’t because of you…you know that.”

“I love you” Blaine says quietly but full of conviction

“I love you too sap…so frigging much…it’s you and me killer B”

Blaine smiles, “You and me” then leans his head on his boyfriend’s shoulder.

Cooper smiles at the sight and knows that his brother and Sebastian will both be okay.

XXXXXXX  
“Thanks for letting me do this Natasha” Blaine says as she helps him get snacks and things ready for the group who’s coming over.

“Of course Blaine…you know Patrick and I both support you, and I know your grandparents are going to take care of your tuition, but should you ever need anything, whether it be someone to talk to, somewhere to stay or money, we’re here and we’ll do whatever we can to help.” She pulls Blaine into a hug, “You are the baby of our family after all” she says mimicking Tabatha, making him giggle.

“Does Tabatha know what’s been going on?”

“She does, we spoke with her last night, I hope you don’t mind”

“Not at all, I was going to speak to her about it anyway… I can’t expect you to keep secrets from each other.”

“That’s what we figured, plus you know how she is…she’d figure something was wrong” 

Sebastian appears and helps carry the bowls and plates of things through to the living room where Blaine would be talking to everyone, Mr and Mrs Montgomery heading to the snug so they’re nearby if needed, but knowing it would be better to leave Blaine to talk to his friends without any parents around.

Steadily everyone arrives, Wes answering the door when it goes. Sam’s on Skype on the big smart TV in the living room and Blaine is sandwiched between Cooper and Sebastian, Wes, Hunter, Kitty, Brittany and Santana (who now also knows everything, Blaine not wanting her to be blindsided and because of what Cooper said) also flanking him.   
Rachel’s the last one to arrive, “Hi Tony” she greets Blaine and gives him a kiss on the cheek. 

“Hi Maria” he smiles

“Huh, your name’s Blaine and I thought hers was Rachel” Cooper furrows his brow, obviously confused, making everyone else laugh.

“They played the leads in West Side Story” Sebastian fills in.

“What?”

“Tony and Maria” Jeff adds 

“You didn’t get the brains did you?” Kitty teases, making everyone laugh again.

“Are we missing some?” Nick asks as he looks around 

“Actually no” Blaine says as he looks to those he’d asked round in addition to the three girls, Sam and Hunter – Jeff, Nick, Thad, Beat, Quinn, Puck, Trent, Tina and Rachel. “So I know you guys all helped look for me on thanksgiving, so I just want to say thank you and sorry for worrying you all.”

“Anytime man, you know that” Puck says, staring straight into Blaine’s eyes.

“Well some of you already know a bit about the situation, but before I go any further I really, really don’t want what I’m going to tell you going any further than the people in this room, obviously Mr and Mrs Montgomery and Tabatha, Wes’ sister, know too, but that’s it.”

“So same rules apply as for Sadie Hawkins, if any of you say anything to anybody outside of this room, there will be hell to pay and do not think you can bring it up whenever you fancy it, it has to be on B’s terms and respect that you won’t find everything out, not because you aren’t trusted, because if you weren’t you wouldn’t be here, but because he shouldn’t have to live through everything and quite frankly you don’t need to know the details, but if you can’t or won’t respect that then leave now.” Sebastian says in a slightly threatening manner, looking at each person in turn.

“You can be pretty scary you know” Cooper comments

“Never get on my bad side then” Sebastian winks

“We promise Blainey Days” Tina says earnestly

Blaine takes a deep breath, “Some of you will know I don’t exactly have the best relationship with my parents, it was never good, but it got a lot worse after I came out and Sadie Hawkins. Well at thanksgiving dinner I was disowned and thrown out, Cooper, Patrick, Bas and I went to talk to my parents the next day, but they confirmed that I’m officially out of the family. So that’s what happened and thanksgiving night when nobody could find me it’s because I just kept walking, I didn’t even know where I was going.”

Everybody is a little surprised when Puck stands and walks over to Blaine, pulling him into his arms, before letting him go and sitting back with Quinn.

“I understand if some of you have questions, but I might not answer them, though I’d rather you ask than speculate or talk about me behind my back.”

“So I’m guessing that’s why none of us ever met your parents, why they were always away when we came round.” Jeff asks

“Yeah…they basically were never at home. It’s why I actually have a room here…not even Sam’s met them to put it into perspective.”

“So they never came home last school year?” Nick enquires

“Only at Christmas, and well…that didn’t exactly go well either”

“You can tell me to mind my own business” Tina starts, “But…it’s not just the lack of evidence that meant the guys didn’t get prosecuted for attacking you is it? They didn’t want to press charges.”

“No…they said it was my own fault” Blaine practically whispers and Cooper squeezes his shoulder as Sebastian kisses his temple. Everyone can feel their own anger build at Blaine’s admission, but know showing it would only be detrimental. “Does anyone want to ask anything else?” Blaine asks nervously.

“Just, are you going to be okay?” Quinn asks

Blaine takes a deep breath “I will…I know I will”

“That’s all I needed to hear sweetie” she smiles fondly at him

“What about college and stuff man?” Puck asks

“You mean money wise?” Blaine enquires and Puck nods, “That’s been taken care of”

“Okay…but you know if…”

“It’s good but thank you Puck” Blaine stops him, knowing that Puck would offer to help with some of his wages from the army, but not even wanting to give him the opportunity to.

“So are you all done?” Sebastian asks and everyone nods and Blaine lets out a big breath in relief.

“Does anyone else have any news? Preferably good” the curly haired boy asks as he leans into Sebastian’s side.

“Yes actually” Rachel starts, “Shelby is going to be teaching at NYADA so she’s moving to New York!” she squeals, “She officially starts after Christmas but is going to be reviewing the curriculum and will watch the mid-term assessments.”

“That’s pretty cool” Sam says through the screen

“How did your dads take it?” Blaine asks

“Fine…they now understand that me having a relationship with her won’t affect my one with them.”

“Who’s Shelby?” Thad asks

“My birth mum” Rachel replies

“When do they move?” Quinn asks

“In time for my opening night!” Rachel beams, “I know she was going to tell you so don’t think she wasn’t”

“I believe you…she’s really good at keeping us up-to-date with Beth, particularly given everything.”

“Are we missing something?” Jeff asks

“You could say that” Sam answers making all those in the know laugh a little

Quinn looks to Puck for his approval before answering, “Shelby adopted our daughter, Beth, but considering she went through something similar she’s really good at giving us little updates.”

“Yeah and I slept with her in my senior year when she was teaching at McKinley so it made things kinda awkward for a while” Puck adds

“Did you really have to go there Puck?” Quinn admonishes

“Hey, I thought we were sharing, and we’re amongst friends, most of them already knew. You know you’re all the Puckasaurus is interested in now.”

“Do you have to talk about your penis that way? It feels weirder now everyone knows what you’re referring to.” Blaine groans

“You named your junk?” Cooper laughs

“Not really…you don’t choose the name that’s given to it…I’m not the only one with a junk name, it was a McKinley football thing…plus a few others…hey Blaine” Puck grins and   
Tina laughs loudly

“Say one more word and you’re dead Puckerman” Blaine threatens, “You too Tina”

“As if I would say anything” Tina giggles mischievously. Blaine pulls out his best puppy dog eyes, “God damn it! Now I really can’t say anything…stop looking at me like that” Tina covers her eyes.

“Yeah man…we promise we won’t say anything, just please stop looking like that” Puck adds 

“We’re seriously going to have to write something about Nightbird having mind control vision in our next comic” Sam smiles through the screen

“How did the whole junk name thing even come about?” Cooper asks completely amused before the subject can properly change

“Open showers, guys look” Puck shrugs

“The ironic thing of course is if they ever thought the gay guy was looking they’d beat me up”

“Well try” Thad, Nick, Hunter, Sebastian and Sam all chorus

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Cooper asks, eyes sparkling with mischief “Squirt what do they mean? I’ll drop the junk name thing if you tell me.” He bargains.

“They’re not meant to talk about it” Blaine says through clenched teeth, Puck unsurprisingly catches on and marches over to the sofa and pulls Blaine to his feet. “What the hell   
Puck?” Blaine exclaims before Puck throws a punch, Blaine ducks out of the way. Puck smiles and goes to hit him again, but this time instead of ducking Blaine grabs Puck’s fist and twists his arm, forcing him to bend in two and knees him in the stomach, not too hard, but just hard enough to completely disable him. 

“Man that was awesome! Which branch were you at?!” Puck beams

“Dalton, I started it” Blaine smiles

“Holy shit you’re Red Leader? I heard about him, but it was more like a myth or something.”

“Some would say a legend” Thad grins slyly

“The other legend of Blaine Anderson” Nick says theatrically 

“But Blaine moved passed that” Wes adds and the Dalton boys lower their heads, though only to hide their smiles.

“So what you were a fight club person?” Cooper asks his brother

“More like founder and undefeated champion” Thad comments

“Blainers?” Cooper asks his brother, finding the revelation funny and a little worrying

“I erm kind of wanted to make sure I could defend myself…plus I may have had a few anger issues, well short fuse issues, for a little while…mostly at myself though.” Blaine admits

“He only uses his powers for good now” Sam teases through the screen

“Kind of makes sense” Cooper muses

“What?” Blaine asks slightly confused

“Well when you were little you could throw the biggest tantrums, mostly if you couldn’t do something…so I can see it” Cooper grins cheekily

“Thank you Cooper…anymore embarrassing kid facts you’d like to share?”

“Loads if you’re offering”

“You know that was a rhetorical question”

“But…”

Before Cooper can go any further, Stevie and Stacey both appear on the screen, “Hello Blainey! Hello everyone else” They both practically shout.

“Hey you two, I miss you” Blaine replies

“We miss you too...but” Stacey starts 

But Stevie cuts her off, “Wait Stacey…we don’t know if we’re allowed to tell him”

“Can we tell him Sammy?” Stacey asks and both twins giver their older brother their own version of puppy dog eyes

“Oh go on then” Sam relents

“We’re coming to visit just before Christmas!” They shout in an excited rush

“What?! That’s awesome!” Blaine beams 

Mary’s voice comes through the speakers, “Sam, Stevie, Stacey, we’ve got to go if we’re going to get there in time!”

“Sorry man…we’ve got to go, it’s Stevie’s football match”

“Go, but tell me all about it later” Blaine smiles

“If we call you later, will you read us our bed time story?” Stacey asks and Stevie nods enthusiastically

“Only if you go now so you’re not late” Blaine answers and the two immediately scamper off, Sam disconnecting the call after saying goodbye.

“They are so cute” Quinn comments

Blaine sits back and smiles for a moment, once again thanking the stars that he’s got these people in his life, his real family through his and their choice. He turns his head to look out the window and his smile grows, “Britt come with me” Blaine says and stands, grabbing a handful of mixed nuts and heading to the French doors, “You’ve got to be quiet okay?” Brittany nods in response and the two carefully and slowly step outside and crouch down. 

The others slowly make their way to the window, so as not to disturb whatever the other two are up to and all smile fondly when they see Blaine and Brittany feeding nuts to two squirrels. When they’ve run out of nuts they both head back inside, both of them having managed to stroke the bushy tailed animals. Sebastian wraps his arms around Blaine as soon as he steps in and shivers, Santana doing the same to Brittany. 

“Oh Blaine, I meant to ask earlier, can Shelby join us for our Tuesday lunch?” Rachel asks as they all settle back down.

“Yeah sure”

“I wasn’t sure as we were planning on going back to yours”

Blaine frowns, “Oh yeah”

“She won’t tell anyone our address though, will she” Sebastian cuts in

“No…she kind of knows about the Kurt situation, she was the person I vented to and it’s not as if she has anyone to tell or any reason to” Rachel replies

“Then I don’t see why you still can’t have lunch at ours, unless you’d prefer not killer”

“Not at all”

“Great that’s settled then, we’ll meet you at NYU like before though” Rachel says excitedly and types out a message.

They all sit talking until a Skype call comes through from Sam, as soon as Blaine answers he can see the twins both tucked into bed.

“So I don’t want details because it’s your bedtime” Blaine says to Stevie, “But did you win and did you score?”

“Yes and yes” The young boy beams

“What story are you reading at the moment then?” Blaine asks

“We don’t want a book one, we want a Blaine one” Stevie replies and Stacey nods quickly.

“Let me just go into another room” Blaine says and goes to move but is stopped by his boyfriend and brother

“Oh no no killer, we want to hear the story too” Sebastian grins, making Blaine frown in response

“None of you can make fun of me after” Blaine grumps

“We make no promises” Cooper grins

Blaine starts telling a story as he makes it up on the spot. A story about dragons and wizards and brave knights and dastardly villains and a princess who’s just as cunning and good in a fight as the knights, each character having their own unique voice. He clearly gets into it, passionately portraying his tale with hand actions to mimic the dragon flying and sound effects thrown in. Everyone else in the room ends up completely captivated right until the end. When he’s finished the twins both say good night, clearly fighting sleep so Blaine disconnects the call. 

It’s only when Cooper snores that anyone realises he too has fallen to sleep. Everyone takes it as their cue to leave, only Blaine, Hunter and Sebastian sleeping over that night. Most of the others will see each other back in New York, but Blaine shares quite emotional goodbyes with Tina, Quinn, Puck and Kitty, the three older all promising to organise a Christmukka event in New York for after the end of the semester, but before anyone who is going home for the holidays travels back.

The next day at the airport, Cooper’s flight gets called so he says goodbye to his baby brother, “I’ll see you soon squirt…I’m still coming to see you before Christmas”

“Do you think you’d be able to come to my musical theatre performance mid-term? It’s at the beginning of January, literally as soon as school starts back.”

“Message me the date and I’ll get it worked out” Cooper says and pulls Blaine into a fierce hug, I’ve certainly learned a lot more about you Blainey.” He teases, making Blaine blush a little, “If you need me for anything, no matter what time, call me and if I can’t answer I’ll get back to you as soon as I can. Don’t forget how much I love you baby brother…I know I might not have always shown it, but you really do mean the world to me.”

“I love you too Cooper” Blaine says, a few tears falling down his cheeks, reciprocating the hug.

“I know you’re going to be okay Blaine…you’re so strong and you’ve got so many people who care about you and love you…and that boyfriend of yours, it’s obvious he’d fight until the end for you…never forget it.”

“I won’t…Plus I have a pretty awesome brother” Blaine adds

The two break their hug, both noticing the other’s tears before saying a final goodbye as Cooper heads on his way.

Sebastian pulls Blaine into his arms, who buries his face in his neck, “He’s right you know killer, you’re going to be okay…more than okay”

“Do you know what? I think you’re right…I’m not saying I won’t have moments, but…”

“Ultimately, with some time, you’re going to be fine” Sebastian smiles down at his love

Blaine smiles back, “Exactly” and kisses his boyfriend before they too have to head to their flight with their New Yorker friends. 

When the couple get back home they find Sam asleep in their doorway. Blaine bends down and squeezes Sam’s shoulder, “Hey Sammy…we’re home”

Sam opens his eyes and immediately jumps up and pulls Blaine into a hug as Sebastian opens the front door. Instead of breaking the embrace Sam picks up Blaine’s bag and lifts the shorter boy from the floor so his feet are dangling and carries him inside. 

Blaine chuckles, “You can put me down Sam”

“I don’t want to…I thought we’d lost you for a while dude…I was so scared”

“I’m sorry I scared you…you have no idea how much I am, but you really do need to put me down, I’m desperate for a pee.”

“Oh sorry man” Sam quickly puts Blaine back down and the shorter quickly heads to the bathroom

“So Sam I Am, am I right in assuming you’re staying tonight?”

Sam blushes, “If that’s okay…I know you’re the best thing for him, but I really thought I might never see him again, I just need to know he’s still here”

“Believe me Sam, I get it…and he’s doing okay. He has moments of anger and tears, but that’s to be expected. Just keep being you.”

When Blaine enters the living room again Sam just smiles at him, “So I’ve cleared it with Sebastian here and I get to sleep over tonight and as he knows about our onesies, it’s only right that we wear them, but I also have some gifts for you from everyone”. Sam starts pulling things from his bag, “Stevie and Stacey both drew you a picture each, my dad got you some whisky flavoured taffy too, it’s pretty awesome, and my mum made me bring you home some cookies and promise not to eat them, which as you can see I didn’t.”

That’s how Sebastian finds himself on the sofa with his feet up on the coffee table, Blaine in his Iron Man onesie cuddling into him head resting on his lower abdomen, with his feet on Sam’s lap, watching Beauty and the Beast, The Breakfast Club and finally, the Jedi Returns before they all go to bed, Sam of course declaring for it to be a real sleepover night they all have to crash together. Although Sebastian really wanted sometime alone with his boyfriend, he knew Sam needed this and Blaine also needed his best friend so didn’t make a comment, but just spooned Blaine chest to chest, his hands cupping his ass as Sam slept on the other side of his boyfriend, lying on his front, head facing Blaine, as if trying to watch over him even as he slept.


	76. Back to school

Sam accompanies Jeff, Sebastian and Blaine to the subway the next day for the start of classes once again. Blaine gives his boyfriend a kiss, “Call me or message me B”

“I will” Blaine promises then gives Sam a quick hug. It’s when he heads to the platform with Jeff and Sam follows that he stops, “Sam you don’t have to come all the way to NYU. I promise I’m not going to go walking off and Jeff’s with me.”

Sam looks down shyly, “Sorry dude” 

“It’s okay Sammy, I get it, but I kind of need things to go back to normal”

Sam hugs Blaine one last time, “Have a good day then alright? And you can message or call me too”

“I know and thank you, but I really want you to work on that portfolio of yours”

“I can do that”

Blaine smiles, “Good” before heading off with Jeff so they don’t miss their train. 

When they’re settle on their train, Jeff turns to Blaine, “I’ll take care of him tonight Blaine, I promise”

“Thanks Jeff”

“It’s okay man…I know how much you mean to Sam so I understand where he’s coming from, but you could also do with some time that’s actually just you and Sebastian, and as you said, some normality.”

“Thanks for getting it” Blaine says and is obviously feeling a little emotional though is clearly trying to bottle it all up, something Jeff immediately recognises from his old roommate when he first came to Dalton and, as he now knows, was healing from the attack.

“Of course I get it…I know you. Now I know the other two have told you to message or call them. But if you just want to have a bit of quiet or lunch with someone who doesn’t have to travel across the city, you know when I’m free” Jeff tells him as they leave the subway, throwing his arm around Blaine’s shoulders.

Blaine turns into Jeff to give him a proper hug, “Thank you Jeffrey, how did I ever manage without you in my life for a while…or more like why was I such an idiot not to have you there?”

“It was definitely the fumes from all that gel” Jeff teases so Blaine playfully punches his arm before heading off to his first class.

Blaine’s first class is okay, but it’s during the second when they’re meant to act out their holiday that he can’t do it, he politely but firmly declines to participate and then can’t shake his funk for the rest of the day, almost completely withdrawing. His friends notice but don’t know what to do. Blaine spends any down time on his own and is just as withdrawn in Michael’s class. At the end Michael asks him to stay behind, having heard from the other professors that Blaine had refused to participate and the change of fee payer details had been flagged to him too.

“Blaine can I have a word with you?” Blaine waits at the front of the class. It’s only when everyone else has left that Michael starts talking again, “So what happened during thanksgiving?”

Blaine shrugs, “Nothing really”

Michael lets out a big sigh, “So there’s no reason why you’re refusing to participate in classes, or why your fee payment arrangements have been changed?”

“Well as you seem to know a lot, why don’t you tell me what happened?” Blaine snaps before he catches himself, “Sorry…that was rude…I didn’t mean to be”

Michael frowns in concern, “What happened with your parents Blaine? I’m assuming it is to do with them as I know you were visiting them, and I know you were nervous about it, and now they’ve been removed from every bit of admin to do with you.”

Blaine’s been bottling his emotions up all day and finally snaps, “They disowned me because I’m still gay. Apparently when I moved to New York I was meant to realise I’m actually straight because of all the new girls around, but that didn’t happen. In fact I moved in with my boyfriend and took some faggy college classes, so that’s that. I’m out of the family…oh and the real icing on the cake is that not only have I been kicked out, but I’ve actually managed to break the family apart as my mother’s parents now want absolutely nothing to do with her or my father because of it.” His voice has risen by the time he’s finished, tears streaming down his cheeks as he’d been running over everything in his mind about what happened and what was said that night.

Michael pulls Blaine into his arms to try and offer some comfort, “Please don’t sue me for misconduct” he jests, actually managing to make Blaine laugh.

“I’m sorry” Blaine says quietly as he pulls back

“You shouldn’t be…now you can say no, but I would like to raise the issue with your other professors. They won’t mention it to you and are obviously bound by confidentiality, but I think they should know. That way they’ll be mindful if there are any other holiday related tasks…or if you don’t seem like yourself.”

Blaine sniffs, “Okay”

“This was your last class of the day, correct?”

“It was.”

“Good…Remember Blaine, you said music helped you before. Just don’t shut it out this time. Because this is not your fault on any level…it took me a long time to see that and I sunk to some bad places. None of it is your fault, not even your grandparents cutting off the rest of the family.”

“You mean?”

“I know it’s like to go through…yes”

“Thank you”

“Any time Blaine, you know that…now go home, you must be exhausted, emotions are amazing and what make us human, yet can be completely exhausting.”

Blaine nods before heading out and finds Joey waiting for him. “You okay man?” the taller asks.

“I will be” Blaine says, “I just need to remember that I will be”

“I don’t know what’s going on, but I can promise to help you remember that”

“Thanks man…hey I’m meeting Rachel for lunch today, but maybe you could come round after class tomorrow and we could work on that project together?”

“Hmmm, let’s see, do I want to go round to your place and work on a project with a musical protégée that can only make my life easier…hell yes!”

Blaine laughs in response, the two only splitting ways when Blaine sees Rachel and Shelby, “Sorry I’m late, I had to talk with Michael” he apologises to the two.

“It’s okay…Blaine I know you two have met before, but as we are no longer at school I would like to officially introduce you to Shelby, as Shelby and not Ms Corcoran. Shelby I   
know you remember Blaine…and this little cutie is Beth”

“Hi Shelby, it’s lovely to properly meet you, Rachel’s told me so much about you I feel like I know you already”

Shelby smiles, “I could say the same about you…Beth’s going through a shy faze so don’t be offended if she keeps her distance.”

Blaine bends down to be level with Beth, “Well aren’t you prettier than a princess…I like your headband.” She puts her thumb in her mouth, “Do you like magic?” Even though Beth has her thumb in her mouth Blaine can see her smile and she nods slowly, “Do you know what princesses have that nobody else does?” This time Beth shakes her head, smile still evident, “Their own magic treasure…and I think…yes…you’ve got one too” Blaine says as he pulls a fake piece of gold treasure from behind Beth’s ear, “You must be a real princess” Blaine grins and Beth giggles and takes the treasure piece he offers out to her.

“Mummy look!”

“Well what do you know you are a real princess after all” Shelby smiles and Beth chooses to take Blaine’s hand as they walk to the station.

When they get back to Blaine and Sebastian’s apartment Blaine tells them all to make themselves comfortable while he goes to get them drinks. “What’s going on?” he asks as he comes back in and they’re all giggling.

“Can I tell him?” Rachel asks Beth who nods, “Beth thinks you’re a prince and look like Aladdin”

“And Rachel says you sing better than him” Beth adds grinning, the two of them making him blush

“You have a beautiful home” Shelby comments seeing how bashful he’s gone

“Thank you”

“Is Rachel right in telling me all those instruments are yours?”

Blaine smiles shyly, “Yeah”

“He’s the most talented person I know” Rachel beams

“Well that’s high praise coming from Rachel” Shelby teases, albeit seriously.

“Is it okay if I just put some bits and pieces out for lunch?” Blaine quickly asks to change the subject away from himself.

“That’s fine Blaine” Rachel reassures

“Great, do you or Beth have any dietary requirements I should know about? Neither of you are allergic to anything?”

“Nope and we’re not vegetarian or anything like that either” Shelby answers and Blaine heads off to the kitchen, “Is he always this attentive and just, well caring about everyone?” She asks Rachel.

“He is…I told you how good he was for me when Finn died and well, he needs some looking after at the moment, not that he’s very good at accepting it. He worries about everyone else to the point it can be bad for himself…Yet Sebastian seems to manage to stop that from happening, and the rest of us have learned we just need to be our usual selves as the best way to help him feel normal and better again.”

Blaine pops his head back through, “Does everyone want to come and grab a plate, there’s nothing messy though so we can eat in the living room if that’s okay?”

“Of course it is” Shelby smiles and heads through with Beth and Rachel.

“This is more than bits and pieces Blaine” Rachel kindly chastises as she sees the spread he’s put on, crudités and homemade dips and quiche and a variety of salads.

“I woke up early and couldn’t get back to sleep” he shrugs.

When they’ve finished and Beth’s distracted drawing Rachel turns to Blaine, “Can I ask what you needed to talk to Michael about?”

“It had been noticed that I was a bit off and he wanted to know why”

“Is Michael one of your professors?” Shelby asks

“He is, he’s really good…he’s my mentor too”

“Did you tell him?” Rachel prods

“I did…it kind of exploded out” Blaine frowns at himself

“That’s nothing to be ashamed of…do you remember when I went on about being the only star of the glee club for a solid seven minutes? That’s something to be ashamed of” Rachel says playfully

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard so many words said in that amount of time before” Blaine teases

“Did talking to him help though?”

“Yeah…and he’s going to tell my other professors so they’re aware of what’s going on” he then turns to Shelby, “Sorry it’s really rude of us to talk about something in front of you like this.”

“Not at all! I’m crashing your lunch and it’s nice to get to know one of Rachel’s friends who clearly means a lot to her.” 

Blaine stands and gathers their plates, “You can tell her Rach…if it won’t go any further” Blaine looks to Shelby, “Then again I know you know about the Kurt stuff and that hasn’t gone any further.” She nods and he heads back to the kitchen to clear up.

“What’s happened Rachel?” Shelby asks, her eyes full of concern, she may have not known Blaine well but she knew him well enough to tell that something was troubling the normally bubbly and full of life young man in front of her.

“Blaine’s parents never wanted him, then things got worse when he came out. It seems as though they expected him to all of a sudden realise he’s straight after all when he came out here to live, but obviously that didn’t happen. So at thanksgiving dinner they disowned him. He’s been completely cut from the family in every way. Apart from his brother and grandparents, everyone turned their backs on him. But I know he worries about the impact of the stress on his grandparents…they’re really old and I think getting a little frail now. I think they live in Italy at the moment and neither of them are allowed to fly because of their health.”

“So it’s just Blaine his parents have a problem with and not his brother?”

“Cooper was planned from what I can gather and is straight. He’s I think…eleven years older than Blaine”

Shelby nods in understanding, “I don’t understand how people can treat their own children that way. I only gave you up because I wanted what was best for you and knew I couldn’t offer you a life you deserved, I could barely take care of myself.”

“I know” Rachel reassures as she takes Shelby’s hand

Blaine comes back into the room, “I won’t say anything else Blaine apart from if you need anything you can call me, even if you don’t really know me” Shelby tells him sincerely.

“Thank you” Blaine forces a smile

“And…if I ever need a baby sitter and you’re not in class, can I call you? Beth is completely smitten with you…I’d pay you of course.”

“You wouldn’t have to…I’d be more than happy to look after her for a couple of hours or something.”

“You’ll get paid and that’s final” Shelby says channelling her parenting skills so Blaine doesn’t argue.

When Sebastian gets home Rachel, Shelby and Beth are just leaving, Beth giving Blaine the picture she’d taken plenty of care drawing.

“Has he charmed another person?” Sebastian asks Rachel playfully and she just giggles and nods.

After quick introductions to Sebastian the three head on their way, leaving the couple to it.

“Have you got much work to do tonight Bas?” Blaine asks as he cuddles onto his boyfriend, being wrapped in his arms in return.

“A bit, why?”

“I’ve got a bit too. Can we do our work, then have dinner, then a bath and then just cuddle in bed?”

“Of course we can B” Sebastian says as he caresses his boyfriend’s cheek. “Are you going to tell me about your day?”

“Yeah…over dinner”

“Well it sounds like you’ve got it all planned out then” Sebastian smirks

“Yep” Blaine grins and squeezes Sebastian’s ass, making him jump, before letting go and running over to where he’s got his books ready to work.  
When they’ve both finished and have eaten they go and have a bath together, Blaine settling between Sebastian’s legs.

“So how was it today killer B? Seeing as you got me to go over mine at dinner…don’t think I didn’t notice that” Sebastian prods Blaine’s stomach teasingly making him squirm.

“Okay…until one of our tasks was to act out our holiday. I froze up and refused…then I couldn’t get out of my funk. Michael called me out on it though. It turns out other professors had told him I really didn’t seem like myself and he’d noticed the admin changes removing all traces of my parents, so questioned me about it and I kind of exploded and told him what happened.” Blaine confesses, clearly still not happy with himself for the way he erupted at Michael earlier.

“What did he say?” Sebastian asks, knowing better than to tell his boyfriend to stop chastising himself at this stage.

“He reminded me not to shut music out as it helped me before and said he’d tell the other professors so they’re aware of what’s going on.”

“That’s a good call on his part…and he’s right, you need to let yourself recover and if that means losing yourself to your music, whether it be playing or writing or both, then you need to do it.”

“Losing myself to you helps too” Blaine replies coyly

Sebastian runs his nose over the shell of Blaine’s ear, “Well how about we get out of here and you can lose yourself to me now? It’s been too long since we’ve properly been able to have each other.”

“It has…I want to show you how much I love you”

“And I you Killer B”

They only roughly dry themselves down before tumbling into bed, both needing the intimacy of being with each other fully again.


	77. Instrument rescue

The next day Joey and Blaine are on the subway heading back to Blaine’s apartment when the shorter has had enough, “Hey Joey, do you mind getting off at the next stop and walking the rest of the way? It’s too crowded down here to breathe.”

“Fine by me dude”

They get off at the next stop and when they reach the top of the stairs Blaine takes a big breath before they start walking down the street. They pass a music shop when Blaine stops dead in front of the window.

“We can go in if you want” Joey offers

“Are you sure you wouldn’t mind?”  
“Wouldn’t have said it if I did” Joey smiles kindly

It quickly becomes apparent that Blaine has spotted an obviously previously owned violin that is in need of some serious repair. He quickly finds the store owner, “How much for this violin?” he asks holding it up.

The owner looks him over for a moment before answering, “$100 and then 50% off whatever strings you need.”

“Are you sure you want to buy it?” Joey questions, “You already have a pretty awesome violin and this one’s in a state.”

“No it’s not” Blaine quickly dismisses, “It was just obviously never loved before. With some TLC it will be fine.” With that Blaine goes and gathers everything else he’ll need to fix it up.

When they get back to the apartment they both get to work on the project and as predicted quickly blitz it between the two of them. “Do you mind if I just go over my theatre one ‘o’ one assignment while I’m here and have you proof it?” Joey asks

“Of course not, just shout for me when you’re done” Blaine smiles then heads to the music area and starts fixing his new violin.

“Hey Joey, I wasn’t sure if you’d still be here when I got back” Sebastian greets Joey when he gets home some time later.

“Yeah…I was just finishing my essay…Blaine said he’d proof it for me, but he’s kinda busy” Joey nods towards the music area 

Sebastian turns around and sees his boyfriend carefully fixing a new, but clearly second hand, violin so makes his way towards him, “When did you get that killer”

“Today” Blaine replies, tongue sticking out in concentration as he pulls the new strings across the now fixed bridge.

“Looks like it needs some work”

Blaine snaps his head up, “No…It just needs some love” he defends

Sebastian nods in understanding, knowing Blaine is mirroring his own emotions onto the violin, “Are you going to proof Joey’s essay so he can go home?”

“Oh shit…I didn’t realise the time” Blaine exclaims before heading over to his friend, “Joey I am so so sorry.”

“It’s okay…you were so in the zone I didn’t want to disturb you.”

Blaine proofs the essay, picking up on a couple of small typos and grammar changes then looks up, “It’s really good…it’s way better than mine”

“Pshh yeah right” Joey admonishes, “Anyway…I’ll see you tomorrow dude” he says and gives Blaine a hug before heading out.

Sebastian wraps his arms around Blaine's waist when he returns to the living room after letting Joey out, "We'll run out of room if you keep rescuing instruments B" 

"I know...I'm sorry...I don't meant to...it's just when I see them..." Blaine struggles

"Shhh, it's okay killer...I get it...I really do...If anything I'm glad this is your coping mechanism, much better than mine of fucking around"

Blaine pokes his side, "Don't punish yourself for that Bas...and well I've got you...and all the others...you didn't have anyone...no wonder that's how you reacted"

"Hmmm I love you"

"I love you too"

"In all seriousness though...you know I don't have a problem with you bringing instruments home and fixing them up and if you want to keep some of them then that's fine. But I can't believe you actually want to keep all of them."

"You're right I don't" Blaine nuzzles into his boyfriend, "I was thinking for the ones I don't want to keep, I could donate them to the NYU homes for instruments scheme they do. It's the one they take old instruments not wanted anymore and donate them so unprivileged children can have one and learn how to play."

"You are too good to be true Blaine Anderson" Sebastian presses their foreheads together, "Only you could get disowned and use your emotions in such a way that will benefit those with less than us."

"Yeah well...you could say I had inspiration" Blaine flirts

"Oh yeah?" Sebastian raises his eyebrow in question

Blaine pulls back a little, "Oh absolutely...Joe was a great influence in showing how much giving can make a difference to so many" he deadpans cheekily making the taller laugh.

"Speaking of Joe, how's he been getting on with his mission, you haven't given me an update?" Sebastian immediately regrets the question when he sees Blaine's face drop.

"I don't know...I haven't had an email from him for a long time, longer than normal. I know it's not easy for him to get to a computer or somewhere with enough signal that he can contact people this side of the Atlantic but Quinn hasn't heard from him either and we're both worried...she said if neither of us hear for another week that she'd call his mum to see if she's heard anything."

"I know it's silly saying it but try not to worry. I'm sure he's fine killer B. He'll be back stateside before you know it and it's not as if he's in a part of Africa from risk of Ebola."

"That's true"

The two finish the small bit of studying they have left for the evening and have dinner before they head to bed, having an early night so they can spend more time cuddling and getting lost in eachother - something they've been sure to make more time for since the Thanksgiving incident, though neither said it out loud.


	78. Opening night

“I can’t believe it’s tonight” Blaine gushes to his boyfriend

“I can’t believe I’m going as a special guest to Rachel Berry’s opening night”

“Yeah I can’t believe that either” Blaine deadpans and gets a slap to his ass as they make their way up to the Brittanary apartment. “How is she?” Blaine asks Brittany as she lets them in.

“Not good, she’s hiding in her room…I think Rachel’s actually nervous…either that or gremlins stole her tongue”

“Where’s Santana?” Sebastian asks as they take their coats off

“Taking Rachel’s dads to their hotel room…they were making things worse”

“How intense were they?” Blaine asks

“Like two volcanoes of excitement puking out unicorns”

“Yeah they shouldn’t be here right now” Blaine comments then walks through to go and see Rachel.

Tina, Sam, Nick, Jeff, Thad, Hunter and Artie all arrive and settle in the living room with Sebastian and Brittany.

“Any luck narwhal?” Brittany asks when she sees Blaine appear

“Not much” he smiles then goes to make a camomile tea when Santana comes back into the apartment, “Tana I think you need to go and kick some ass in a way only you can”

Santana smirks devilishly and takes the camomile tea from Blaine and heads into Rachel’s room. Nobody can hear what Santana’s saying but can tell she’s on a rant. It’s only a couple of minutes later when she appears again and only a moment after Rachel follows her out of her room.

“What are you all moping around here for?” Rachel says solemnly and looks around them all before squealing, “It’s my opening night!”

Rachel manages to stay in good spirits for a while longer but Blaine can tell something’s not right, “What is it Maria?”

“I reserved him a seat” Rachel confesses tears in her eyes, “No matter what, he was always going to be at my opening night” Blaine wraps her in a hug and waves Sam over.

“Hey Sammy, can you get the ND guys gathered in the centre around the coffee table” he leans closer to Sam, Rachel still in his arms but whispers so she can’t hear, “And find  
some pictures of Finn and a candle for each of us”

Sam just nods then goes and gets Santana to help him. They close the curtains part way to dim the room. The New Directions members sit on the floor surrounding the coffee table, everyone else sits or stands around. Before they start, Jesse, Jean-Baptiste and Shelby arrive. Sebastian opens the door to greet them and asks them all to keep quiet and stay back. As soon as they see what’s happening they understand why, though it hurts Jesse a little, he knows that part of Rachel will always love Finn, it’s just a different thing seeing it and reminds him that she’s not ready to move on quite yet.

Blaine lights everyone’s candles one by one, “So we all know that Finn is here for tonight…there is nothing that could ever stop him from being here to support Rachel on her opening night, and he’ll be there, sat in his seat next to all of us, but he needs a little help, we all need a little help” he says as he squeezes her hand, “So I think it would be really good if everyone could share one of their favourite memories of Finn.”

Brittany goes first, “He once spent a whole day looking for Lord Tubbington with me, when all along he was in his bed…but when we realised he didn’t get mad…he just wished he’d checked there before he climbed up that tree” she smiles, and everyone else does too.

“When he found out I was getting grief for being in a chair, he made a point of meeting me after each class to take me to my next one. It’s because of him I was allowed on the football team.” Artie says, “I will never forget that, or how he helped the school see that just because I’m in a chair it doesn’t make me any different…that I’m still a person.”

“It’s really stupid…”Sam says

“No memory is stupid Sam” Blaine reassures his best friend.

“He’s right…all memories of Finn are important” Rachel agrees and leans her head on Blaine’s shoulder, making Jesse’s stomach knot a little again.

Sam takes a deep breath, “When he ate eight large pizzas that time for a dare” all the New Directions members laugh

“Oh man that was disgusting!” Artie smiles

“No…what was disgusting was him spewing them all back up…but then complaining he was hungry and eating more” Sam says through his laughter, making everyone in the room laugh.

“Okay me next” Santana starts, “One time Becky Jackson left a piece of chocolate cake on my chair and I sat on it. Finn gave me his sweater so I could tie it around my waist and stop anyone from seeing my chocolate cake butt that made it look like I’d pooed myself. It was winter and he’d forgotten his coat and he was freezing for the rest of the day in his t-shirt but he wouldn’t take his sweater back.”

“Yeah you’d never have lived that down” Blaine comments and the rest agree, all smiling at the memory because it was so Finn.

“Blainey?” Brittany presses

“That no matter what …he’d always look out for you, he was never afraid to apologise, but actually the memory I’m going to share only Sam, Mike, Puck, Artie and Rory know about…it happened on the last guy’s night before they graduated.”

“Oh man this is awesome” Sam grins knowing exactly what Blaine is referring to.

“It’s also ridiculously embarrassing” Blaine scratches at the back of his neck and bites his bottom lip a little, “Okay so Puck’s mum was away on business one night so we all stayed over, for those of you who haven’t been to Puck’s, there’s this tall book case in the living room that nearly reaches the ceiling. We’d been drinking and playing cards and things…I decided it would be a great idea to see if I could fit in the gap between the top of the case and the ceiling. To this day I have no idea how I got up there or squeezed myself into the gap…it was really stupidly small.”

“None of us have any idea either” Artie interjects 

“But I did…and I got stuck. Finn was the only one tall enough to reach and somehow pulled me out. We went crashing down, it was like something from a movie, he landed on all fours on the floor, and again god knows how, I landed straddling his back. Obviously it would have really hurt him, but the whiskey had shut off that part of my brain that actually talks some sense, so I kicked him and told him to giddy up…he was so pissed and confused all at the same time, he actually crawled halfway across the floor before he realised what he was doing then stood up and shrugged as if nothing had happened.” By the time Blaine’s finished telling the story, everyone is crying with laughter. 

“But then Sam jumped on his back for a piggy back and did the exact same thing to him…but he ended up kicking a lamp off a side table, making it smash all over the floor.” Artie adds

“Hey if Blaine got a ride I wanted one too” Sam laughs

“So Finn did the only sensible thing he could think of” Blaine continues

“What was that?” Sebastian asks completely amused by the story not even he had heard before.

“He locked Blam in the laundry cupboard so they couldn’t cause any more damage to anyone or anything else…In the morning we opened it and found they’d basically made themselves beds with the clothes and were sleeping curled up like dogs.” Artie laughs.

“In our defence, it wasn’t a big cupboard, curling was necessary” Sam cuts in

When everyone has calmed down a bit Blaine turns to Rachel, “Rach do you want to share one?”

Rachel takes a deep breath, “When I was waiting in the wings for my cue for our senior year Nationals, I was really nervous, I was waiting for Madame Tibideaux to arrive and I thought she was going to be a no show and that I’d never get my Broadway dream, but he turned me around and made me look him in the eye and told me that it was my moment, that it had been years in the making and to take it.”

“He’d say the same thing tonight too Rachel” Sam tells her gently 

“And that’s what I’m going to remember” Rachel smiles, “Thank you all of you…I actually feel a lot better…I sometimes get scared to think about him because it hurts, but it helps keep him close, which is exactly what I need for tonight…so thank you.” She then turns and gives Blaine a kiss on the cheek, “Thank you Tony” Before standing, “Well it’s no good sitting around here! I have an opening night I need to go and get ready for!” and goes to her room to get dressed and head to the theatre.

Everyone else blows out their candles and open the curtains again. “Stuck on top of a cabinet…really killer?” Sebastian chastises teasingly as he circles his arms around Blaine’s waist.

“Hey you love drunk me” Blaine pouts

“I just love you” Sebastian grins and kisses Blaine’s pout away

“And I love you…I know I haven’t been the easiest since we got back to the city, so thank you”

“Always…you seem a lot better B…I mean you haven’t brought home a broken instrument for the past few nights.” He teases.

“Maybe it’s because I’m getting to plan a Christmas to love and enjoy…and I have you and everyone else, my real family, here and I’m focusing on the things I love and do have.”

“Have I ever told you how incredible you are?”

Blaine pretends to think for a moment, “Maybe once or twice…but you know you can always tell me again” Blaine says cheekily and loops his arms around Sebastian’s neck before kissing him.

“Oi lovebirds” Hunter shouts a moment later, breaking up the kiss

“What?” Sebastian snaps

“You’re in company and Rachel wants to ask Blaine something but couldn’t get a word in because you were too caught playing tonsil tennis” Hunter winks 

“What is it Rach?” Blaine asks

“Your mid-term performance is on Monday right?”

“My musicology one is yeah…then my musical theatre one is the first Monday school starts again, why?”

“Just checking I have the right days and that I can come” Rachel grins, “Now it’s a full set!” she claps her hands together.

Blaine eyes go wide, “Wait you’re all coming?”

There are various choruses of “Of course” and “Don’t be stupid” and “Wouldn’t miss it” around the room.

“Oh…thank you” Blaine stutters and Sebastian kisses his forehead in support.

“So what are you doing for them?” Santana asks as Rachel finishes getting ready

“Well if you’re all coming then I won’t ruin the surprise…but I will tell you I’m singing for both pieces for my musicology one…I get to use the orchestra performance in spring to count as one of my instrument technical assessments.”

“How can they assess you when you’re playing as part of a big group like that?” Tina questions, “Not that I’m doubting you, it just must be really hard for them to do.”

“It’s not so hard when the first violin, and therefore orchestra lead, part includes plenty of solos” Sebastian smirks

“Oh my god you’re leading the orchestra?” Tina joins the Seblaine cuddle, wrapping her arms around both of them.

“When did you find out and why haven’t you told us?” Sam asks excitedly

“Today and because it’s Rachel’s night”

“Did I just hear that right?” Rachel practically shouts as she comes out of her room again, “That’s amazing Blaine, you should have said something! I’ve got to go, but I’ll see you all later! If you show them your tickets they’ll let you backstage to see me after the show.” Rachel rushes out the door and into the car the theatre had sent to pick her up.

Blaine’s phone rings a minute later and he laughs, “Bas if I go home to change now, could you drop me off at the theatre early?”

“I take it she wants her Tony before the start” 

“She does” As the couple are on their way out Shelby grabs hold of Blaine

“Could you give her this for me Blaine?” she says and passes him a card

“Of course…but don’t you want to give it to her?”

“I just need her to read it before the show, it doesn’t matter if I don’t give it to her personally.”

“Then I promise I will…oh and I don’t have my early class next Tuesday so I can watch Beth until eleven if that will give you enough Christmas shopping time? Bas will be leaving at eight thirty so you can drop her off early.”

“That would be perfect…thank you”

When Blaine gets to the theatre, already in his suit for the evening, though carrying his jacket, the doorman lets him in the back entrance after receiving a message from Rachel to enter that way. He quickly finds her dressing room, having visited her a few times while she’d been rehearsing and knocks on her door.

“I’m sorry…is that my Tony there? It’s hard to tell as there’s a ridiculously big but beautiful bunch of flowers in the way.”

Blaine pops his head from round the bouquet, his whole face lit up with his smile, “Well it is your opening night…of course I was going to bring you flowers!”

“Blaine these really are beautiful, and it features all my favourites!”

“I know…the florist didn’t think it would work, but Bas insisted it would and well…he was right”

“Wow I never would have thought Sebastian would have flower arranging as one of his many talents”

“I know I couldn’t believe it either” They both giggle.

Blaine gives Rachel Shelby’s card and they then sit talking as Rachel gets ready, having the person who’s quickly become her best friend there, keeping her calm. She’s just finished doing her hair and makeup when there’s a knock on the door and Mr Schuester enters.

“Hi Rachel…I knew it wouldn’t be long until you got your opening night…look at you!” It’s then he notices Blaine, “Oh hi Blaine” he says a little stiffly.

“Hi Mr Schue” Noticing the slightly awkward tension that fell over the room as soon as his old teacher realised he was there, and not wanting to make Rachel feel tense, Blaine decides he best go, “Rach I’ll go an make sure everyone has arrived safely and gets to their seats…and I’ll try and stop your dads from buying every souvenir, but I’m not sure it’s  
possible” he grins and gives her a kiss on the cheek.

“Thank you Blaine…for everything” she says sincerely before he leaves her dressing room, him giving her a nod in response.

As Blaine heads down the corridor he hears Mr Schuester prove how oblivious he’d been last year, “I’m surprised it wasn’t Kurt down here with you.”

“Why would you be? He severed our friendship…Blaine’s the one who has been there for me and supported me through everything…even when he’s had his own issues to deal with.”

Mr Schuester is a little taken aback but doesn’t show it, “Well I’m glad you’ve got such a good friend”

“There’s a whole group of us here Mr Schue…we’re our own little New York family.” Rachel gushes and Blaine smiles before he turns the corner and heads up to the foyer.

As soon as he enters the foyer he bumps into the one person he didn’t want to see, them all having hoped he would have the sense to keep away even if he was watching the show, “Blaine” Kurt says snidely, “Have you just been backstage? You realise I should be the one back there with her.”

“Not that it’s any of your business, but yes I was…and it’s Rachel’s choice who goes back there and well …you ended your friendship when you betrayed her trust Kurt…excuse me.” Blaine goes to move passed but Kurt stops him, backing him up into the door he’d just come through.

“I still care about her…and I still care about you” Kurt gushes this time, at this point Blaine starts frantically looking around, but it’s so crowded he can’t see his boyfriend and he’s once again found himself backed into a corner. “I know we can work if you just give us another chance…it would be like before…and I know Rachel would see sense then too…”

Kurt reaches out for Blaine but before he can go any further or make contact, he’s cut off by a voice neither of them expected to hear, “Porcelain I hope you’re not harassing young Burt Reynolds.”

“Sue?!” Blaine smiles, finding himself weirdly relieved to see her

“What are you doing here?” Kurt admonishes her but to no avail

“As if I’d miss the chance of seeing Rachel Berry choke on Broadway”

Blaine raises an eyebrow, “You know she’s going to be amazing or you wouldn’t be here and risk being associated with her” 

Sue rolls her eyes, “Do you want rescuing or not?” and grabs Blaine’s arm to pull him passed Kurt and over to where Sebastian and the others are waiting for him, obviously getting a little worried.

“There you are killer” Sebastian kisses him then spots Sue, “So were you the delayer or the rescuer?” he challenges her

“The rescuer…erm…Kurt’s here” Blaine explains and Sebastian tightens his hold on his boyfriend.

“He just can’t leave alone can he? He better not be planning on trying to make her talk on tonight of all nights” Santana stomps

“Oh Shelby, I gave Rachel your card, and Mr and Mr Berry, your flowers arrived safely…she loved them” Blaine tells the three of them

“Pussy Galore” Sue smiles at Hunter, catching everyone else’s attention

“Wait you two know each other?” Sam asks, clearly bemused, “But I didn’t think you’d ever met…not that I remember anyway”

Blaine rolls his eyes when realisation dawns on him, “You gave him our Nationals trophy didn’t you?” he challenges his old coach and principle

“Of course not…I would never touch that monstrosity of a trophy” Sue scoffs. “I just left the door open for him”

“We should’ve known” Artie comments

The lights dim before they can get into it any further so they all take their seats. From start to finish Rachel is amazing and blows them all away. Of course Sue would leave part way through with one of the critics, but it doesn’t stop the powerhouse that is Rachel Berry and she receives a standing ovation at the end. After the final bows, Blaine shows everyone to her dressing room, as she’d asked him to do.

After giving her their congratulations, Shelby and her dads go to leave Rachel to celebrate with her friends, particularly as she’d organised lunch with her dads for the following day. “Rachel you were amazing!” The directors voice comes booming through, “All your friends are invited to the cast party!” before leaving them all to it.  
When he’s gone Rachel closes the door to her dressing room, “I don’t want to go to the cast party, I just want to go and have fun with you guys!”

Blaine looks to his boyfriend who smiles at him in encouragement, “I know where we should go”

That’s how Rachel and the others find themselves walking into a gay club on the Upper West Side.

“Oh my god!” Rachel exclaims as they head in

Sebastian turns to Hunter, “Can you stick with Sam? You’ll both probably get people hit on you, but he won’t notice until it gets too late”

Hunter laughs, “Yeah no problem”

“Oh my god…it’s Rachel Berry!” The DJ shouts out when he sees her, “Will you sing for us?!”

“You know who I am?” Rachel asks, clearly shocked

“Of course! You’re Broadway’s rising star!”

“Well in that case…I’m here for the night!” Rachel booms dramatically across the club

She sings a few songs throughout the night; everyone is up on the dance floor the whole time. Brittany and Santana dance up next to Blaine and Sebastian, “How could you not tell us about this place? It’s awesome!” The Latina chastises them playfully

“It is, isn’t it?” Sebastian smirks as he runs his hands down to Blaine’s ass and pulls his boyfriend’s body flush against his own, still moving in rhythm to the music.

“I love that you still come dancing together” Brittany gushes, “It’s one of the first things they did together after they met” she explains to Santana

“But I bet you didn’t get to cop a feel that night” Santana smirks at Sebastian 

“Unfortunately no…but now I have unlimited privileges” he winks in response as Blaine’s hands find his own ass and give it a squeeze.

Sebastian goes to the bar to get more drinks for him and Blaine, leaving his boyfriend to dance with Tina. “How are you two doing?” he asks Sam and Hunter.

“We’re good man…this place has a good vibe” Sam smiles before taking a swig of his beer

Hunter leans close to Sebastian, “You’re right about Sam being clueless when a guy hits on him”

Sebastian laughs, “Thanks for looking after him”

“No problem…honestly…he’s a good guy and a laugh”

“Err Sebastian…you might want to go and save your boyfriend…Tina gets very handsy with him when she’s been drinking” Sam gestures over his shoulder and Sebastian whips his head round to find Tina groping at Blaine’s body.

“Does he even notice she’s doing that?” Hunter asks

“Not entirely sure man” Sam replies

“He’s buzzed and dancing…I really don’t think he notices, but also he loses his filter for what’s appropriate behaviour” Sebastian answers and is about to give up on getting their drinks to go and stop Tina from getting to second base with his boyfriend while he dances, eyes closed, hands in the air, when Brittany goes up and removes Tina from Blaine and dances with him herself. Blaine opens his eyes and smiles brightly before dancing with the blonde girl as Santana drags Tina to the bar.

“Honestly Cohen-Chang, dance with one of the straight boys or find another gay to hag over…Evans I’m leaving her with you.” The Latina heads back and dances with her girlfriend and Blaine.

“Why are they taking so frigging long to pour a couple of drinks tonight” Sebastian grumps. Just then the bartender comes back and finally gives him the drinks it felt like he ordered ages ago. He downs his before taking Blaine’s over to where his boyfriend is dancing between the two girls and pulls him into his body. “Open your mouth B” Sebastian growls and Blaine opens his mouth and tips his head back a little, letting Sebastian pour his drink down his throat.

A giggling Rachel comes over, practically dragging Nick, Thad, Jeff, Jean-Baptiste and Jesse with her, “Come on! It’s nearly time for the papers to come out!” The group go and collect the other three from the bar. Although it’s cold, they elect for walking most of the way back to the girls’ apartment.

“Oh my god I haven’t danced that much since Nationals and that was like a year and a half ago” Santana moans as they enter the building, “Someone tell me why we were idiots and decided to walk when I’m wearing these heels.”

“Who cares? I got the DJ’s number” Tina sing-songs as she holds up a slip of paper

“Oh no Tina he’s gay” Blaine breaks it to her

“Really?” Tina asks, obviously shocked and disappointed

“Yeah…like really gay” Blaine says as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world and snatches the slip of paper from her before shredding it and putting it in the bin before heading to the bathroom.

When he comes out Sebastian grabs him, “So how handsy were you going to let Tina get?” he asks as he circles his arms around Blaine and gropes his ass

“Huh?”

“Oh my god killer, if Britt and Santana hadn’t stepped in she was clearly going to palm you”

Blaine scrunches his face up, “I’m not sure what’s more worrying…the fact that she did that or the fact I didn’t notice…wait…definitely the fact I didn’t notice.”

“She’s still into you, even if she is over her crush”

“I don’t think so”

“You wouldn’t…you’re Mr oblivious” Sebastian kisses the tip of Blaine’s nose before connecting their lips, he’s just pushed his tongue into Blaine’s mouth when Rachel’s voice comes cutting through.

“Guys it’s time! We need to go buy the papers!”

Everyone heads back out and make their way to the stall at the end of the street.

“Excuse me…can we have a copy of each of the papers” Blaine asks politely as the stall holder finishes setting up

“Yeah yeah alright…if you kids were so desperate you could have just received them on your phones by now” The man grouches rudely as he shoves the papers into Blaine’s hands.

Blaine hands the money over, “There was no need to be so rude” he frowns, making his boyfriend laugh and pull him away.

Santana starts reading the first review, “Some people may be wondering why this old show has been pulled from the grave…”

Tina takes over, “But it’s not the sleep inducing spectacle you expect it to be…”

Blaine takes the paper, “Because there is one clear reason why this musical has been brought back…and why it will be a great success…”

Rachel snatches the paper, “Because of the undeniable, unstoppable talent of Miss Rachel Berry” she clasps her hand over her mouth in shock and happiness.

“This is just the beginning for this bright young starlet.” Artie continues having taken the paper

Sebastian takes over to finish the review, “I will never know how she conjured up the emotion she did when she sang ‘Who are you now’ but it’s the best performance of that song I have ever seen.

Everybody congratulates Rachel, their group hug is interrupted though, “Young Burt Reynolds, walk with me” Sue grips hold of Blaine’s shoulder closest to her and walks him down the street.

“Congratulations Rachel, the review is amazing, and definitely deserved” Mr Schuester tells her fondly

“Thanks Mr Schue” Rachel smiles

Mr Schuester’s phone goes, “Oh my god it’s Emma” He beams before answering, “Yes…of course…I’m on my way” he looks back to the group, “She’s just gone into labour, I’ve got to go, but Rachel you were amazing” he gives her a hug before running off.

“Spill it trouty, what the hell happened between you, Frodo and Scheuster” Santana asks, having noticed the slight tension there.

“Leadership clashes, slash, we never mattered because we weren’t original members, slash he blamed us for the glee club not respecting him anymore, when the reason why they didn’t was because he was never there, even when the future of the club was at stake.” Sam replies flatly.

“What do you think Sue wants with him?” Brittany asks no one in particular, looking towards Blaine where he’s stood with his old principal and coach.

“I dunno” Sam replies

“She actually likes him so it can’t be bad right?” Rachel asks

“Britt do you think you can go find out?” Sebastian asks, but before Brittany can reply they see Sue pull Blaine into a hug before letting him go and sending him back to the group.

“What was that about killer?” Sebastian asks his boyfriend after wrapping his arms around him

“She found out about thanksgiving, remind me to call Kitty later, but don’t be mad at her, I know why she did it. Apparently if I ever want her to, all she has to do is push a button and my parent’s credit will be ruined and they’ll be investigated by the IRS…Rach, what do you want to do now?”

“I actually really need to sleep” she answers

“I’m not surprised, I need to sleep and I didn’t do a Broadway show” Jeff comments

The guys walk the girls back to their building before calling cabs to head back to their homes, none of them wanting to bother with the subway.

“Is that all Sue said to you B?” Sebastian asks as he curls around his boyfriend when they’re both stripped and in bed.

“She said to remember I’m a fighter and then the rest, plus something about a fish I didn’t quite understand.” Blaine rolls over so he’s chest-to-chest with his boyfriend, his eyes already closed as he speaks sleepily, “There were so many guys checking you out tonight Bastian…like half of them in the club…all I wanted to do was have my way with you and show them you’re mine.”

“I am yours B” Sebastian whispers and kisses Blaine’s forehead, “And the other half of the club were checking you out…and you can have your way with me after we’ve slept.” He places another kiss on Blaine’s forehead before closing his eyes. They both quickly submit to sleep, having been on the go for a long time.


	79. Little B and Littler B

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay! Still trying to sort through boxes!

“Thank you so much for watching her Blaine” Shelby says gratefully as she drops Beth off just after half past eight on Tuesday morning. 

“It’s no problem” Blaine smiles then bends down to talk to Beth, “We’re going to have some fun and you’re going to help do some studying right?”

“Right” Beth grins

Shelby laughs, “I still don’t know how you’ve convinced her to do that”

“I’m trading cue card help for Disney song performances, and I’ve made cards that are really visual so she won’t have a problem reading them.”

“How did you think to do that?” Shelby ask curiously

Blaine shrugs, “I’m quite visual so it helps, plus it’s one of the techniques I found out about when helping Sam combat his dyslexia that worked really well.”

Shelby nods, impressed, “I better get going or I won’t be able to run my errands, you need me back here by eleven right?”

“Yeah if that’s okay…that way I won’t have to rush too much”

“Blaine of course it’s okay…you’re doing me a huge favour!” Shelby then bends down and gives Beth a kiss, “I’ll see you in a little while sweetie, be good for Blaine.”

“I will” Beth smiles and takes Blaine’s hand.

“Okay Miss Beth…I was thinking, if you help me study until quarter to ten, that should give us enough time to go through all my cards, I will then play five songs of your choosing for you, then we can just hang and have some fun until your mum comes back. How does that sound? Oh, and you get to score me. I’ve made you this chart see…for questions I get right, I get a sticker in this column and we put the card in this box” Blaine says showing Beth the chart and box, “and for everyone I get wrong, you can drawer a grumpy face in this column and put the card in this box” he picks up the second box, showing it to Beth. “But it is a very important job, do you think you can do it?”

“Yes! Definitely!” Beth exclaims excitedly.

The two of them end up having great fun, even though Beth is ultimately helping test Blaine’s memory, making time fly by. Before he knows it, Blaine is playing Beth’s choice of five Disney songs. 

At twenty to eleven the duo have just finished singing ‘Let it go’ together when Blaine’s phone rings, “Hi Shelby” he answers brightly

“Hi Blaine”

“Wow where are you? You’re signal sounds really bad”

“I’m stuck on the subway” Shelby’s voice crackles through

“What? What happened?”

“You obviously haven’t turned on the news. There was a jumper, which caused a train to derail. Unfortunately the jumper managed to take their own life, but luckily nobody else has been seriously injured from what we’ve been told, but it’s going to take time to clear the train, and I’m stuck on another in the tunnel that’s been shut down. I’m so sorry Blaine but I have no idea what time I’m going to get out of here and I have no one else around I can ask to take Beth who she knows and I’d feel comfortable leaving her with.”   
Blaine doesn’t say anything for a moment as he thinks, “Blaine are you still there?”

“Yeah…sorry…I was thinking…how do you feel about me taking Beth to class with me? She’d only have to sit through a couple of sessions, I just can’t afford to miss this one, but I understand if you don’t feel comfortable with me taking her across New York.”

“If you’re sure, then I trust you and you should go for it. How are you going to get there though? Obviously keep away from the subway at the moment, and from what we’ve been told it’s completely crazy out there.”

“Well let’s say it’s a good thing Beth was in her roller skates and crash helmet this morning. I’m thinking I can sit her on my bike and jog there. I promise she’ll be safe…I once got Sam home that way when he hurt his ankle on a run, I'll make sure she has her crash helmet on the whole time.”

“Blaine…I don’t doubt that you’d keep her safe. If I did, I wouldn’t have left her with you. Are you sure your professor won’t mind? And you’ll need to take some activities for her to do.”

“Once I explain the situation I’m sure she’ll understand. I can put some drawing things in my bag for her. If I could miss this one I would, but I really can’t” Blaine says apologetically

“Blaine, I understand. I remember what it’s like to be a student and being a teacher I know what you guys all go through. Okay. Go ahead with your plan.”

“Thank you Shelby, I’ll message you when we get to NYU so you know she’s safe”

“I’d appreciate it and thank you Blaine…I’ll message you when I get any updates as you’ll be in class…can I just have a quick word with Beth?”

“Of course” Blaine hands his phone over to the little girl

“Beth sweetie, I need you to listen to me carefully. I won’t be able to pick you up because I’m still waiting to see Santa to give him your Christmas list, but lucky for you, Blaine has said he’ll take you to college. Now you know that means you must be a big girl so you need to act like one and do everything he says. Okay?”

“Okay mummy”

“Do you promise?”

“I promise”

“Good girl…and remember Santa will know if you don’t keep it.”

“I know”

After a few more words with Shelby, Blaine ends the call and grabs his stuff, making sure he packs some drawing things for Beth, before taking her down to the bike store in the underground parking area and balances his bag across the handle bars, using a bungee cord to keep it in place.

Blaine bends down and secures Beth’s crash helmet. “Now I need you to hold on tight okay? If you sit on the back of the seat you can hold on to the front. I’m going to keep my arms around you as I push too. I’m going to have to jog most of the way sweetie, but tell me if you want me to slow down at any time okay?”

“I promise” Beth smiles as Blaine lifts her on to the bike.

When they get onto the street Blaine starts jogging, keeping to the edge of the path so he doesn’t have to doge around people. It’s not long before they get to the park where Blaine picks up his pace a little and Beth starts giggling, “You okay?” Blaine asks a little breathlessly.

“Yes! This is fun! Weeeeee!” she exclaims and Blaine tries not to laugh as he keeps up the pace.

When he gets to NYU he takes Beth off the bike before chaining it up in the shelter, “Do you think you can carry your helmet?”

“Of course” she beams up at him.

Blaine takes Beth’s hand and heads to the room where his class is being held, glad he’s managed to get there a little early so he can talk to Dr Green before the session starts and explain the situation, but her previous class is still in session so the pair wait outside. Blaine uses the time to send a message to Shelby.

“Woah, is there something you need to tell us?” Joey’s voice comes down the corridor

Blaine rolls his eyes, “Guys, this is Beth, Shelby’s daughter, who I was babysitting this morning, which you all knew…Shelby’s on the train stuck in the tunnel, so this little one is with me…Beth, this is Joey, Lauren, Brian, Walker and Nick.”

“Hi” she smiles shyly and hides behind Blaine’s leg a little before tugging on his hand to make Blaine bend down, “I need the bathroom”

“Lauren, can you take Beth to the bathroom for me?” Blaine turns to the little girl, “Lauren had a piece of magic treasure behind her ear too, so you know what that means.”

“That she’s a princess too” Beth beams so heads off with Lauren.

Just as the two come back the previous class filter out. When the last student has exited, Blaine takes Beth’s hand and heads inside, “Dr Green…I need to ask a really big favour”. Dr Green turns around and looks at the little girl who’s holding Blaine’s hand tightly, “This is Beth…I was babysitting her this morning but Shelby, her mum, is caught up in the subway incident, by any chance could she sit in? I’ve got drawing things for her and she’s genuinely well behaved, she won’t be a problem, will you?” He looks to Beth who shakes her head, “I’m really sorry I just didn’t know what else to do.”

“By any chance are you talking about Shelby Corcoran?”

Blaine’s brow furrows, “Yeah...do you know each other?”

“A little” Dr Green smiles, “Given the circumstances, of course it’s okay Blaine. Just sit near the front and obviously, she continues to be in your care while you’re at NYU.”

“Of course” Blaine smiles then set’s Beth up at one of the desks closest to the door, Lauren sitting on one side of her so she can help if needs be and Blaine on the other. When the class gets underway Beth starts drawing and doesn’t say a word.

“Mr Walker, what were we just discussing? And can you give me the answer to my question” Dr Green asks some time into the class, clearly a little annoyed.

“Erm…” Joe replies, not having a clue and considering taking a guess.

Dr Green shakes her head at him, “Would anyone else like to answer the question?”

Beth puts her hand up, making Blaine feel a little nervous and a few of the other class members giggle quietly, but it doesn’t deter the determined four year old.

Dr Green smiles at Blaine in reassurance before turning to the little girl, “Yes Beth?”

“You were talking about cheats and asked for a definition of one…and that’s easy…even I know that one…a cheat is when you make an action on stage look realistic.”

Everyone in the room is shocked, “Perfect”, Dr Green smiles, “and how do you know that?”

“I helped test Blaine’s memory earlier and gave him smiley faces if he got it right and grumpy faces if he got it wrong.”

“And did he get it right earlier?” Dr Green asks, only just about managing to keep a straight face

“He did” the little girl smiles brightly

“Mr Walker…may I suggest you pay as much attention as Beth, particularly given you’re the one with mid-terms rapidly approaching.”

Lauren gives Beth a thumbs up, making her smile even more. She goes back to drawing for the rest of the class.

When the class finishes Blaine thanks his professor and Lauren before sending Shelby a message that he’s now heading back home with Beth. He gets a quick response as it shouldn’t be too long until Shelby is finally free from the subway. When the two get back to the apartment Blaine makes them both a sandwich for lunch.

Sebastian beats Shelby back and has to do a double take when he walks in to the living room and sees the little girl sat watching Aladdin, so quickly heads into the kitchen where he can hear his boyfriend putting plates away. “Hey killer”

“Hey Bastian…I wasn’t sure what time you’d make it back” Blaine greets his boyfriend with a kiss, clearly tired from the days.

“Yeah travel is pretty impossible out there…I just walked…so how was your day?” Sebastian asks looking back into the living room

Blaine giggles and hugs onto Sebastian, his head tilted back to maintain eye contact, “Shelby was on the train stuck in the tunnel, so Beth came to class with me…it actually worked out really well…she was so well behaved and managed to show Walker up”

“Yeah but that’s not hard” Sebastian winks and gives Blaine a kiss.

Just then the bell goes so Blaine goes to answer, “Blaine I am so, so sorry…thank you so much for today” Shelby gushes as he lets her in.

“It was okay…she was really well behaved. If you don’t mind me asking, how do you know Dr Green?”

“As in Sarah?” Blaine nods in confirmation, “We went to school together, and have met up a couple of times since I’ve moved back here. She’s been giving me some pointers about teaching you college students, “I take it she was your professor today then” Blaine nods, making Shelby giggle a little before turning to her daughter, “Hey Beth, are you ready to come home now and leave the boys to get on?”

“It’s right near the end mummy” 

Shelby looks up and realises Aladdin is only about 10 minutes away from finishing so relents.

“Do you want a coffee?” Blaine asks

“I’d love one…hey Sebastian” she greets the taller boy as they walk in to the kitchen

“Bas could you pour Shelby a cup too?”

Shelby takes her coffee from Sebastian, “Thank you…now as a thank you for today…I have a little something for you”

“Oh no you really…” Blaine starts to protest

Shelby quickly cuts in, “But I’ve done it so if you don’t accept it then it will go to waste…so here is what we agreed for you looking after Beth today…well what I agreed to pay you…and you better not sneak that back into my purse at any point…yes Rachel has warned me about that” She chastises playfully as she hands Blaine an envelope with the money in, making him blush and Sebastian laugh and wrap his arms around the shorter boy. “I have it on good authority that you have a fondness for the Avengers…so when I saw this on my way here, I couldn’t not get it for you, particularly given today…I can’t thank you enough, really, and it is only a small token.” Shelby pulls a cellophane box from her bag.

“Oh my god is that a chocolate Iron Man?! He’s my favourite, how did you know? Thank you so much!” Blaine beams, eyes wide.

Shelby laughs, “Actually that was a lucky guess”

Beth comes walking through, “Aladdin’s finished now”

“Good girl, say thank you to Blaine”

She runs and gives him a hug, “Thank you Blaine”

“Thank you too” he smiles at her

After saying goodbye Shelby takes Beth home.

Sebastian picks up Blaine’s chocolate Iron Man, “You’ve done well killer; this is actually decent chocolate…you better share.”

“We’re not eating him” Blaine says firmly, aghast at the idea

Sebastian frowns, “Why not, it’s chocolate”

“Because it’s Iron Man…you can’t eat him” Blaine takes the box and puts it in the fridge to keep it safe

“You do realise it was meant for eating, it’s why it was made from chocolate”

“But I don’t want to eat him…and I don’t want you to either.” Blaine replies, obviously a little upset at the idea of the chocolate figure being eaten.

Sebastian raises an eyebrow, “So what you’re just going to keep it at the back of the fridge”

“Stop calling him an ‘it’, and yes because then I know he won’t melt” Blaine says, his puppy dog eyes on full display.

Sebastian shakes his head fondly, “You’re a ridiculous idiot” and places a kiss on Blaine’s forehead.

“But I’m your idiot” Blaine counteracts, looking up through his long eyelashes

“Too right” Sebastian smiles and connects their lips. When Blaine wraps his arms around Sebastian’s neck the kiss turns heated and it’s not long before the taller picks the shorter up and carries him to their bedroom.

Sebastian basically throws Blaine down onto their bed and makes quick work of stripping their clothes off before pouncing on top of his boyfriend. Blaine giggles in response but flips them over so he’s on top of Sebastian, “Damn killer…I sometimes forget how strong you are”

Blaine grins wickedly before leaning down and giving Sebastian a fiery kiss, “There’s something I want to do to you Bas” he admits as he sucks a mark onto his boyfriend’s collar bone.

“I’m listening” Instead of answering verbally Blaine goes to their box of toys and pulls out the vibrator Sebastian had used on him, several times now.

“I think it’s about time I return the favour” Blaine’s voice low with want and lust as he bites Sebastian’s ear lobe, “I want you to know how it feels.”

“Only if you ride me too” Sebastian smirks

Blaine rolls his eyes, “Duh” he distracts his boyfriend long enough that he can cuff his hands to the head board, before moving down to his ankles, “But you’re going to know exactly how it felt for me the first time.” He smirks when Sebastian lifts his head and raises his eyebrows at him when his first ankle is cuffed.

“Do what you will then killer” Sebastian challenges

Blaine crawls back up his boyfriend’s body and grabs the lube from the drawer before he starts kissing him passionately, teeth and tongues clashing as Sebastian tries to fight for some dominance. Blaine uses the opportunity to push the small bullet into Sebastian, having already coated it in lube, making the taller moan. “I’m only just getting started”

“I feel like you’re punishing me for something” Sebastian frowns as Blaine teases him, not quite letting him kiss him, his lips remaining just a little too high.

“You shouldn’t have woken me up for the sole purpose of leaving me with the biggest case of blue balls earlier, when you knew I wouldn’t have a chance to do anything about it.”  
Blaine moves to straddle Sebastian’s lap and starts preparing himself in front of his boyfriend. He knows seeing but not being able to touch is driving Sebastian crazy, the almost constant tugging at the cuffs proving so. Occasionally Blaine presses a button on the control, making the toy vibrate where it’s buried in his boyfriend and causing Sebastian’s hips to buck up as much as the restraints will let him.

“Fucking hell Blaine I swear to god!” Sebastian snaps when Blaine brings him to the edge once again only to deny him.

“It’s not nice is it?” Blaine grins wickedly

Sebastian frowns, “I’ve created a monster”, Blaine just sucks on his bottom lips in response

The next thing Sebastian knows Blaine lowers himself down onto his cock in one swift movement, both of them moaning loudly. Blaine can’t wait any longer either so he flicks on the vibrator once again as he starts riding his boyfriend’s cock in earnest. Sebastian spills over first, shouting through his orgasm, but Blaine’s not far behind, having worked himself up while teasing his love.

“Turn it off” Sebastian gasps

“Shit sorry” Blaine quickly turns the toy off, “I didn’t mean to leave it on”.

“But now I can see why you always react how you do after” Sebastian smiles as Blaine removes the toy and cleans up his torso before undoing the cuffs. “And if you want to punish me again, I won’t object” he smirks as he grabs Blaine and pulls him down so he’s covering his body.

“It’s a different experience isn’t it?” Blaine asks softly as he nuzzles Sebastian’s neck

“Hmmm…you can say that again.”

They cuddle for a while before jumping in the shower, both having studying to do and needing to sort something out for dinner. While they’re in the shower, Blaine looks over his shoulder to his boyfriend, “Apart from studying, do you have anything planned this weekend Bastian?”

“No…why…what do you want to do?” Sebastian asks as he runs conditioner through Blaine’s hair.

The shorter bites his bottom lip, “I was thinking…if we have time…could…could we decorate the apartment? It’s probably the last chance we’ll really have before we lose our lives fully to mid-terms and it's not long at all until Christmas.”

Sebastian smiles, “Of course we can killer…but we’ll need to go shopping”

“I know…thank you Bas” Blaine gives his boyfriend a kiss once the conditioner is out of his hair.

“What for? It’s only right we decorate our home…and I know you’re dying to considering your parents always got professionals in.”

Blaine frowns and Sebastian immediately regrets his comment, “Yeah…you’d think coming home from school to a decorated house would make you feel festive, but it just always felt too stuffy…and made me get nervous because it meant they’d be home soon…it sounds lame but I always used to get so jealous of people who got to decorate their own houses and trees, it always sounded like so much fun.”

“I know what you mean…my dad always got people in too. Professional decorations look great for a catalogue but are weird if they surround you, plus, well you know how our Christmases were, so we’ll just have to make the decorations our own...our style.”

“So they go with our home and make us feel Christmassy” Blaine smiles, making Sebastian feel relieved that the thought of his parents hasn’t trapped him in a spell of sadness how it would only a week or so ago. 

“Exactly” 

After drying and changing into lounge clothes they soon settle into what has become their evening routine of studying and preparing dinner together, if they don’t order in, using meal time as a chance to take a break and simply talk. While they study they often share soft touches and occasional glances, enjoying the peace and serenity they feel with the other nearby. Although they’re not really getting to spend the time together, being close makes them feel loved and connected and safe, and it’s a feeling neither want to lose knowing how being lonely and numb feels.

As Blaine’s packing away his books he gets a phone call from Ryder so steps out of the living room to answer, “Hey man, what’s up?”

“I’ve done it!” Ryder beams

Blaine laughs in response, “Break it down for me a bit more!”

“He got a date” Blaine hears Kitty shout in the background, her and Ryder having bonded over their shared experiences only Blaine knew about.

“Let me tell him” Ryder chastises her, “I told my parents at dinner last night and they were really supportive, we sat up talking until really late about everything. Then I told the others in 'not-so-glee earlier', which Jake helped me with, and as you said everyone was wonderful about it.”

“I’d totally already worked it out” Kitty chips in again

“Yeah yeah Kitty” Ryder sighs playfully, making Blaine laugh at the image of his two friends.

“Then I asked Spencer, the guy I told you about, out after football practise and he actually said yes! Commented that he had no idea I liked guys and that it was nice I wasn’t shouting it from the rooftops while skipping around and throwing glitter about like others do, not that I think it's a bad thing when people are so open but it made me laugh. We’re going out to dinner tomorrow night and hitting the arcade after!”

“I’m so happy everything went so well Ryder. Remember if you do get any trouble to not stand for it.”

“Well the rest of the football team seemed to catch on when they heard us planning tomorrow night and none of them took it badly…you were right about the school being accepting now…I can’t believe Sue is actually responsible for it.”

“If there’s one thing I learned, there’s more to Sue Sylvester than meets the eye” Blaine replies knowingly, “Can you put me on speaker?”

“Sure…done”

“Kitty…tell me about this guy then, is he cute?” Blaine teases

“He is…our boy has done good picking up such a hottie for his first guy date”

“If he messes you around though Ryder” Blaine starts

“Me and Jake will kick his ass until you can get back from New York” Kitty finishes making Blaine chuckle.

“I do have one question…are you going to say anything to the New York guys?” Blaine asks

“I’m actually going to call Sam and Artie when I get off the phone to you, so you can tell Sebastian, then I’m happy for the others to be told or find out from you guys.” Ryder answers

“Okay man got it…thank you…can you believe back in the summer when we did the car wash that Sebastian asked me whether or not you were bi? He had this crazy idea that you fancied me” Blaine laughs but is met with silence, “Hey are you still there?”

Ryder coughs, “I erm…I well…I did maybe have a crush on you”

“Oh wow I had no idea”

“That’s because you’re an oblivious idiot” Kitty adds

“Well I’m very flattered” Blaine says earnestly, “Seriously anyone would be lucky to have you Ryder, you’re a great guy…sorry for putting my foot in it”

Ryder laughs, “It’s okay, but I’m glad it was flattering rather than disturbing, you were a good first guy crush to have, and on that note, I better call the other two before it gets too late. Speak soon Blaine.”

“You bet…I want to know how your date goes”

“I’ll tell you all about it!” Kitty shouts before the line goes dead.

“What was that all about?” Sebastian asks when Blaine reappears 

“Ryder has a date with a guy names Spencer tomorrow night” Blaine replies nonchalantly

“So he came out” Sebastian beams

“Don’t say I told you so” Blaine interrupts

Sebastian pouts, “You ruin all my fun”

“Oh so what we did earlier wasn’t fun?” Blaine raises an eyebrow as he heads to have a shower, Sebastian following him.

“Gay or bi?”

“Bi” Blaine answers, “But now we’re naked can we stop talking about Ryder?”

“Mmmhmmm there are many other things I’d like to do with you naked”

“You’re insatiable” Blaine laughs

“And you’re just as bad…looks like we’re the perfect match” Sebastian smirks before pining Blaine against the shower wall, the warm spray gushing over them.


	80. Decorations

“You ready for this B?” Sebastian asks as he takes Blaine’s hand when they step off the subway, heading to Barneys for decorations, the taller having refused to get them from anywhere else.

“Absolutely” Blaine smiles excitedly, “I think we should pick our tree first, then the other decorations from there.”

“Sounds good to me”

The store is of course busy, being a key shopping time in the year so Sebastian manoeuvres Blaine so he’s walking in front of him, keeping his hands firmly on his waist as they meander through the crowds towards the Christmas trees. The fire regulations in their building don’t allow for real trees so they knew that they had no option but to browse artificial ones instead of finding a real tree somewhere else. Sebastian is immediately drawn to the full, high-end designs that look just like the real thing.

“What do you think of this one B?”

“It’s gorgeous…what height were you thinking of and where do you picture it going?”

“Basically at the divide between the living and music areas, in the window and as we have the high ceilings we do, I was thinking of the eight feet one.”

Blaine looks up at the tree, “It is beautiful” he says longingly

“But?” Sebastian prods

“It’s really expensive Bas” Blaine fidgets

Sebastian thinks for a moment, he knows Blaine’s always been more conservative about spending than he has, but he also knows that has increased an awful lot since being cut off from his family. Although he was of course still better off than many, with college being paid for, an amazing apartment and still a fair amount of savings, he was a lot more cautious with spending, obviously aware of the finite amount that could easily be squandered away by someone less restrained. Luckily spending money was coming from babysitting and food and bills were being paid in full by Mr Smythe, curtesy of Sebastian’s stunt at thanksgiving, although it had made Blaine feel uncomfortable at first, there was no way he was going to win that argument against Sebastian. Plus his schedule made it basically impossible to get a job, the occasional babysitting session being the only thing he really had time for and that fit the hours he had available.

Sebastian wraps his arms around Blaine’s waist from behind as the shorter continues to stare longingly at the tree and kisses the top of his head, “But it has a ten year guarantee, and if we look after it, should easily last much longer so it will be a good investment. If we get a cheaper tree we have to replace practically every year then it will cost us more in the long term.”

Blaine thinks, “You’re right” before turning in his boyfriend’s arms and smiling once again, the excitement back on his features. “Let’s get it”

Sebastian beams then goes and finds a salesperson to organise the delivery of the tree, not wanting to tackle tacking it home on the subway even in its collapsed state. When he finds Blaine, it’s clear he’s spotted some ornaments his likes. The two make quick work of picking out other decorations, both having a similar, complementary style. They chose a beautiful tree topper that has a shooting start design, craft wire fixing smaller stars around a bigger star so they form a ‘tail’. It’s very unique and will look gorgeous on top of the tall tree, the wire not being visible from where it will be placed.

When they get back to their apartment, they set their bags down in the living room.

“What do you want to do while we wait for the tree to arrive killer? We have a couple of hours”

“How about we have some hot chocolate and one of the gingerbread cookies I made yesterday before hanging the lights around the windows and placing the garlands around the pictures on the side cabinets how you suggested?”

“Sounds good to me…do you want me to sort the hot chocolate?”

Blaine shakes his head, “I was going to make my Nona’s special Christmas one if you’re interested?”

“Definitely”

“I haven’t made it for a while though, so don’t expect too much”

“B…I’m sure it will be delicious” Sebastian kisses Blaine’s temple

Blaine heads into the kitchen to make the luxurious drinks while Sebastian starts unpacking and sorting their decorations. It’s not too long before Blaine comes back through, carrying two mugs and a small plate with a few gingerbread cookies on.

Sebastian takes a sip of his hot chocolate and can’t help but notice that Blaine looks a little nervous. As soon as the liquid hits his tongue he moans with delight, “This is seriously good. It’s pepperminty but there’s something more to it…what’s in it?”

“It’s actually creme de menthe” Blaine smiles, “But it’s also got some dark chocolate pieces melted in with the cocoa.”

“It’s pretty damn sinful killer…I can see why you didn’t put cream on it too”

“Yeah…it’s too much with whipped cream on top, but try it with one of the cookies”

Sebastian dips one on the gingerbread cookies into the drink before taking a bite, “Oh wow…I wasn’t sure the ginger and peppermint were going to work, but they really do” Blaine’s face lights up with a bright smile. “So why haven’t you made this for me before?” Sebastian teases.

Blaine bites his bottom lip, “Because my Nona only made it around Christmas time and I don’t know…although last year with you was amazing…Christmas at home…well at my parent’s house…never felt quite like Christmas and let’s face it wasn’t good for the part with them….plus you know how they felt about my grandparents even then…sorry that doesn’t really make sense I guess.”

“Maybe not to some people, but it does to me B” Sebastian leans forward and gives his boyfriend a sweet, reassuring kiss.

They both finish their drinks then get busy, hanging the lights they bought to frame their windows. They then arrange the garlands around the many pictures they have on the long side cabinets in the living room and dining areas, pictures of them together and with their friends and of London, Italy and Paris. Next they balance sprigs of holy on the top corners of Sam’s painting and hang some stars on the shelves where Blaine’s instruments are stored. Finally they arrange the cinnamon and spiced berry centre piece on the dining table, giving the room a Christmassy smell. Just as they’re finishing the tree arrives.

Blaine puts some Christmas music on to listen to as they build the tree. Sebastian having to deal with the taller sections before they hang the lights then ornaments and candy canes they selected. Sebastian goes to place the topper on the tree when they’re happy with all the other decorations, but a frown washes over Blaine’s face, making him stop, 

“What is it killer?”

“Nothing” Blaine says too quickly

“It’s something…so why don’t you just tell me what it is”

“It’s really stupid” Blaine grumbles and hides his face in Sebastian’s neck

“Even better” Sebastian grins, Blaine pinching his sides in retaliation, “I can’t help if you don’t tell me what’s bothering you” Sebastian soothes as he runs a hand up and down Blaine’s spine.

“It’s just…I…I’ve never had the chance to put the topper on a tree before.” Blaine bites his bottom lip

“You can’t even reach the top of the tree killer” Sebastian comments

“I told you it was stupid” Blaine tries to pull away from his boyfriend, but Sebastian holds him tight.

“So we’ll just have to make it so you can” Sebastian pulls back a little so he can smile down at his boyfriend. He then turns around and bends down, “Hop on then”

“Seriously?” Blaine asks wide eyed

“Yes…but don’t you dare tell anyone” Sebastian mock threatens

Blaine grins then jumps on his boyfriend’s back. Sebastian stands up then passes Blaine the decoration before moving closer to the tree so his boyfriend can reach. Blaine stretches up and places the topper on, pausing for a moment to admire it before sliding off Sebastian’s back. “It looks amazing” he gushes, “Thank you Bastian” he wraps his arms around Sebastian’s neck and pulls him in for a deep kiss. 

When the kiss breaks Sebastian looks down at Blaine, “Now killer…is it too early for you?”

Blaine raises an eyebrow, “For what Bastian? A clue at least would be good…because as far as I can remember, time never stopped us.” Blaine smirks.

Sebastian laughs hard for a moment, “Believe it or not B…I can and do think about other things. I meant for a drink…it’s my turn to make a festive beverage”

“Go for it” Blaine smiles broadly, “Anyway…it’s really not that early anymore, so whatever you’re thinking of…just do it”. Sebastian smirks then slaps Blaine’s ass hard, making his body arch into his own, “What the fuck was that for?” Blaine yelps through a giggle.

“You said do whatever I was thinking of” Sebastian grins

Blaine rolls his eyes playfully, “I meant to drink.”

“Well you should have been more specific then killer” Sebastian winks then heads to the kitchen.

While Sebastian is busy Blaine takes the opportunity to take photographs of their decorated apartment and sends them to his grandparents, knowing they would get a kick out of it. Just as he’s pressed send on his email Sebastian appears with two glass cups.

“What have you made Bas? It smells really good”

“It’s mulled wine killer B” Sebastian smiles

“Oh” Blaine looks down slightly embarrassed, “I’ve never had it before” he smiles shyly

“It’s more of a European thing than on this side of the Atlantic. It is becoming more of a thing here, but it doesn’t taste as good.”

Blaine takes a sip, “Oh wow…this is really good” he takes another sip, “I could drink the whole thing down in one it’s so good”

“Careful B…it is still alcoholic”

“And what exactly are you implying” Blaine smiles wryly 

“That you’re a light weight…and if you drink it all down in one…screw it, it’s Christmas, well nearly, I can always make more” Sebastian finishes his glass then encourages Blaine to do the same before crashing their lips together. They get rather carried away and before they know it are both reaching their climaxes from their position on the sofa.  
They both jump into the shower after and then get dressed into sweats and t-shirts, plus a hoodie for Blaine. “Sam’s bored” Blaine giggles, as he replies to his best friend’s message.

“How about we get the crew round here?” Sebastian suggests, “Get a load of food in and have some more drinks and just have a laugh”

“It has been too long since we’ve been able to do that…we’ll have to invite the girls too, obviously Rach will be performing…but Britt and Santana if they’re not busy.”

“To be honest B I just think of them as part of the group now” Sebastian shrugs casually before noticing the huge smile that has appeared on Blaine’s face 

“I love hearing that” Blaine gushes

“Well it’s true killer…now more mulled wine or mulled cider?”

“Is both not an option?” Blaine batters his eyelashes innocently

“I really am a terrible influence on you” Sebastian smirks, “But yes, both is an option” he comments while nipping on Blaine’s bottom lip, “But while I’m giving in to my boyfriend’s   
demands, you can get whoever is free round.”

It’s not long before their apartment is full, with everyone, even including Jesse, bar Rachel. 

“Man I’ve missed proper mulled wine” Jean-Baptiste remarks as he takes a sip, him and Sebastian soon conversing in French as everyone grabs a plate of Chinese food the   
bachelors had brought over.

“So are you going to tell me what’s bothering you…or am I going to have to force it out of you?” Sam asks his best friend quietly as he catches him stare longingly at his boyfriend once again, but there’s something more to the look, though Sam can’t quite make it out.

“Not here” Blaine comments

Sam nods as they both load their plates into the dishwasher; he then throws his arm around Blaine’s shoulders and walks them to the study, closing the door behind them. 

“So?” Sam asks gently as he takes a seat in the desk chair, Blaine perching on the desk

“I’m scared about our anniversary” Blaine confesses

“In what way?” Sam frowns

“That I’m going to look like a giant idiot or do something he really doesn’t want…I’ve written him a song Sam” Blaine whines and hides his face in his hands

“Wow I didn’t know you wrote”

Blaine peeks between his fingers, “Really…is that all you got from that?” Sam shrugs one shoulder, “Sorry Sammy” Blaine says as he moves his hands from his face, “Yes I write…I have done since…well I guess it really started after Sadie Hawkins, when I could again anyway, but I had done a little before…Bas is the only person who knows I do…well apart from you now…and the guys at school because I had to perform an original in class.”

“So why are you worrying?” Sam asks soothingly as he scoots closer to Blaine

“I know he made a fuss about Valentine’s, but what if he thinks it’s just really sappy…what if it ruins everything…maybe I’m making too much of a big deal” 

Blaine is obviously starting to get himself worked up a little, something which has been improving since he’d come to terms with the whole thanksgiving debacle, but he still isn’t back to his usual more laid back self, so Sam stands and hugs him. “Dude…Sebastian loves you so frigging much...What did he say the first time he heard some of your songs? Assuming he has”

“That he loved them…that I’m seriously talented”

“Okay…well you know he wouldn’t say that without truly meaning it. BD I mean it when I say, I’ve only ever seen my parents, and well your grandparents, look at each other the   
way you two do. He’s probably scared shitless about your anniversary considering it’s all completely new to him.”

Blaine takes a deep breath, “You’re right…thank you Sammy”

“Any time dude…you know that…I love you man”

“I love you too…so you don’t think a song is too much?”

“Does it come from your heart?”

“Yes” Blaine answers honestly

“Then it will be perfect” Sam breaks the hug, “Come on…If we don’t reappear now Sebastian will come and find us…he never not notices when you’re not there.” 

Blaine smiles before heading back to the living room with Sam and grabs a mulled cider from the kitchen.

Before Sebastian can approach his boyfriend Sam grabs hold of him. Jeff notices something is going on so heads over to Blaine to keep him distracted.

“What can I do for you Sam I Am…or is it what you can do for me? Has B told you what’s bothering him?” Sebastian asks the blonde.

Sam smiles, “I should have known you’d noticed…he’s nervous about your anniversary…I just wanted to double check you’d got something planned too. He’s scared of doing too much and looking like an idiot or freaking you out…no offence or anything.”

“Oh man” Sebastian scratches the back of his neck

“Woah have you not planned anything?” Sam asks, obviously concerned

“What? No…I know I may not have had an anniversary before, but it does mean a lot to me…and I want it to be special for B”

“Good…cos it’s never been before...not really”

“I know”

“So what was with the ‘oh man’ comment?” Sam pushes

“That we’re both worrying about the same thing” Sam laughs, “Hey…I’m allowed to get nervous about this kind of stuff” Sebastian admonishes

“We all do dude” Sam claps Sebastian’s shoulder

Meanwhile Blaine has been having a completely cryptic conversation with Jeff, who is by now completely confused. “I’m really sorry Blaine, but I’m completely lost…if it’s something to do with Sebastian then just talk to him about it.”

Blaine nods then downs the rest of his drink before going to find his boyfriend. He finds Sebastian with Santana and Brittany at the docking station, picking a new playlist on his iPod.

“Hey Bastian” Blaine says softly as he circles his arms around Sebastian’s waist from behind.

Sebastian turns in his boyfriend’s arms and places his hands on Blaine’s hips, “Hey killer B…so are you going to tell me what’s bothering you? Or is it something you can only share with Sam?” Blaine bites his bottom lip, making Sebastian lean down and kiss him, “I wasn’t reprimanding you B…if you feel like you can only talk to Sam about some things, then I…I can accept that, even though I wish you felt like you could talk to me about anything.”

“But I do feel like that Bas” Blaine says with such honesty and passion in his eyes it makes Sebastian’s heart melt a little, “And I hope you feel the same way.”

“You’re the first person I’ve ever really trusted…the first person I’ve ever really loved…the first person I ever…yeah” Sebastian clears his throat and blushes lightly given the close proximity of the two girls, “Blaine, what does that tell you?”

“That I’m being an idiot” Blaine smiles

“Yes…you are” Sebastian smirks

Blaine laughs, “You don’t even know what about yet…and you don’t have to agree so quickly”

“Why don’t you enlighten me then?” Sebastian encourages, wanting Blaine to tell him for himself.

“I’m kind of worrying…actually more like kind of scared…about what I’ve done for your anniversary present…I’m scared it will be too much.”

“It won’t be”

“How do you know?” Blaine asks, circling his arms around Sebastian’s neck

“Because if you’re feeling like that, it means it’s something from your heart because otherwise you wouldn’t feel so nervous, and if it’s from your heart then I will love it, and I know I will because nobody knows me better. You obviously thought it was a good idea at one point or you wouldn’t have done it. So keep with your gut instinct. It’s just like your audition piece all over again. Don’t over think it.”

“You’re annoyingly good at un-muddling me and helping me see straight you know”

“I do” Sebastian replies smugly, “But I also know how you feel because I’m kind of nervous too B…so we’ll just have to be nervous together, well I’ll be nervous and you’ll be a nervous idiot.”

“I hate you” Blaine pouts

“Actually I think you’ll find you rather love me killer” Sebastian winks before leaning down to kiss Blaine. The kiss gets a little heated and Sebastian’s hands soon find their way under Blaine’s sweats to squeeze his ass with only the thin material of his boxer briefs in the way.

“Put your hands somewhere back where we can all see them” Sam orders semi playfully as he throws skittles at the couple, “Either that or ask us to leave first…no one else should have to see you two go at it…well apart from Britt because she kind of wants to, but then you better let Santana stay too.”

“What’s the matter Sam…don’t want to see my bare ass again?” Sebastian quips as he breaks the kiss and moves his hands so they’re on top of Blaine’s sweats.

Blaine quickly cuts in, “Please don’t respond to that Sam” 

“It’s alright dude” Sam smiles at Blaine, though it’s anything but reassuring, “and actually it wasn’t seeing your bare ass that bothered me…open locker rooms, I’ve seen enough dudes naked or near enough naked…Blaine included…what bothered me was…” But before Sam can finish what he’s about to say Blaine lunges at him, taking him out in a beauty of a tackle, the look of shock on Sam’s face as he hits the floor making everyone laugh. “Okay…so no more teasing you about that then…you know I wouldn’t have actually said anything dude” 

“Actually I don’t know that, because I know how you can get when you’ve been drinking cider” Blaine retaliates as he climbs off his best friend and helps him up.

“Yeah he kind of has a fair point there man” Artie chimes in, “Not to seem rude guys, but I better head off. Tonight was great though, I needed a break from constant studying.”

Jean-Baptiste stands up, “Same for me” before he turns to the girls, “seeing as your place is on the way back to my new place, would you like some company for your journey back?” 

“Sounds good to me” Santana says as she grabs her coat, “Are you ready to leave Britt?” 

“Yes…though I’ve had a lovely time…but next time Sam, don’t throw anything at them…you’re seriously ruining my odds” she then gives Blaine and Sebastian both a kiss on the cheek before leaving with Santana, Jean-Baptiste, Artie and Jesse.

The rest of the guys help Blaine and Sebastian tidy up the apartment before heading out. Sam pauses at the front door and gives Blaine a hug, “I love you dude”  
Blaine rolls his eyes fondly, “I love you too Sammy…now go home and go to sleep…and remind me to never let you drink cider again, you’re a liability”

“Nah I’m not” Sam gives Blaine a kiss on his cheek, the shorter pulling back with a face and wiping his cheek with the back of his hand where Sam has slobbered on him. Just before Sebastian can close their front door Sam pushes it open again, “Just remember dudes…lube is your friend.”

“Jeff” Sebastian calls and the taller blonde quickly reappears and throws an arm around Sam’s shoulders and guides him down the corridor.

“What exactly is it with you and cider?” Jeff asks Sam as they step into the elevator with Nick and Thad

“It brings out my southern charm” he grins dopily making the other three laugh and gives Jeff an equally slobbery kiss as the one he gave Blaine.

“It also seems to make you kiss guys” Thad comments suggestively

“Nah…I would’ve kissed the girls too but Santana would have cut my lips off.”

“It’s just more of an increased affection towards your friends thing…no sexualness involved…right Sam?” Jeff explains, being exactly the same when he’s had a bit more to drink.

“Exactly! I knew you’d get it” Sam enthuses, “Nobody thinks anything of it when girls do it to guys or other girls.”

“That’s true” Nick agrees, “You really are two blondes in a pod aren’t you” he smiles looking at Jeff and Sam, both of who just grin in response.

Back in the Seblaine apartment Sebastian locks up as Blaine climbs into bed. “What are you looking at killer?” Sebastian smirks as he slides in next to Blaine to find him staring at the ceiling.

“Is that mistletoe?” Blaine turns to look at his boyfriend and he doesn’t need a verbal response, his facial expression saying it all, so laughs, “Of course you’d put it above our bed”

“Well it wouldn’t be us if we did things the conventional way”

“Well that’s true…but it does pose a bit of a dilemma” Blaine frowns

“And what’s that then?” Sebastian asks as he too rolls on his side, so he’s face to face and chest to chest with his boyfriend.

Blaine takes a deep breath, “Well I don’t know exactly where I should kiss you” he smirks cheekily.

“I personally think you should use your imagination…but I know where I’m going to kiss you”. The next thing Blaine knows, Sebastian has disappeared under the covers and is   
pressing his tongue against his hole. Blaine moans loudly in response and sees stars for a moment before getting his senses back together. “Bastian…” he moans again then repositions himself so they’re lying on their sides so they can both access each other’s cocks with their mouths, fingers tracing over and pushing into holes as they start to feel the other get close, creating a sensory overload. They both end up thrusting into the other’s mouth before rocking back on their fingers, repeating the action, rhythms growing increasingly erratic. Blaine moans filthily and it’s enough to push Sebastian over the edge. As come starts shooting into Blaine’s mouth he too finds his release and unloads in Sebastian’s mouth. When they are both sure the other is fully spent, they cuddle, both back at the pillow end.

“For the record, that was a very good place to kiss me” Sebastian teases as he kisses the top of Blaine’s head, who is now draped across his chest.

Blaine nuzzles the crook of Sebastian’s neck, “I was going to say the same to you…I love you Bastian.”

“I love you too sap”.


	81. The first of many

Blaine wakes up on the morning of their anniversary to find the bed empty and that instead of his boyfriend in his arms, it’s actually his boyfriend’s pillow. He can’t help but feel disappointed, he knew Sebastian had to leave early because of the ridiculously early class he has, but Blaine had been sure to set an alarm last night so he would wake up with enough time to be able to make him breakfast in bed. It’s when he turns to grab his phone to check the time and see if he can figure out why his alarm didn’t work that he sees the note on his bed side table.

‘Killer B,

I know you’d secretly been planning to get up so you could make me breakfast, but I turned off your alarm because you actually need to rest when you get the chance to. We’ll just have to find another way to use those strawberries and cream, but I’m sure we will think of something. You looked so peaceful this morning in your sleep I couldn’t even bring myself to wake you before I left. I can’t believe I’m going to admit this, but I will of course be giving that mop of curls you sport in the morning a kiss before I leave, having already given you quite a few.

Now don’t dawdle when you get out of your last class, because I will be waiting for you at the usual bench at the front.

All my love,  
Your Sebastian.

P.S. tell anybody about this note then I’ll deny it. Now if the alarm I set for you woke you up then you need to get that perky ass of yours in the shower so you’re not late. If you woke up before it then I guess you have a little more time but don’t you dare touch yourself.’

Blaine couldn’t wipe the ridiculous grin off his face while he ate breakfast, was in the shower, or made his way to college. Jeff is waiting for him as he walks out of the subway. 

“Aren’t you normally in the library now?” Blaine questions after giving his friend a hug hello.

“Yes, and that’s where I’m heading to, but I promised Sebastian I’d give you this” Jeff passes Blaine an envelope then heads to the library as Blaine needs to get to class. He opens the envelope to find another note.

‘If Jeff has given you this then you must have made it on time. Remember, I’ll be waiting for you so don’t be late. Tomorrow may be a latter day, but I’d rather enjoy today with you first.’

The reference makes Blaine’s impossibly wide smile appear again. Everyone notices Blaine’s mood that day, but don’t push. He’d only told Joey about thanksgiving, on one particularly difficult day, but the others had all noticed the change in him since the holiday so were glad to see him so incredibly happy and enthusiastic again. As soon as Blaine’s last class is dismissed, he’s running out of the room, shouting a goodbye to his friends over his shoulder. 

When Blaine sees his boyfriend he runs over to him, smiling madly. Sebastian catches his boyfriend as he practically throws himself at him, “Miss me killer?” he asks after he greets Blaine with a kiss.

“Well I haven’t seen you yet today” Blaine pouts adorably, “By any chance did your second note have a clue in it?”

“What do you think?” Sebastian looks pointedly

“Yes” Blaine grins and bounces on his toes

“Well there you go then. We’re seeing the show tomorrow though…I wanted tonight to just be us…about us”

“It’s one of my favourites” Blaine enthuses

“I know B…that’s why I chose it” Sebastian chuckles at Blaine’s enthusiasm before taking his boyfriend’s hand, “By the way…I love those jeans”

“I know…that’s why I wore them” Blaine smirks 

They fall into light conversation for their journey home. When they get to their front door Sebastian stops his boyfriend, “Close your eyes killer”. Blaine readily does so and is quickly led into the apartment. “Okay open” 

Blaine’s eyes bug out as he takes in their living room, a huge bunch of flowers on the coffee table and lots of electric candles surrounding them, and dotted along the side cabinet, giving the room a soft glow. “When did you get time to do this?”

“I may have called in a few favours”

“So Sam helped you set it up then” Blaine grins cheekily

Sebastian rolls his eyes, “Yes Sam helped, but it was all my idea, he just followed instruction.”

“It’s beautiful, thank you Bastian” Blaine kisses his boyfriend deeply. “It’s perfect in fact…Staying in tonight to just be us sounds pretty damn amazing…and is kind of what I was hoping to do”

“I hope I haven’t ruined any of your plans”

“Not so far” Blaine smiles, “Maybe next year we should plan together and just surprise each other with gifts or something or take it in turns to do the organising so we know we’re not going to be making conflicting plans.”

Sebastian laughs, “Yeah that would have made a lot more sense”

“Did you make any plans for dinner?”

“I didn’t as I didn’t want to without speaking to you first as there are certain ingredients in the fridge and cabinets that have appeared”

“There are” Blaine smiles, “I’m going to make you…well attempt to make you a chocolate soufflé”

“Are we skipping straight to desert” Sebastian smirks looking Blaine up and down

“Well I was thinking we should skip the starter seeing as we still have those strawberries and whipped cream to use” Blaine bats his eyelids innocently, “But I was thinking for main we could have lemony salmon risotto and salad”

“You really are spoiling me” Sebastian leans down and kisses Blaine

“Maybe…but I was going to ask you to make the salad” Sebastian can only laugh so the two cook dinner together, Sebastian choosing a white wine to chill to have with the risotto.   
They sit and eat their main course at the dining table, with candles providing them with light. They don’t say much to each other, but share many shy, coy smiles, almost as it if was their very first date all over again.

Just as they finish loading the dishes into the dishwasher Blaine turns to his boyfriend, “You need to leave the kitchen now.”

Sebastian raises an eyebrow, “And why exactly would I do that?”

“Because if it goes wrong I don’t want you to see” Blaine bites his bottom lip nervously

“Don’t put too much pressure on yourself” Sebastian tells Blaine firmly but lovingly before grabbing their glasses and the bottle of wine before heading to the living room.

Blaine had of course practised the desert on a few occasions when he had the apartment to himself and most times it had gone perfectly, but once or twice it didn’t turn out quite right. He knew it was just one of those things with soufflés but he really wanted it to be perfect. The good thing about soufflés though is that they don’t actually take that long to do, so worst case scenario, Blaine would be able to quickly whip up another two. That however is not needed, the first two go perfectly so Blaine quickly puts them onto the plates he’d decorated with finely sliced and arranged strawberries and chocolate sauce, sprinkles icing sugar on top and quickly makes his way to Sebastian, not risking them sinking before his boyfriend has a chance to see them.

Sebastian had been staring out of the window, wine glass in hand until he hears his boyfriend’s footsteps. He whips his head round to see Blaine carrying the deserts through, “Wow killer…these look amazing! See no reason for you to be nervous…I know you would have practised them anyway” Sebastian winks as he takes his first mouthful after they’ve settled on the couch, letting out a low throaty groan. “Jesus…they taste even better than they look…I didn’t think that would be possible.”

Blaine blushes and smiles brightly, “Really?”

“Really really…there is one thing though B” Sebastian says flatly

“What?” Blaine asks slightly panicked

“Well now I know you can make one of my favourites, you’re definitely going to have to make it more often” Sebastian winks

Blaine’s jaw drops, “You are such an asshole! You made me think there was something wrong with them.”

“But I promise I’ll make it up to you” Sebastian practically purrs seductively making Blaine pout adorably, just as the taller had wanted.

When they’re both finished Sebastian clears their plates away, “I think I’m going to have to fit in another run or session with Sam after that” Blaine moans as he reclines on the sofa when his boyfriend reappears.

“You’re really going to have to let me in on one of these sessions you two have” Sebastian tells Blaine as he sits his boyfriend up to slide in behind him.

“I’m not sure that would be a good idea” Blaine mumbles embarrassedly 

“And why’s that?” Sebastian presses as he skims Blaine’s ear with his nose. It had been something he’s been trying to get out of his boyfriend and Sam for ages, but both had so far evaded answering him. However, he knew Blaine was close to cracking and that his relaxed state would only work in his favour. “You know you can tell me anything B…I won’t laugh at you if that’s what you’re worrying about” Sebastian nibbles on Blaine’s ear now, something he knows melts his resolve and drives him crazy.

Blaine lets out a contented moan, “Bastian”

“Just tell me killer”

“Strippersize” Blaine blurts out before he can stop himself

Sebastian freezes, “I’m sorry what?”

Blaine clears his throat, “Erm…we do strippersize together…it’s an exercise programme Sam found out about when he was a stripper.”

Sebastian’s mouth goes a little dry, “So you’re telling me that two to three times a week, you’re getting all hot and sweaty doing stripper moves.”

Blaine looks at his boyfriend over his shoulder, “Pretty much yeah” with a faint blush kissing his cheeks. 

“That is nothing to be embarrassed about” Sebastian breathes out huskily

“Yes, but now you know why you can’t join us…you wouldn’t be able to control yourself”

“You’ll just have to give me a private session then”

“Maybe I will…maybe I won’t” Blaine teases, “Anyway, I’ve told you one secret…you need to tell me one now”

“That was hardly secret worthy though killer…give me a juicy one I don’t know about you and then I’ll give you one of mine”

Blaine frowns, “I didn’t think we had real secrets from each other”

“You know that’s not what I meant…but there must be things you did as a kid that are too embarrassing for you to want me to know.”

Blaine turns in Sebastian’s lap so he’s sitting sideways on and can look into his boyfriend’s eyes, “There is one I’m scared about you finding out, particularly considering who was involved.”

Sebastian smiles, “Go on”

“But you’ve got to promise that Cooper will never ever ever find out…like if he does then…then I…I won’t have sex with you for a year, minimum” 

Sebastian takes in Blaine’s expression, “Wow…you’re actually being serious”

“Deadly”

“Then I promise…I think I’d die if I couldn’t have sex with you for a year”

“Pinky promise” Blaine narrows his eyes and holds out his little finger.

Sebastian rolls his eyes fondly, “Fine…pinky promise”

“Then it’s probably time you found out about what has become known as the Gap Attack” 

By the time Blaine has finished telling the story Sebastian is crying with laughter, but Blaine is laughing too. He wasn’t made to feel stupid or foolish like he thought he might, instead Sebastian seemed to understand it was a very Blaine thing to do and it was more the fact that he’d chosen a Robin Thicke song and the imagery of the Warblers popping up like daisies in the store that he found so funny. For the first time, instead of feeling like a complete idiot about the whole thing, Sebastian actually gets Blaine to see the funny side.

“How come I’ve only just heard about this now?” Sebastian asks as he wipes his eyes

“Wes basically threatened the guys…he was really pissed off at Jeremiah, after the whole thing, I found out he never liked the guy as he felt he was leading me on because he liked the attention, he erm…wasn’t sure about his…err…intentions.”

That grounds Sebastian, “Sounds like scaring him off with a serenade was the right thing if Wes didn’t trust him…I’m not sure I can imagine him threatening anyone though.”

“It’s the only time I’ve seen it…but there’s a side of Wes that definitely shouldn’t be messed with…now you tell me something.”

“Okay, well when I was young I was really scared of the vacuum cleaner…specifically my grandmother’s giant old metal vacuum cleaner.”

“Wait how young?” Blaine cuts in

Sebastian actually squirms, “Not young enough”

“Bastian” Blaine presses

“Fine I was nine!” The taller grumps, “I don’t know why I was scared of it but I was…I’ve never told anyone about this before, so you can’t say anything”

“Cross my heart” Blaine smiles his big goofy smile as he makes the action across his chest.

“So anyway, it got to the point where I couldn’t sleep because of it, it was kept in a cupboard opposite my bedroom and I was convinced one night it was going to come and suck me up or something. Anyway, Adrianne knew something was going on, but I didn’t dare tell her that I was frightened of a hoover, but she’s smart, she knew I was scared of something so told me the best thing I could do was to confront my fear, to find out everything I could about it and then I wouldn’t be scared anymore. So one day after school, I decided to do just that, I pulled the hoover into my bedroom and plugged it in. I psyched myself up to turning it on, unfortunately I underestimated it’s power and I didn’t have a good enough hold on it. As soon as hit the power it suctioned itself to my crotch, just in time for my grandmother to walk in and tell me that dinner would be ready soon. I of course had to explain everything, but I ended up with a red ring around my dick that took a couple of days to fade.” It’s only when Sebastian’s finished the story that he looks back up to his boyfriend and sees him struggling to hold in his laughter, “Go ahead killer…let it out I know you want to”

Blaine can’t help himself any longer, he laughs whole heartily, Sebastian joining in too, his boyfriend’s laughter completely infectious. “I’m sorry Bas” Blaine manages to get out after calming himself down, “I shouldn’t have laughed, you had a fear and that’s not funny, even if the outcome was…but now we’re definitely even.”

“Hey…at least I managed to get over my fear, but now I know why you avoid going into Gap, still!”

“Yeah that’s true” Blaine says seriously and they both end up laughing again. “I’m glad I told you about the Gap Attack” Blaine muses

“Oh really?” Sebastian raises an eyebrow

“Yeah…and I’m glad you told me about hoover-gate…I like getting glimpses into who you were before I knew you…and it makes me love you even more”

“Sap…I love you too…so when’s a good time to do gifts?” Sebastian asks, unsure of how to bring it up, but he was curious about what had Blaine so worried a few nights ago.

“Actually, I think now is perfect” Blaine takes Sebastian’s hand and walks over to the piano and pulls his boyfriend down onto the bench next to him. Sebastian immediately realises what is going on, but what he didn’t expect was a song as beautiful as ‘Not Alone’, each lyric having meaning behind their journey, making his heart completely swell.   
When Blaine finishes, he turns to face his boyfriend to find him with tear swollen eyes, “Bastian?” he asks tentatively as he strokes a lone tear from Sebastian’s cheek.

“That was incredible B…I can’t believe you wrote that for me…for us…it was perfect” the taller then surges forward and captures Blaine in a deep, passionate kiss, pouring all his emotions into it.

When the kiss breaks they both get the other gifts and settle back in the living room. Blaine hands over a wrapped gift, that’s obviously a large frame. When Sebastian opens it, he’s greeted with the hand written lyrics and score of the song Blaine had just sung for him, framed with pictures chronicling their time together since they’d met. “You do realise I want to hang this somewhere”

“It’s yours Bas…you can put it wherever you want…whenever you see it, or think of the song I want you to remember how much I love you.”

Sebastian leans forward and places a chaste kiss on Blaine’s lips, “Thank you” before handing Blaine a gift.

Blaine unwraps the present to find a shadow box Sebastian has made that has a collection of memories of their firsts, from their first date, the night they officially became boyfriends, their first vacation, prom and first day of living in their new home. “It’s perfect Bastian…thank you so much” they share another kiss.

Sebastian passes Blaine an envelope, “You already know what’s in there”

Blaine opens the envelope to reveal two tickets to the Book of Mormon, “These are great seats!”

“I know” the taller grins…and here’s your last gift” 

Blaine opens the blue box to find a stuffed Yoshi toy inside making him giggle, “He’s my favourite, thank you Bastian!”

“Are you sure it’s okay?” Sebastian asks a little shyly, he thought Blaine would love it when he saw the stuffed toy, but he also felt a bit self-conscious buying it for his boyfriend, after years of ridiculing anyone who bought their significant others teddy bears, here he was doing the same thing, only instead of a teddy bear it was a cute toy dinosaur that the geeky side of his boyfriend had a particular attachment to.

“Of course not!” Blaine dismisses, “I love him, and now, if I have to spend a night without you, I have him to keep me company.” He grins.

“I was thinking you could put him on your bedside table and he could wear your dreamcatcher” Sebastian admits with a faint blush Blaine decides not to call him out on, not wanting to ruin the tender moment or make his boyfriend feel more self-conscious about the gift.

“I definitely will…that’s a wonderful idea Bas…thank you…you really do know me so well, better than anyone…better than myself sometimes.”

“Just like you do me killer B” Blaine then passes Sebastian another gift to open

Sebastian’s eyes light up as soon as he opens the box to find a Superman sweatshirt and matching lounge pants, both the Superman blue with a multiple Superman crest print, the cuffs and edging around the neck all Superman red. “This is perfect! Thanks killer”

Blaine frowns at himself, “Sorry it’s something you’d kind of asked for though”

“Blaine stop it, it’s perfect, better than I could imagine and I love the matching pants too, they look so comfortable, I can’t believe you found some in such good quality, it must have taken you some time.” 

Blaine smiles shyly, “Maybe…I have one more gift for you, but you need to open it in the bedroom.” 

That immediately gets Sebastian’s attention, “Lead the way then killer” he smirks

When they get into their room Blaine flops back on the bed and spreads his arms in invitation, “Aren’t you going to open me then?”

Sebastian growls as he pounces on top of his boyfriend, taking off his long sleeved Henley first, and growls again when he pulls down Blaine’s jeans, immediately flipping him onto his stomach. “Are you telling me, you’ve been wearing these all day?”

“Yep” Blaine replies smugly

“These aren’t the ones Kitty sent you”

“I know…I went shopping”

“These are fucking amazing B” Sebastian says lowly as he noses at the black lace thong Blaine’s wearing.

“I promised I’d wear one for you when you’d least suspected it”

“I can’t believe I didn’t think of it…I guess you got the others so long ago now I’d almost forgotten about them.”

“I know…that was the point” Blaine replies cockily so Sebastian slaps his ass in retaliation. 

“You are not allowed to wear anything else for the rest of the night” Sebastian sucks some bruises onto Blaine’s ass before quickly stripping out of all of his clothes and covering Blaine’s body with his own.

“Bastian?” Blaine moans in question as Sebastian starts to mark his back

“Just let me take care of you B…you can make love to me later”

“Did you just say the words ‘make love’?” Blaine smirks

“Oh shut the fuck up” Sebastian bites Blaine’s shoulder hard in punishment for the teasing. Sebastian prepares Blaine torturously slowly, simply moving the thong out of his way.

“Bastian please” Blaine whimpers

“Shhhh” Sebastian soothes as he sits back and coats his cock in a light layer of lube. “Roll over for me gorgeous, I need to see you”

Blaine immediately complies, wanting to be able to look at his boyfriend too. As Sebastian leans down, Blaine hooks his legs onto his boyfriend’s shoulders, opening himself up for him and allowing Sebastian to be extra close and go extra deep. With one smooth movement, Sebastian fully sheathes himself inside his boyfriend, his hips flat with Blaine’s ass. Both of them moan and Blaine pulls Sebastian down by the back of his neck to kiss him, his boyfriend’s chest pressing his thighs against his chest. 

“So goddam flexible” Sebastian mutters into Blaine’s neck as he starts thrusting, Blaine meeting each of his movements. “I fucking love you”

“I love you too” Blaine breathes out and turns his face to capture his boyfriend in another kiss.

They take their time, hips steadily pumping, both completely blissed out, the world as if it had stopped around them, as if they were the only ones in existence. It’s a long slow build, neither wanting it to end too soon. 

“Close Bastian” Blaine pants so Sebastian wraps his hand around his boyfriend’s cock and pumps, his movements matching the rhythm of their hips. After a few moments, Blaine spills over, moaning Sebastian’s name loudly. The clamping down of his muscles push Sebastian over the edge, practically shouting out through his orgasm. When he’s fully spent, he unhooks Blaine’s legs from his shoulders and collapses on top of him, still buried inside.

“That was…I don’t know how to describe what that was B” Sebastian says softly as he interlinks his fingers with Blaine’s 

“I know exactly what you mean…but it think supernova gets close” Blaine replies tenderly and kisses the top of Sebastian’s head where it’s resting on his chest.

“I know we need to clean up but can we just stay here for a while?”

“There’s nowhere else I’d rather be…in fact I don’t think you should move at all”

“Wasn’t planning on it” Blaine can feel Sebastian smirk against his skin, but then he places a tender kiss above his heart and all he can do is wrap his arms around his boyfriend’s naked body, tangle their legs and hold him tight. 

They don’t sleep, but just enjoy lying peacefully in each other’s arms. After a while, they clean up and Blaine makes love to Sebastian, just like his boyfriend had to him. They then take a bath together before going to bed, naked bodies pressed up against each other and limbs tangled.

XXXXXXX  
The next morning, they wake up, both glad it’s a Saturday so they don’t have to rush anywhere, still zenned out from the night before. 

“Morning” Blaine mumbles as he opens his eyes to find Sebastian’s piercing green ones staring back at him, “How long have you been awake?”

“About twenty minutes” Sebastian replies, rubbing the tip of his nose against Blaine’s 

“I love you”

“I love you too sap…come on, breakfast, what do you fancy?”

Blaine thinks for a moment, “French toast would be pretty amazing”

“Great off you go then” Sebastian smiles cheekily

Blaine goes wide eyed, “What?”

“Relax killer, I’m joking” Blaine pouts so Sebastian kisses it away. Things get heated and an hour later, after a passionate round of sex and a shared shower, they both head to the kitchen to make French toast. “What?” Sebastian tilts his head as he catches Blaine staring at him again, an expression he can’t quite make out.

“You have no right looking that sexy in matching Superman lounge wear” Blaine replies as he flips the toast

“Just imagine if it was Iron Man” Sebastian teases

“You know in some ways you’re a lot like Tony Stark…but you’re also quite a lot like Superman…my Superman” Blaine grins at his boyfriend

“Damn right” Sebastian winks and wraps his arms around Blaine’s waist as he plates up their breakfast, French toast, strawberries, raspberries and a drizzle of honey. They eat at the table and Sebastian cleans up as Blaine had done most of the cooking, when he heads back into the living area with two fresh cups of coffee he finds Blaine sat on the sofa with one of his acoustics. “Am I about to have a private concert? You know what you singing does to me” the taller waggles his eyebrows as he sits down, after placing the cups on the coffee table.

“I’ve erm written another song, and I wanted to know what you thought of it…I’ve done a whole band arrangement, but obviously I can’t play it all by myself so I wanted to know what you thought of the acoustic version.”

Sebastian nods so Blaine starts playing, an upbeat song called ‘I still think’. By the end of the song Sebastian is beaming ear to ear, “That’s frigging catchy B!”

“You think so?” Blaine asks, not quite expecting that reaction

“I know so…I can only hope I get to hear the full arrangement sometime soon…it’s a brilliant song, but I have to admit I’m kind of jealous, I could never do those chord progressions, let alone play the guitar and sing at the same time.”

Blaine smiles shyly, “Thank you…and one day you will…you’re picking it up pretty well…would you like to see the full arrangement?”

“Absolutely” Blaine gets up and fetches his laptop, pulling the full band arrangement up on screen and passes it to Sebastian to look over, who occasionally hums parts of the score. “This will sound awesome” he says earnestly, after he’s looked over each of the instrument’s parts. “Please tell me why you aren’t performing this for your mid-term?”

“Because we can’t do original songs…we had to pick two we have never performed to an audience before, which is why I chose ‘All of me’ and ‘Cough syrup’, they kind of some up things I’ve been feeling too.”

“Well I know you’ll make them both your own, and that you’ll sound stunning singing ‘All of me’ and I know you sound amazing when you sing ‘Cough syrup’.”

“Wait…when have you heard me sing ‘Cough syrup’?” Blaine asks quick as lightening 

“Oh…erm…well…after the shooting when you came and stayed with me at Dalton, on our way out to lacrosse practise, Thad and I heard you sing part of the song.”

“Why didn’t you say anything before?”

“Well we kind of got distracted with other things then I didn’t see the point of bringing it up and pulling all those memories back.”

“That makes sense…but I guess I’m going to have to find another song to sing now” Blaine frowns

“What? Why?”

“Because I’ve performed it”

“You can hardly call Thad and I an audience, plus we didn’t see the whole thing AND you didn’t know we were there, therefore you were not performing to an audience but merely singing a song. If you’re still not convinced then I will get the dictionary and make you read the definition of performance.” 

“I don’t need to read the dictionary” Blaine straddles Sebastian’s lap

“Does that mean you’re convinced?” Sebastian smiles cheekily

“Hmm…you certainly put forward a very compelling argument Mr Smythe” Blaine leans down to kiss his boyfriend. When the kiss breaks, both are a little breathless, “We should   
probably get some studying done before we go any further.”

“As much as I hate to admit it, you’re right…I’ve got quite a bit I need to get through before we go to the show tonight.”

“Are you still okay to meet the others for brunch tomorrow?” Blaine asks as he climbs off his boyfriend’s lap.

“I should be…let’s get to work killer…the quicker we’re done the quicker we can have our wicked ways with each other and laugh at what some think is a highly inappropriate musical.”

The next morning, they meet the rest of the gang at a café between Upper West Side and Bushwick. 

“Anniversaries seem to be good for you” Hunter raises an eyebrow at Sebastian who simply smiles and raises his eyebrows in return.

“So what did you two get up to then?” Rachel asks brightly

Santana laughs, “Bit personal there don’t you think Berry?!” Making the rest laugh

“I didn’t mean like that Santana!” Rachel retorts sounding scandalised, “I meant did they go out to dinner, that kind of thing.”

“We stayed in on the actual night and cooked dinner together, but Bas did take me to one of my ultimate favourite musicals.”

“Oh my god you took him to see Hairspray!” Rachel gushes excitedly while Blaine’s eyes go wide and the guys laugh.

“Erm…no Rach…not Hairspray” Blaine shifts uncomfortably

“Definitely not Hairspray” Thad sniggers

“What don’t we know?” Santana asks curiously

“I…well…I” Blaine stutters before blurting out, “I really really can’t stand Hairspray!”

Rachel looks shocked, “But you and Kurt used to watch it all the time, we used to watch it together when you two came round.”

“And each time was like torture, it’s why I always zoned out…I’m sorry Rach, I don’t know what it is, but I just can’t stand that musical, it must be the only one I don’t like.”

“Wow…there’s actually something in this world you don’t like” Santana grins

“Hard to believe I know” Sebastian teases, “But it’s true”

“Well what did you go and see then?” Rachel asks tentatively

“The Book of Mormon” Blaine smiles

“That’s one of your ultimate favourites?” Santana raises her eyebrows

“Yeah…so is Hedwig”

“I’m impressed….I wouldn’t have guessed those two” the Latina smirks and Brittany giggles

“Well he hasn’t stopped singing or humming the music since we saw it so you could all be in for a treat” Sebastian only half teases

“That’s not true” Blaine retorts

“Killer…I swear you were humming in your sleep”

“I’ve witnessed you do it Blaine so I believe lurch here” Santana comments

“Yup, you do sometimes” Sam tells his friend with a shrug

“It’s true” Jeff adds, remembering it from when he and Blaine shared a dorm

“You do but it’s cute” Brittany smiles

“And pretty funny” Sam adds

“Well at least I don’t snort so loud I wake everyone and myself up” Blaine looks directly at Sam

“I do not!” he scoffs

“Yes you do!” Blaine, Brittany, Santana, Sebastian, Nick, Jeff and Thad all chorus

“Awww I’m sorry Sammy” Blaine giggles when Sam grumps, “Do you want the rest of my fruit salad?”

“Do I get your yoghurt?”

“If you want” 

Sam practically snatches the food, “I could never stay mad at you dude” making Blaine smile in return.

“So how’s everyone feeling with the run up to mid-terms about to start?” Nick asks as they all eat. The looks he gets back are enough, “That great huh…guys we’ll all be fine…we’re Dalton boys and most importantly we’re Warblers!” 

Blaine then leads them all in the Warbler call, “Oh yeah!” making the rest giggle

“How did you two know how to join in considering you weren’t Warblers at the same time as Blainey?” Brittany asks Hunter and Sebastian

“The Warbler call was one of the legacies of Blaine Anderson” Hunter smirks and Sebastian kisses his boyfriend.

After brunch they all split off to head back home to study or to work. On the way back Blaine gets a chance to tell Sam about Sebastian’s reaction to the song, getting a beaming yet ‘I told you so’ smile in return.


	82. Mid-terms

Before they know it all the college going members are in the depth of their first exams and major assignment hand-ins.

It’s 10 pm and Blaine decides to call it a night, “Are you going to come to bed Bastian?” he stands, rubs his eyes and stretches.

Sebastian looks up at his boyfriend and takes his glasses off for a moment, “Soon killer, I just want to get to the end of this section”

Blaine smiles, “Okay…but don’t stay up much longer…you need sleep too Bas” and leans down to give his boyfriend a kiss. 

A couple of hours later Blaine wakes up, not having been able to get into a deep sleep without Sebastian and makes his way to the living room where he’d left his boyfriend studying and smiles slightly at the sight of Sebastian asleep on the sofa, his book, note pad and laptop around him. Blaine carefully moves his boyfriend’s things before gently rubbing Sebastian’s shoulder, “Come on Bas…come to bed” Sebastian just grumbles in response so Blaine practically lifts him to his feet and supports him on the walk back to their bedroom where he sits Sebastian on the edge of the bed before stripping him and tucking him in before climbing back in himself. 

Sebastian immediately curls around Blaine’s body, “I love you killer B”

Blaine smiles, “I love you too Bastian”

They both quickly fall asleep, deeply, tired from studying and, for Blaine, rehearsals for his rapidly approaching mid-term performance.

The next evening for the two is another night of, get home, shower, eat dinner, study. But tonight, Sebastian can’t help but notice how often Blaine is rubbing his eyes or how he’s squinting at his papers, iPad and laptop. It’s something the taller has noticed before and it’s definitely getting worse.

“Hey killer”

“Hmmm” Blaine’s eyes stay fixed on his screen until his rubs them again before looking to his boyfriend, “Yeah?”

“When was the last time you had your eyes tested?”

Blaine thinks for a moment, “I can’t actually remember, why?”

“Because I need to go for my check up and was thinking you might as well come with me.”

“Right…and?” Blaine presses, knowing there’s more to it than that

“I think you might need glasses, you’re squinting when you read and your eyes are obviously really tired as you keep rubbing them, and not because they’re getting dry…plus it would explain the frontal headaches you’ve been getting more frequently…so we’re going to get our eyes checked as I am actually about due.”

Blaine groans, “I hate it when you’re right…which is like all the time”

“We both know you don’t” Blaine looks pointedly at his boyfriend, “Most of the time you don’t…like ninety five percent of the time…and I won’t go any lower” Sebastian winks and Blaine laughs.

“Fine…you know my schedule so just tell me when, but definitely get a joint appointment.”

“Will do…there’s one a few blocks away that takes both of our insurance…I’ll confirm our appointment with them tomorrow”

“So you’d already booked an appointment and were just waiting for the right time to tell me?” Blaine asks half annoyed, half amused 

“See I’m using my scheming powers for good” Sebastian grins widely, making Blaine laugh again.

“It’s a good job I love you” Blaine grumps playfully

“Because I’m looking out for your eyes? I could always just let you go blind, my little racoon” Sebastian smiles cheekily

“Oh shut up” Blaine laughs through a pout

“Make me” Sebastian challenges

“Challenge accepted” Blaine grins wickedly before pouncing on his boyfriend and starts tickling him. The only problem is that out of the two, Blaine is the more ticklish so it doesn’t take long for Sebastian to have him pinned down on the floor, fingers digging into his sides. “Please Bas!” Blaine gasps

“You know what you’ve got to say” Sebastian tells him smugly as he keeps up the tickle attack

It takes Blain a little while longer to give in, it’s only when he’s gasping for air does he force out, “You win! I give in…you beat me…you’re the tickle champion!”

“There that wasn’t so hard was it?” Sebastian smirks and kisses Blaine’s resulting pout away.

“How much have you got left to do tonight?” Blaine asks once they’ve both settled down to work again.

“Another hour or so, probably an hour and a half…you?” 

“Probably about the same”

A couple of days later Blaine finds himself entering a, what turns out to be, highly recommended opticians with his boyfriend. After checking in with the friendly receptionist, it’s not long before they’re both called through, being seen at the same time by two different optometrists. Sebastian reappears just before his boyfriend.

“So what’s the verdict Killer?”

“I need glasses, as you’d already deduced. I need to wear them for close up work, and just generally if I feel like my eyes are particularly tired so I don’t strain them…you?”

“My prescription hasn’t change, but I’d already decided that I wanted a new pair of glasses either way”

An assistant comes up to them, “Would you like some help choosing frames?”

“We’ll be fine thank you…we’ll let you know if we need any help” Sebastian replies so the assistant leaves them to it. “What kind of thing do you like killer?”

“I don’t really know what would suit me…but I kind of like the thick rimmed ones.” By the end of browsing the frames for Blaine they have picked up six pairs. Some black thick rimmed rectangular ones, black thick rimmed, large rounded square ones, a pair in the same style but with the bottom of the frame clear and the top a dark red, a pair in the style of aviators, just with a thicker rim, a pair of rounded, dark brown frames, and a smaller rectangular pair with a thin metal frame “So which pair do you think I should get   
Bastian?”

Sebastian frowns, “You’re getting those six B…you look amazing in all of them…you were comfortable in all of them…it will give you a choice and if your prescription changes you can just get the lenses changed…and I’m not going to budge on this…you order them for you, or I will” he grins

Blaine knows that his boyfriend will follow through so relents, “Fine…is there any you like?”

Sebastian picks up a couple of pairs, a round, thick black framed pair and a slightly squarer pair, still with a thick black frame. He puts both pairs on in turn and when he looks back to his boyfriend notices that his eyes have gone dark. “I take it you like them then killer”

“That’s one way of putting it…you have to get them…both of them. I’m not sure I’ll be able to work in the same room with you again though.”

“And why’s that?” Sebastian asks smugly

“You don’t need me to say it”

“Humour me”

Blaine steps closer to his boyfriend and speaks lowly so nobody else can hear, “Because you look so fucking hot in them I won’t be able to keep my hands off you.”

Sebastian smirks, “Well we will have a problem then killer as that’s exactly how I felt about you in yours.”

A dispenser measures them both and places their orders, which they will be able to pick up in three working days. Before Blaine knows it, a few days later they are walking back out of the opticians, bags in hand with their new glasses.

When they settle down that evening Blaine can’t believe how much clearer and easier studying is, “Man I was an idiot not to get my eyes tested sooner…this is one time I’m going to let you say ‘I told you so’ so you might as well get it in.”

Sebastian laughs, “I’m glad they’re helping…you also look incredibly sexy in them B” Blaine looks up from his work and over his frames. “Don’t look at me like that…I know we’ve both got revision to do and I won’t be held accountable for my actions if you keep it up.”

“Remember I’m Skyping with Cooper in a bit”

“As I said…I won’t be held accountable”

Blaine smiles bashfully then looks back at his text books, both continue studying until Blaine’s laptop rings with a Skype call from his brother.

“You’re wearing glasses” is the first thing Cooper says as the call connects.

“Well done Coop…if this was a spot the difference contest, you’d win” Blaine replies sarcastically, making Sebastian laugh.

“Well aren’t you just a little sass muffin today…I didn’t know you needed them was all.”

“I only got them today…though I’ve obviously needed them for a while”

“I told him so!” Sebastian crones as he leans into view of the camera, also wearing a pair of his glasses.

“So is this a glasses convention?” Cooper teases

“No…Bas has worn them for a while for some things, and as we’re both studying, they’re needed.”

“Makes sense…I have good news for you baby brother” Cooper grins, the smile that’s only reserved for Blaine.

“So are you going to tell me?” Blaine prods when his brother doesn’t elaborate

“Oh right! I have officially got time off for your musical theatre showcase so I’ll be seeing you just before Christmas and then again in the New Year before I have to get back to start filming my new series.” Cooper drops in casually.

“That’s brilliant” Blaine beams then furrows his brow slightly, a grin still stretching his lips, “Is that your way of telling me you got the part?”

“Maybe” Cooper smiles cheekily before bursting, “I got the part…the frigging lead part!”

“Yes!” Blaine shouts and Cooper loves seeing how proud his baby brother is of him, “That’s amazing!” he practically bounces in his seat.

Sebastian leans in to be in shot of the camera again, “Congratulations Cooper…that’s awesome.” Blaine grips his boyfriend in a bone crushing hug, “Jesus killer what’s that for?” Sebastian laughs.

“I can’t hug him so I needed to hug you” Blaine explains excitedly as he lets go of his boyfriend, making his brother laugh.

“Well kick ass in these exams and then you can give me a hug” the older Anderson continues to smile.

“Definitely” Blaine responds, “I really am so happy for you Coop…and proud”

“Thanks squirt…I’m proud of you too…Oh did you find out if there’s a way for me to see your musicology mid-term performance seeing as I can’t make it?”

“Yeah I’ve got a parent slash guardian log in for you…I’ll email it to you in a minute with a link. Basically it will give you access to my classes performances…it’s something NYU have been doing for the last few years so anyone who can’t attend the performances can still see them. I think it takes twenty four hours or so to go up though.”

“That’s a really good idea” Cooper remarks, “And makes complete sense as not all family would be able to go…I’m glad I’m getting to see your performances…I didn’t see anywhere near enough of them when you were in school.”

“It’s okay Coop” Just then Cooper sees Sebastian pass Blaine a cup of something, “Thanks Bas” Blaine smiles at his boyfriend before looking back to the camera.

“What have you got there squirt?”

“Camomile tea…I’m hoping it will help me sleep a bit better”

Cooper frowns, “Why aren’t you sleeping?”

Blaine shrugs, “I just go through periods when I don’t…and considering the amount of studying and practising going on it kind of makes sense for it to be now. I’m not the worst though…you should see Nick.”

“Okay…but let me know if you need anything......what?” Cooper asks when his brother just stares at him.

“I’m just not used to you acting like a grown-up”

“Oh come on Blainey…you need sleep if you’re going to maintain your sex life” Cooper teases

“Cooper!” Blaine chastises as Sebastian laughs hard 

“You don’t have to worry about that Cooper!” Sebastian forces out through his laughter

Blaine rolls his eyes, “And everything is back to normal”

“Yet you’re not denying anything” Cooper teases again, he still loves winding up his brother after all.

Blaine shrugs one shoulder nonchalantly, “Why would I? It’s not exactly something to be embarrassed about…but Bas is right…you don’t have to worry about that” Blaine replies devilishly, receiving a kiss on the top of his head from his boyfriend

“Ahh maybe you really are my brother” Cooper grins cheekily.

They continue to catch up, for a while before Cooper has to get to set and leaves the boys to carry on studying for a while longer. 

XXXXXXX  
Before he knows it, Blaine has completed three exams, handed in two papers and has now woken up on the morning of his musicology mid-term. He rolls over so he’s now chest to chest with Sebastian and nuzzles in to his neck while rubbing a hand up and down his back.

“Mmmmorning killer” Sebastian mumbles before letting out his contented, almost purr noise.

“Morning Bastian” Blaine replies as he keeps up his nuzzling and rubbing assault, maintaining Sebastian’s purr.

“What time is it?” 

“Ten”

Sebastian then opens his eyes, “Seriously?! Wow…I’m hoping you slept as well as I did”

“Definitely…that was the best night sleep I’ve had for a while”

“And all it took was several cups of camomile and four orgasms”

“Shush” Blaine mutters bashfully, “If I remember, it was mostly in celebration for your last mid-term exam”

“Partly…I also wanted to be sure you’d sleep considering you’re performing today…then you’ve only got one more exam and you’ll be free too B”

Blaine chuckles, “It’s a good feeling…I still can’t work out if I’d have preferred them all at once like you had or not…though that would have stressed me out more.”

“You would have managed…come on, breakfast…as much as I want to ravish you…you need to eat and you don’t have all that long before you have to head over to NYU”

“I’d rather be ravished” Blaine grins wickedly 

“Well I’ll do a thorough job of it tonight, but I don’t trust that you’ll realise when lunchtime is or necessarily have the time to stop, so I want you to eat before you go….get that pout off your face.” Sebastian kisses Blaine before climbing out of bed and slipping on his superman lounge wear, making his boyfriend smile, and heads to the kitchen.

Blaine climbs out of bed, slips on his onsie before joining Sebastian, “What are we having?” he asks as he slips his arms around his boyfriend’s waist from behind.

“Crepes”

“Mmm…sweet or savoury?”

“I was going for savoury if that’s okay? I was thinking of filling them with spinach and ricotta.”

“That sounds amazing”

“Good…go and jump in the shower…they’ll be ready by the time you’ve finished”

“So you won’t be joining me then” Blaine grumbles

Sebastian chuckles then turns in Blaine’s arms, “We both know I can’t…not if you’re going to get there on time, it’s the payoff for sleeping as late as we did, though it was definitely needed. I’ll be sure to make it up to you tonight.” He kisses Blaine’s forehead.

Blaine looks up through his eyelashes, “Promise?”

“I promise…now go” Sebastian slaps Blaine’s ass as he turns to head to the shower.

After showering Blaine gets dressed and packs the clothes he’d picked out for performing in, a pair of tight Black jeans and a dark blue dress shirt. Sebastian had helped him pick the outfit out as he needed something that fit his two songs. He then heads into the living room with his bag and gathers the other few bits he’ll need for the day.   
“Great timing killer, breakfast is served” Sebastian grins as he plates up the pancakes and passes Blaine a cup of tea, “I figured you wouldn’t want coffee as you’re performing”

“Sometimes you’re just too perfect for your own good you know” Blaine flirts as he takes the tea and starts eating

“It is a burden as much as it is a gift” Sebastian deadpans, making Blaine laugh.

“Are the guys still coming over?”

“Yeah…well Sam, Hunter and Thad are coming round not long after you’ve gone, Nick is going to join us after his exam and Jeff will make his way over at some point when he’s had enough of studying. The girls are then going to come over and have dinner before we all come across. If you want me to get there earlier or anything though just call me…but I’m sure you will be fine.”

“I’m kind of looking forward to it…I am nervous, but in a good way.”

Sebastian smiles, “Good…you have no reason to be nervous in a bad way…you just need to do your thing phoenix” he winks

Blaine giggles slightly in response, “Come and find me backstage after though…it will be easier than trying to find you at the front…we’ll be in one of the studios just behind the   
theatre, if you go backstage you’ll see a door to it.”

“Will do”

They finish eating and clear up together before Blaine heads on his way, “I’ll see you later Bastian” 

“Later killer”

“I love you”

“I love you too sap…now get going” Sebastian kisses Blaine then jokingly pushes him out the door once he’s picked up his bag.  
Sebastian has a shower and gets dressed, before he can settle down in the living room the doorbell goes.

“And how are you two doing?” Sebastian greets Sam and Thad

“Better for being out of there! Jeff is really starting to stress out now…thank god he’s only got one more exam to go.” Thad replies.

“Yeah it was getting pretty intense…particularly before Nick went earlier…how was he?” Sam asks Sebastian.

“Good actually”

“Awesome…I actually have a question for you…do you mind if I paint Blaine for my portfolio?”

“Why would I mind if you paint Blaine…hang on…paint Blaine how?” Sebastian narrows his eyes

“I just need his back…but I wanted to make sure you’re okay with it before I ask him”

“Why wouldn’t I be okay with you painting his back?”

“Well it will involve a lot of touching and I’m putting it out there but I might have to straddle across him to get the right angle.”

Sebastian looks to Thad who is looking just as lost, “Sam you’re going to have to break it down for me here…why would you need to straddle B to get the right angle to paint a picture of his back.”

“Oh no dude! I want to paint on his back, not a picture of it…I got a really cool idea watching X-men and I want to paint wings on him for my portfolio. He’ll be completely dressed waist down, I just need him shirtless but I’ll have to sit across him or something to get the right angle so I can get the wings even, cos if I try it from either side they don’t end up the same, I’ve tried it on paper enough.”

“Can’t you lean him against the table?” Thad asks

“Well it will take a while and I thought that angle might be worse and it would give him real bad back ache”

“Yeah good point”

“Okay so you want to take my boyfriend’s top off, lay him on the floor and straddle him so you can paint wings on his back?” Sebastian clarifies 

“Yep”

“Okay it’s a good job you’re you…you’ll need to make it so it’s comfortable for him to lay like that…you need to provide whatever he’s meant to wear on the bottom half and of course use paints that can be used on skin, but most importantly you need to make sure it’s okay with him. “

“Done...Thanks man! It’s going to look so awesome!”

“Sam…it’s you so I wasn’t exactly going to have a problem with it…and to be honest if it gets him to stay still for a couple of hours it can only be a good thing.”

Sam laughs, “Tell me about it…did he actually manage to sleep last night though?”

“He did” Sebastian grins wickedly at memories from the previous evening so Sam decides to drop the subject

Hunter arrives and the four sit around playing video games and, for the Columbia three, unwinding after their first college exams. Jeff and Nick join a little while later and then time seems to fly by and before they know it the girls are turning up with dinner.

“We got Chinese, I hope that’s okay” Rachel says as she enters the apartment with Santana and Brittany before putting the cartons on the dining table for everyone to help themselves.

“To be honest I’d eat anything…I’m starving” Nick comments

“Some things will never change will they Nicky” Sebastian taunts

“So are Artie and JB meeting us there?” Brittany asks

“That they are…they’re travelling together as they’re coming from a similar location” Sebastian replies

“Makes sense…so was Blaine nervous when he left?” Santana questions

“Not really…he said the nerves he did have were good nerves”

“That’s the best sort…it gives you an extra energy to feed off” Rachel smiles

“Yes because if Blaine needs something it’s extra energy” Jeff replies sarcastically, but in a friendly manner making them all laugh.

“I’ve still not met anyone with anywhere near as much energy as Blaine and I’m surrounded by want-to-be doctors” Nick comments fondly

“He really is just one excitable puppy” Santana teases, “So do we get to know what he’s singing yet?”

“You’ll find out soon enough” Sebastian responds, “I can tell you if he performs them like I know he can that we’re going to see something really special.”

“Because you’re not at all bias” Santana quips warmly

“Nope…you know as well as anyone Lopez that I don’t have rose coloured goggles on when it comes to him…if he wasn’t anything special I would tell him.”

“We know…it’s just fun winding you up sometimes” Hunter comments as he and Santana share a smile

They finish eating and all help clear up before heading on their way. As Sebastian locks the door he grabs Thad, “Harwood…this needs to go no further”

Thad furrows his brow, “Of course, what is it?”

“For their performances tonight they weren’t allowed to do anything they have already performed to an audience before. You however have heard B sing one of the songs. When I told him we’d heard he got in a small panic and thought he’d have to change to a different song so I had to do a little convincing that us stumbling in on him singing while we were on the way to lacrosse was not the same as having performed it to an audience.”

“You mean he’s singing…”

“Yeah”

“Wow…he sounded amazing when he was just singing it to himself, I can only imagine how it’s going to be with him actually performing…on another level that’s for sure.”

“Definitely…just don’t mention it to him or anyone else that you’ve already heard him sing it, well a part of it, because I don’t want him to feel like he’s cheating or anything dumb again.”

“No problem…and you’re right…us catching him singing a section of a song to himself is definitely not the same as performing it to an audience.”

The two catch up with the others and they all make their way to NYU where they find Artie and JB waiting outside. Sebastian also gets a message from Blaine telling him that he’s doing okay and to take his seat and that he’ll see him after. Sebastian recognises Michael as introducing each of the students before they take to the stage. It quickly becomes clear to everyone that the students are not only performing themselves but are supporting each other with instruments and some backing vocals. They all spot Blaine provide services on the guitar, both electric and acoustic, generally playing lead, drums, bass and the piano. They have to admit the standard is high. Finally Blaine takes to the stage, the last performer of the evening. 

Blaine walks out after Michael’s introduction and settles at the piano, he starts playing randomly as he speaks, “So we were told we had to perform two pieces tonight that we’d never performed to an audience before…I’ve chosen to sing for both of mine…both songs are ones that really strike home with me and I think that’s true for a lot of people. So I hope you enjoy it.” With that Blaine goes straight into ‘All of me’ and sings it beautifully. The group occasionally look to Sebastian, but his eyes remain fixed on Blaine. It’s obvious to all of them though that although Blaine may be performing to the audience, the song is for Sebastian. 

They hear a few comments from other audience members about how they even prefer Blaine’s rendition to the original. Soon his first piece is over, getting a massive round of applause from the audience. A few guys quickly appear from the wings, pushing the piano offstage in a polished movement as a band and a few strings players come out and quickly set up – throughout the evening it had become clear they’d obviously worked hard on getting quick, smooth handovers nailed and it had paid off with virtually no delay between pieces or performers.

The opening of ‘Cough syrup’ starts. As soon as Blaine sings the first note the audience are with him every step of the way. The way he brings the song to life is something else. It’s definitely on a different level to the other performances that evening and none of them were bad. As the song closes everyone stands up and gives him a standing ovation, his bashful smile quickly appearing as he thanks the audience, bows then heads off stage. Michael says a few closing words before the audience filter out. Sebastian waits for everyone else to clear out before showing the group to the room Blaine told him he’d be in.

They easily find the door, before they can open it Michael and Dr Green come out of the room.

“I swear I will never know what to expect from that group” Dr Green comments to Michael

“Tell me about it” he then spots Sebastian, “Oh hi Sebastian…Good luck if you’re going in there to get him out” Michael smiles, “Oh can you tell him that his appointment is at 9 tomorrow morning, it went out of my mind when we went in there…you’ll see why in a second.”

“I will” Sebastian furrows his brow in question and confusion but Michael just gestures to the door with his head so the group make their way through. When they enter the room they see Blaine’s group playing some sort of weird game. Nick shouts go and Blaine and Joey quickly down a cup of cola and five Mentos before running over to wear Lauren is dangling doughnuts from a string and kneel on the floor with their hands behind their back. Blaine gets his doughnut off first and manages to eat it quickly. He then stands, runs their make shift obstacle course before landing in front of Brian and starts jumping up and down as he spins in circles while Brian asks him a question. Only when Blaine gets it right does he stop jump-spinning, Joey then follows having now eaten his doughnut.  
Blaine takes a drink of water then notices his boyfriend and friends so goes to greet them all.

“What the hell are you guys doing?” Sebastian asks after they greet all of Blaine’s college friends.

“It’s Mentos and Cola, doughnut fishing, dizzy dinosaur revision…if it takes you too long to answer a question then you can and will throw up…right Walker?” Nick answers and they all look to see Joe sat leaning over a bin looking peaky; when he sees them all he gives them a thumbs up.

“Are you ready to go killer?” 

“Yeah just let me help clean up” It only takes a couple of minutes for Blaine and his friends to clear up, Lauren giving out the remaining doughnuts as the boys quickly pack any equipment they’d used away. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow!” Blaine says before heading off with his boyfriend and friends. As soon as they get outside they all start congratulating him.

“So I just want to be the first to say you were absolutely amazing!” Rachel gushes as she gives Blaine a bone crushing hug

“The best one there” Jeff smiles, pulling Blaine into a hug after he’s released by Rachel.

All of Blaine’s friends take turn in congratulating him, Jean-Baptiste the last to, also pulls him into a hug, “You were seriously good my friend.”

“I’m only sorry I couldn’t come to your performance” Blaine replies

“Yeah well the fact it was during the day when you were in an exam made it kind of impossible didn’t it. But, hopefully you’ll be able to come to my final’s performance in the summer. I don’t think NYU and Julliard normally clash quite as badly.”

“That’s true…and of course if I can then I will…are you excited about transferring still?”

“Hugely!”

It’s then that Blaine really notices how his boyfriend has been stood off to the side, simply letting his friends congratulate him and watching him. “Bas?” Blaine smiles softly, questioningly. 

Sebastian gently shakes his head, a silent ‘I’ll tell you later’ to Blaine. “Oh your appointment with Michael is at nine tomorrow morning.”

“Oh wow…sorry to cut tonight short then guys but I need to go and prepare, it will be in regards to tonight so I need to go and watch the footage and makes notes.” Blaine looks to everyone, his eyes betraying how bad he feels about it.

“Hey…don’t feel bad about it dude…your last exam is this week right? In fact, it’s the last of everyone’s, so after we can all go and blow of some steam. We didn’t expect to do anything much anyway. You and Jeff still have an exam each and it’s been a long day for you. And considering you were backing up most of the other performers in one way or another, we know how much you must have put in for tonight. So let Sebastian take you home and get some sleep. I don’t want to know what he did last night to help you, but if it worked get him to do it again.” Sam firmly tells his best friend as he starts walking him to the subway, arm thrown over his shoulder.

“Yeah Sam’s right Blaine” Artie adds and everyone else nods

Blaine smiles at them all, still not completely used to so many looking out for him, “Thanks guys”, he then yawns and extracts himself from Sam’s protective arm to cuddle into   
Sebastian’s side.

Sebastian kisses the top of Blaine’s head and takes his bag from him, “Well we’ll see you all soon” he then waves down a cab, not wanting to bother with the subway.

“So what did you think Bastian?” Blaine asks as they finally settle into bed, pressed chest to chest

“You were breath taking killer…you capture the crowd like no one else…I couldn’t take my eyes off you”

“Is that why you were staring at me earlier?”

“It was…plus I thought it was only fair for the others to have a moment with you…but ultimately I still love just looking at you sometimes and knowing you’re all mine.”

Blaine giggles, “I am…and you’re all mine.”

“Too right”

Sebastian then rolls onto his back, pulling Blaine with him so he’s lying on top. He wraps his arms protectively around Blaine’s frame, after his head settles tucked under his chin and hooks his legs over his boyfriend’s, so they’re almost as one.

XXXXXXX  
“It’s really unfair for you to lay there looking like that when I have to leave” Blaine pouts the next morning as he pulls on his pants.

“I don’t know what you mean killer” Sebastian smiles anything but innocently

“Right…that’s why you’re lying there stretching, with your arms folder under your head with the covers so low on your hips they’re only just covering what is obviously a very healthy morning erection.” Blaine leans down to kiss his boyfriend, “And you know I can’t be late for my meeting” and bites Sebastian’s bottom lip.

Sebastian pretends to think for a moment, “I guess I’ll deserve it if you decide to punish me when you come back”

“You’d enjoy that too much…and you know I have to study for my test on Friday…I actually remember you promising to help me rather than trying to distract me with sex.”

“If I promise to help you surely you would be able to spend some time with me when you come back.”

“That depends…”

“On what?”

“Whether you’re still lying there looking just as irresistible”

“That can definitely be arranged.” Sebastian leans up and gives Blaine one final kiss before the shorter has to leave for NYU.

When Blaine runs into NYU he messages his boyfriend, ‘I hope you’re happy, I only just got here in time. You are a terrible influence’. In bed Sebastian just smiles smugly and sips on his coffee.

Blaine skids to a halt and knocks on Michael’s door, “Ah good morning Blaine”

“Morning”

“So how are you doing this morning?”

“Okay so far…but that could change depending on what you have to say” Blaine laughs nervously as he takes a seat.

Just then Dr Green enters the room, “Hi Blaine, I hope you’re well this morning…so are you ready for this?”

“As I’ll ever be”

“Okay, so why don’t you tell us what you thought of your performance, assuming you’ve watched it back.”

“I have…I thought when I walked out on stage you could tell I was nervous…which is why I started talking as I needed to calm myself slightly before playing. I’d say Cough Syrup was the stronger of the two performances, but as they’re very different pieces I guess it’s harder to compare, and it could just have been because it was the second piece so I was more into it. My voice didn’t crack in either piece though and I didn’t think my falsetto transitions in All Of Me were too bad.”

“Well you’re right, they weren’t too bad…they were perfectly smooth so well done, it takes more control than people realise to do that.” Dr Green starts

Michael continues, “And actually talking the way you did at the beginning, even if it was a reaction to nerves, really helped draw the crowd in. Think about it…the artists who you see in concert, do you feel more connected to those who interact with the crowd or the ones who simply sing at you?”

“The ones who interact…I hadn’t thought about it that way.” Blaine replies

“Obviously you’ll get our full feedback in the New Year, but you are obviously a natural performer who can really engage with the audience.”

“Thank you” Blaine smiles bashfully

“So…that brings us on to the showcase” Dr Green picks up and Blaine just furrows his brow in confusion, “We would like you to perform in the showcase next week. We of course appreciate you have an exam Friday and you will obviously have to attend rehearsals but we feel this is a great opportunity for you and we want to include you as part of the showcase of talent at NYU.”

“But freshman aren’t included in the showcase” Blaine comments, obviously a little confused

“Not normally no…we don’t normally include freshman because generally we don’t believe they are ready…but with you we do.”

“You do?” Blaine questions

“We do” Michael smiles sincerely

“But we are aware of your exam this week” Dr Green adds, “Sophomores, juniors and seniors have already finished exams. They are purposefully scheduled due to when the showcase falls so the students involved are not disadvantaged due to the time taken to prepare.”

“So how do you feel about your exam? I know it’s an area you’re strong in.” Michael asks

“Erm…I don’t know that I am” Blaine shuffles in his seat

“Blaine you’re forgetting that I’ve marked all of your assignments for music theory and you actively participate in class, often helping others, and do well on pop quizzes, so trust us when we say it’s a strong area for you…so…how are you feeling about the exam?”

“I’m not going to say good because I don’t think I ever will about an exam, but I’m not as nervous for this one as I was the others. Plus Bas has finished and it’s an area he can help me in for final revision bits.”

Michael and Dr Green share a look before she answers, “Great, so how do you feel about the showcase?”

“That I’d be stupid not to do it…but what about rehearsals and what would I sing?”

“Well we would like you to sing your audition piece as your first, plus one of your originals.” Michael replies and a smile comes to Blaine’s face, so different from the first time he asked Blaine to perform an original, “Do you have something in mind?”

“There’s one I’ve written recently and I’ve actually done a full band arrangement, lead guitar, bass, drums, everything, but obviously it’s impossible to do by myself…I’d love to be able to play the full arrangement and bring the piece to life how I imagined.”

“May we see the arrangement?” Michael asks. Blaine pulls his iPad out of his bag and loads the accumulated score. Both Dr Green and Michael peruse over it for a few moments, 

“Looks good to me, very catchy actually”

Dr Green smiles, “This would be perfect for the showcase. Any ideas who would back you up? Obviously you will need to find the time to rehearse together, plus you would all need to be available Sunday afternoon, Monday morning and would need to be here Tuesday all day and obviously performing that evening.”

“I’ll have to ask but I think Dan, Chris and Neil would do it if they’re free…they’d all be able to pick up the music easily too and we often jam together between classes so are used to playing with each other.”

“Now we’re not expecting you to stick around today, but we do need you to contact Dan, Chris and Neil and let us know, by email is fine, whether they will be backing you up or not.” Michael tells him.

“I’ll call them on my way home and let you know as soon as I do.”

“Perfect”

On his way to the subway station Blaine calls, and manages to speak to Dan, Chris and Neil, all of who jump at the chance to be able to support him, as even backing rolls in the showcase are highly regarded, plus they really enjoyed playing together and with Blaine and often jammed together. Blaine then composes an email while his sat on the train to Michael and Dr Green and sends it as soon as he has signal again. When he gets to his stop he practically runs all the way back home.   
Blaine bursts through their front door, quickly losing his bag and coat and runs through to their bedroom where Sebastian is waiting in bed just as he said he would be. Sebastian doesn’t however expect to be jumped on by his boyfriend, grinning like a mad thing, yet looking contemplative at the same time.

“Can I take it you had a good meeting?” Sebastian chuckles as he wraps his arms around his boyfriend’s body.

“I don’t know how to take it” Blaine eyes glass over a little

Sebastian manages to sit up a little, taking Blaine with him, “What happened B? What did they say?”

Blaine raises his eyebrows and takes a deep breath, “They want me to perform at the showcase next week…I’m performing at NYU’s showcase next week…wow that sounds even weirder when I say it out loud.”

“What? Are you serious?” Sebastian beams with pride, “I didn’t think freshman got to perform at the showcase”

“Normally they don’t”

Sebastian shakes his head fondly, eyes still swimming with pride, “Of course you’d be the exception to the rule”

“But it means I really am going to need your help with revision as I’ve obviously got to prepare for the showcase and I have to be at rehearsals Sunday afternoon, Monday morning and would need to be there Tuesday all day and obviously performing that evening.”

“I’ll help however I can killer” Sebastian gives Blaine a small kiss, “Do you know what you’re going to perform?”

“Well Michael and Dr Green asked me to perform my audition piece, which I’m going to sing first and then they want me to sing an original and Dan, Chris and Neil have just agreed to be my band so I can play the full arrangement of ‘I still think’”

“I couldn’t be prouder…that’s fucking amazing…you’re amazing…and this just proves that when it comes to you I’m really not biased, you’re just stupidly talented.”

“Bas…” Blaine squirms bashfully

“I know you’ve got to study and send music out and god knows what else, but we need to celebrate this”

“I might be a big flop…we shouldn’t celebrate until after the showcase”

“Oh after we definitely will, but right now we need to celebrate what you’ve achieved to this point and then I promise I’ll help you study and not distract you with sex.”

“You’re just saying that so you get laid now” Blaine challenges and rocks against his boyfriend, being able to feel his erection even through the blankets and his clothes

“It’s also a fantastic way to celebrate” Sebastian purrs and pulls Blaine into a kiss that quickly gets heated

“Then we must celebrate a lot” Blaine teases as the kiss breaks and they both start freeing him of his clothes

“Of course we do…and with good reason…we’re both remarkably amazing”

Blaine laughs slightly scandalised at his boyfriend’s cockiness, “You’ll never change will you?”

“Nope” Sebastian grins then starts nipping at Blaine’s ear

“Good”

“Stop being such a smart ass or I won’t let you top” 

“Who says I want to?” Blaine challenges

“Your face…you have that ‘I want to stick my dick in you’ look on your face” Sebastian grins smugly

“No I don’t” Blaine tries but Sebastian just raises his eyebrows, “Fine I do…problem?”

“None at all” 

Blaine crashes their lips back together, a deep and passionate kiss before his hand slips down and starts playing with the trimmed hair just above Sebastian’s cock. Blaine breaks the kiss to reach the lube and slicks up his fingers before starting to stroke his boyfriend’s cock as he teases one finger around his hole. Slowly Blaine kisses his way down Sebastian’s chest, leaving a wet trail of kisses and licks the length of his cock teasingly. After a few moments of teasing and various gasps and expletives leaving Sebastian’s mouth Blaine takes his whole length in one slow action until his lips are at the base of his boyfriend’s cock.

Blaine’s skilled mouth continues to work as he stretches Sebastian, fingers picking up speed as he pumps them in and out. He brings Sebastian tantalisingly close to the edge before removing his fingers and mouth.

“You’re going to kill me” Sebastian moans is frustration, but the next thing he knows Blaine’s lubed length is pushing steadily inside him. When Blaine bottoms out he takes a moment to compose himself, also giving Sebastian time to relax and adjust to the intrusion. Sebastian wraps his legs around Blaine’s waist, the angle meaning that Blaine grazes his prostate with each thrust as he starts to move his hips. Once Blaine has set his rhythm he leans down and connects their mouths in a passionate kiss, swallowing each other’s moans. 

Sebastian’s hands wander over Blaine’s body, one trailing up and down his back and the other buried into dark glossy curls. As Sebastian feels the muscles in Blaine’s back contract with every thrust he moans loudly, the feeling pushing him closer and closer to the edge as Blaine’s cock continues to thrust deep inside him, now pounding into his prostate. Sebastian can tell Blaine’s getting close as his kisses get sloppy, now basically breathing against each other’s mouths, but a new wave of determination takes over the shorter and he increases the movement of his hips again, causing both of them to make obscene noises over the sound of skin slapping skin.

Only when Sebastian comes untouched between them does Blaine let himself find his own release, coming deep inside his boyfriend. The strength in his arms quickly gives out as his vision speckles with the force of his orgasm and he collapses on top of Sebastian. 

They lay there silently for a while, limbs tangled together and bodies still joined until Sebastian kisses the top of Blaine’s head, “Come on killer…let’s go and have a bath to warm   
you up…you’re starting to shiver.”

Blaine smiles dopily, clearly still in his post-orgasm haze, “I love you”

“I love you too sap” Sebastian chuckles.

After their bath Blaine grabs his laptop and study materials. He quickly emails his band the complete music arrangement so they can learn their parts and see how the piece should work as a whole.

“Bas do you mind if the guys come back here after our exam on Friday? I’ve got a meeting with Michael directly after but it shouldn’t take long and we really need to practise together before rehearsals.”

“Of course that’s fine”

“So I don’t suppose you’d mind picking us up from NYU as they’ll want to bring their own instruments, obviously Neil is using my drums, but the other two will want their own guitar and bass and amps.” Blaine smiles cheekily.

“Before I started playing the guitar I wouldn’t have understood but now I do…of course I’ll pick you up B”

Blaine leans over and gives Sebastian a chaste kiss, “Thank you”. 

“As long as you make it worth my while” Sebastian winks and Blaine hits his chest playfully in response.  
Before they can get started with Blaine’s revision, he gets a Skype call from Cooper. “Hey Coop!” he beams as the call connects and his brother’s face appears on screen.

“Hey squirt! Seb!”

“Don’t call me that” Both boys chorus in return

“So you need to congratulate me” Cooper continues, face completely serious

Blaine furrows his brow, “What for?”

“Being the older brother to the most insanely talented guy out there” Cooper beams

Blaine laughs bashfully, “So you’ve watched the performances then?”

“I watched some of them and skipped others before yours…you stood out from the rest Blainey”

“Cooper” Blaine squirms

Sebastian uses the moment to message Cooper ‘Call me when you’ve finished talking to Blaine. I need to talk to you in private’. Luckily for Sebastian, when Cooper reads the message he doesn’t give anything away.

Cooper laughs, “Well there’s no chance of you getting big headed…So one more exam then you’re done right?”

“Not exactly…I’ve erm been invited to perform in the showcase”

Cooper’s eyes flick to Sebastian, who nods, letting Cooper know that’s what he wants to talk to him about, “I’m sorry did you just say you’ve been invited to perform in the showcase?”

“I did”

“That’s amazing! When is it?”

“Tuesday”

“Wow that doesn’t give you long to prepare”

“I know it’s nuts but it’s an amazing opportunity”

“That it is…Though I’m gutted I won’t be able to be there for it…we’re filming that day” 

Blaine’s smile falters, “It’s okay Coop…I get it” and he looks down, missing the way Cooper and Sebastian nod at each other.

“Have Nona and Grandpa spoken to you about Christmas yet?” Cooper asks

“They have…Their cruise sounds amazing…I think they’re glad it’s not long before they can fly again, touch wood. But mostly they wanted to know what they could get Bas for   
Christmas…and they completely understood why the two of us are set on having Christmas here this year.” 

“I’m sorry what? They don’t need to get me anything.” Sebastian buts in

“Oh there’s no escaping it Sebastian…if they want to get you gifts then gifts you shall receive!” Cooper declares dramatically, “Sorry squirt but I’ve just been called to set…I’ll talk to you soon though”

“Thanks for the call Coop”

“I love you baby brother”

“Love you too”

The call then disconnects and Sebastian places a kiss on Blaine’s forehead. “Right you get your stuff sorted and I’ll be back to help you shortly…I’ve got to call Adrianne.”

“You could always just call her here”

“Actually I can’t…seeing as she wants to talk to me about what to get you for Christmas”

“She shouldn’t get me anything”

“Oh how the tables have turned” Sebastian laughs as he heads to the study, to talk to Cooper out of ear shot. Only a minute later does his phone ring.

“So needless to say I am coming to the showcase” Cooper announces as soon as the call connects.

“How are you going to get out of filming?” Sebastian asks

“Well actually we finish filming early morning on Monday as Ian is due to start a new project…it was part of the negotiations, though as he has the Christmas break off I’m not sure how he’s swung it.”

“Huh well that’s weirdly handy”

“Tell me about it…I’ll see if I can get on the same flight as Ian as he’s New York bound too. He’d actually like to meet you both…he saw Blaine’s mid-term performance as we were in his trailer on a break at the time and was genuinely impressed…apparently he couldn’t believe he’s my brother.”

Sebastian laughs, “It’s something we all wonder about Cooper, but actually when the two of you are together you can see it.”

“I’ve got to admit I’ve been seeing it more as he’s been opening up more” The older Anderson admits wistfully. 

“Trust me that’s something I fully understand…anyway I can’t talk for too much longer. I’m assuming though you’re just going to be staying with us for longer and not getting an earlier flight back to Ohio.”

“Oh no way…I want to spend time with my baby brother and you guys…I’ve signed up for Christmukka and I’m not backing out so you’ve got a week of my wondrous company…I’m assuming he doesn’t know exactly what’s happening for Christmukka though?”

“No…neither he nor Sam have any idea…I’ve got to go. Message me your new flight details when you get them.”

“Will do”

Sebastian disconnects the call and heads back in the living room to find Blaine on a call with Kitty.

“So my parents have totally cleared it for me to come visit when school finishes for break.” 

“That’s awesome” Blaine puts the phone on speaker, “Bas, Kitty can come visit for Christmukka, her parents have cleared it”

“So we’ll be seeing you soon then wild cat” Sebastian smiles

“I know you can’t wait…oh and Ryder and Spencer have now gone exclusive after several successful dates” Kitty drops in casually

“Well what do you know” Sebastian comments happily for the younger boy

“See Bas, you don’t have to scare him anymore” Blaine adds playfully

“We’ll see” Sebastian smirks, “Has B told you his news?”

“What news?” Kitty asks, clearly curious

“I’ve been invited to participate in the showcase” Blaine rushes out

There’s a loud high-pitched squeal down the phone, “That’s amazing”

Kitty messages Sebastian before he can beat her to it. Kitty had been helping him organise the Christmukka surprise for Blaine and Sam, but there was no way she was going to miss the showcase or the extra few days in New York so they quickly hatched a plan that meant she could join them earlier than planned, again keeping it a secret from Blaine.


	83. Preparation preparation preparation

The next evening, Blaine has just finished his revision and has started going over his pieces for the showcase when there’s a loud knocking at the door and insisted ringing of the bell. Sebastian gets up to answer and Sam goes surging through, straight to the living room and to Blaine.

“I slept with the photographer” the blonde bursts out as soon as he sees his best friend

Blaine looks to his boyfriend, who shrugs in response, before answering, “Okay…”

“Okay? Is that all you’re going to say?”

“You’re not giving me much to go on Sam…are you worried about what this means for your career? About how Mercedes will react?”

“Well I’m still going to end up on the side of the buses so I’m not worried about that and well…there’s nothing to worry about with Mercedes.”

“I thought you two were going to try and work it out” Blaine frowns

“Nah, we kind of realised we’re two very different people” Sam squirms

“Sam what aren’t you telling me?” Blaine demands

Sam flops down next to Blaine, leaning his head on the shorter boys shoulder and huffs, “She said she would only be able to consider a future if I made up with Kurt…which is dumb because he wouldn’t want to make up with me and anyway, we were never really friends, plus it would just be a way for him to try and get close to you and that’s not going to happen.”

“I’m sorry” Blaine pats the side of Sam’s head softly, comfortingly

“Don’t be…my dad said that if she really loved me she’d respect me enough not to push the issue.”

“Your dad is very wise” Blaine muses

“Exactly, and I figured he was right”

“So why were you freaking out about sleeping with the photographer?” Sebastian asks

“Because it’s not what you’re meant to do, it’s unprofessional and I don’t want to get a bad reputation, but at the same time I don’t know if I’d be able to ever say no to her…yeah she was older but man it was awesome.”

“If you wanted you could talk to Cooper about it…I know he’s been in the same sort of situation a few times.” Blaine suggests

“I might do that…I also just really wanted to tell you”

“We’re happy for you Sam” Sebastian comments not at all seriously but Sam beams in response

“Anyway so plans for Friday night! We need to celebrate exam season being truly over for all you guys”

Blaine clears his throat, “Actually Friday night isn’t so good”

Sam automatically lifts his head and looks to Sebastian, “Come on man you’ve got to share him at some point” he whines semi-playfully

“Actually I am sharing him that night”

“Kinky” Sam waggles his eyebrows

“No Sam! I’ve actually got a project I’ve got to work on” Blaine retaliates through laughter

“Huh? I thought you’d done all that” Sam frowns

“Just tell him killer, you need to tell the others too”

“I’m playing in the showcase on Tuesday” Blaine blurts out

Sam gapes for a moment before beaming, “Man that’s frigging awesome!”

“Thanks…I’m nervous and excited but it means that most of my time after my exam on Friday will be spent rehearsing, but if the rest of you want to go out then don’t feel like you can’t without me as I know everyone is already waiting for me to finish up.”

“Uh huh I see” Sam stands up and walks out of the apartment

Blaine frowns, “Bas?”

“I have no idea but I wasn’t expecting that reaction either B” Sebastian says soothingly as scoots closer to Blaine now Sam has moved and wraps his arms around him.

It’s only a couple of minutes later when Sam returns, letting himself in with Thad, Jeff and Nick in tow.

“Evans what is going on with you?” Sebastian asks

“This is me bringing the guys round so they can have their turn at telling Blaine what an idiot he is”

“Thanks Sam…I’ve just realised why our friendship means so much to me” Blaine deadpans with a furrowed brow.

“We don’t actually know why you’re an idiot though” Jeff buts in

“Because he suggested that we should all go out and celebrate without him”

“Wait why would we do that?” Nick asks, eyes immediately zeroing in on Blaine

“Yeah I kind of assumed we’d all be going out Friday or Saturday” Thad adds

Blaine takes his glasses off and rubs his eyes, “Look I was going to tell you all…I just haven’t gotten round to it given the juggling I’m having to do at the minute, but well…I’m performing in the showcase next week.”

“But freshman don’t perform in the showcase” Jeff replies

“Yet this one does” Sebastian beams, his smile showing how proud he is

“That’s awesome!” All the guys chorus

“Yeah so now you know why if you want to go out this weekend you should, but I won’t be joining you as I’ve got rehearsals”

“Yeah…Blaine you know how this works…we’re not going to go out and celebrate without you…but more importantly can we still get tickets for Tuesday?” Nick asks

“I think so but you’ll need to get them as soon as possible.”

“I’ll go get them tomorrow” Jeff replies, “I’ll get some for the girls too”

“Don’t forget Rachel won’t be able to come as she’s performing” Blaine tells him

“And actually” Sebastian starts, “I’ve already got everyone who can come tickets” the guys all look at him, “Seriously, did none of you think that would be one of the first things I’d get sorted when I found out.”

“Fair point, sorry man” Thad replies

“Well I guess we better leave you to it if you’re preparing for the showcase and an exam, but don’t work too much longer, you’re starting to look tired Blaine” Nick says kindly

“Actually I don’t have much more I want to do tonight and as if Bas would let me exhaust myself”

“Unless he was something to do with it” Sam teases and gets a cushion thrown at him.

When Blaine yawns Sebastian ushers the others out of the apartment and drags his boyfriend to bed.

Friday comes around quickly and Sebastian drops Blaine off at NYU for his exam. “Knock ‘em dead killer…call me when you’re ready to be picked up.”

“I will” Blaine leans across to kiss Sebastian then jumps out of the car and heads to the hall his exam is being held in.

What Blaine didn’t know though is that Sebastian had slipped the girls a key to the apartment. Blaine and his band may have a lot of work to do but everyone wanted to make sure they could also have a small celebration after their last exam so were cooking up a variety of food to keep them going through their rehearsals. The girls would stay to eat a late lunch with them but would then leave them to it, respecting Blaine’s wish to keep his pieces under wraps until the night of the performance. The fact that there would be a recording for her to watch had placated Rachel though she was gutted she wouldn’t be able to be there on the night.

After Blaine’s exam the band go and get their things while he goes to meet Michael.

“Hi Blaine…it must feel good to be free from exams at least”

“It does…just the showcase this side of Christmas and then the performances in the new year.”

“And then the orchestral concerts in the spring I suppose…at least you have a bit of a break between.” 

“That’s how I’m looking at it, plus Dalton basically assessed all year round so it’s something I’ve experienced before at least.”

“That’s good…so I take it you’ve brought the lyrics and scores of your original pieces with you?”

“I have” Blaine replies and gets the documents out of his bag

“That’s great…I’m going to show you how to register them which is something you should do with all your original work so others can’t copy it and take credit.”

“Wow…are you sure that’s necessary?”

“I am as you’re playing one on Tuesday, plus it’s good practise to do so”

“Okay” Blaine grins then the two get to it

A short while later Blaine calls Sebastian, who’d been killing some time in a coffee shop around the corner and meets the other guys out front, ready to be picked up. When Sebastian pulls in the guys load their stuff into the trunk before climbing in.

“Thanks for picking us up” Chris says

“No problem…It would’ve been a nightmare for you to lug your stuff across the city and well…you’re helping B out”

The drive is surprisingly quick and it’s not long before they’re entering the apartment. Blaine immediately smells food, “Bas what’s going on?”

“We wanted to make sure you all stopped to have lunch before starting to rehearse” Rachel replies as she, Santana and Brittany appear from the kitchen.

“We haven’t had a chance to see you recently so thought we’d come and eat with you before you all get to it” Santana adds before the three girls all give Blaine a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

“I was starting to have withdrawal symptoms” Brittany teases, “Oh and I’ve nearly finished my application for Julliard, will you both read it for me?” She asks both Blaine and Sebastian

“Of course we will, just email a copy when you’re happy with it and we’ll take a look” Sebastian answers

“I can’t believe you three did this” Blaine comments as they all sit eating

“We made sure there will be leftovers so you can easily grab things and don’t have to break for too long if you don’t want to” Rachel explains

“Thanks Rach”

“Yeah thank you, we assumed we’d be ordering pizza or something later, but this is so much better” Dan comments

“Yeah thanks” Neil and Chris agree

“So are you looking forward to playing in the showcase?” Brittany asks the three who will be supporting Blaine

“We are” Neil answers

“What about the songs, are they ones you enjoy playing?”

Chris laughs, “Sorry but we’ve been sworn to secrecy, we’re not saying anything”

“We were warned that Blaine’s friends might try and get information out of us if we saw them…sorry but Jeff was sneakier” Dan adds and Brittany giggles

“Are you guys done?” Blaine asks the three

“Yeah…let’s get to it” Chris replies so they all stand and load their dishes in the dishwasher before heading to the music area, sure to close the door behind them and set up.

“I like them” Santana comments

“Yeah he’s made some good friends” Sebastian agrees, “You can tell they’re good guys straight away as they’ve given up their weekend after they’ve finished exams to help him out.”

“There is one thing I wanted to talk to you about Sebastian” Rachel says seriously

“I’m listening”

“I could be worrying about nothing but when I was at NYADA we were always encouraged to go and see other schools showcases.”

“So we should be on the lookout for Hummel….wonderful” Sebastian sighs sarcastically. “Though thanks for the heads up. Do me a favour though? I don’t want any of you to mention that to B and I’ll talk to JB to make sure he doesn’t either. He doesn’t need to be worrying about that too. These showcases are a big deal so he needs to focus on that and worrying about things he can’t control will only make his nerves rocket.”

“I agree” Santana says, “We can all keep an eye out, I’d like to think he wouldn’t be stupid enough to try and talk to Blaine if he shows up but his previous track record isn’t great and it’s been quiet for too long now.”

“I’m hoping he’s just moved on” Brittany comments

“Aren’t we all” Rachel surmises, “Anyway we better get going, say bye to Blaine for us…we don’t want to disturb him.”

“But of course. Well I’ll see you on Tuesday” he says to Brittany and Santana, “And I guess I’ll see you soon Rach…after Tuesday things won’t be so crazy. Oh have you been in touch with the others about some of them staying at your place?”

“We have. They’re all going to go to come to ours in the first instance then those staying with the bachelors will be able to leave their things at the front desk, which Thad has sorted out before joining us all here, ready to surprise Blam.” The Latina replies

“Great that’s one thing off my list” Sebastian says thoughtfully

“They’re going to love it” Brittany beams and gives him a hug and a kiss goodbye

Much later that evening Sebastian drives Dan, Chris and Neil back to their dorm block with Blaine in tow. Originally Blaine was going to drive them back but Sebastian could see the tiredness in his eyes so didn’t want to risk his boyfriend driving. The weekend seems to fly by with Blaine rehearsing most hours and amending arrangements as needs be and Sebastian spending time with the guys and finalising plans for Christmukka.

When Blaine’s in rehearsals on the Sunday Sebastian heads over to see the bachelors after mulling over what Rachel had told him on Friday.

“Hey Sebastian what’s up?” Sam asks as he opens the door and lets the taller boy in but Sebastian just shakes his head

“Hi man” Thad greets as Sebastian heads into the living room where the other three are

“I need to talk to you guys”

The severity of Sebastian’s tone catches all of their attention, “What’s going on?” Nick asks

“Rachel told me that NYADA students are encouraged to go to the other schools showcases.”

“So there’s a chance Kurt could be there” Thad summarises

“Basically…but B doesn’t know and I don’t want him to…he needs to focus on his performance and nothing else.”

“Are you sure that’s for the best?” Nick questions

“I’m with Sebastian on this one” Sam answers quickly

Jeff has gotten to grips with Sam’s reactions and knows there’s something else going on, he’s known for a while that there’s clearly a lot the rest of them don’t know about. He also knows there will be good reason for it. “Yeah I agree. Even if Kurt does turn up who’s to say he will hunt Blaine out. Let’s face it…it’s been a good while since he last had any contact so hopefully he’s moving on.”

“But we don’t know if he’s been trying to see Blaine or not, we just know he hasn’t” Thad retorts

“Look I didn’t come to ask your opinion I just wanted to know you guys would be on the lookout too. Britt and Satan will be and I just thought it made sense if you were as well. If 

Hummel is there we aren’t to approach him, we just need to be aware of it and where he is.” Sebastian says firmly. 

“Okay…you seem sure and what you’re saying does make sense. There’s no point making Blaine worry when he should be focussing on enjoying the moment.” Nick comments

“Exactly…Plus Hummel would have to be a bigger idiot than normal to approach Tuesday night” Sebastian smirks

“Come on dude you’ve got to tell us now” Sam grins excitedly

Sebastian narrows his eyes, “None of you can breathe a word…and I mean it…if you do I’ll get Santana to rip your balls off with her nails.”

“Wow it’s serious then…and I think it’s safe to say we all promise…she’d enjoy that too much so I know it’s not an empty threat” Sam replies solemnly and the others agree

“Cooper and Kitty are getting earlier flights so they can come to the showcase” Sebastian tells them through a broad smile

“Oh my god he’s going to flip! I know he’s gutted that Cooper can’t come…well that he thinks he can’t” Sam exclaims

“Yeah well the filming schedule changed so he’ll be here early Monday evening. Kitty is getting in later.”

“How is she getting out of school for the rest of the week?” Jeff asks

“It’s Kitty…she’ll have got it sorted with Sue no doubt and the fact that it’s for Blaine would have helped” Sam answers

“Got it in one Ken…I’m trusting you guys with a lot here” Sebastian tells them plainly

“We won’t let you down” Thad tells him earnestly

“So do you wanna hang out for a bit?” Nick asks

“Yeah why not…though I want to be back home for when B gets back”

“Sometimes I wonder if you’re the same Sebastian Smythe we met those few years ago” Jeff teases

“Maybe you should think about why I want to be back for when he gets home” Sebastian replies with a raised eyebrow and a smirk full of suggestion.

“Nope…still the same Sebastian” Thad laughs

XXXXXXX  
When Blaine returns to the apartment Monday evening he is obviously exhausted as he lazily kicks off his shoes, dumps his bag and lays his guitar on the arm chair, not even removing it from its case, before face planting the sofa, legs dangling upwards over the arm from his knees. 

“You doing okay there killer?” Sebastian half smiles as he comes out of the kitchen to only receive a grunt in return, so he heads back to carry on preparing dinner.

A short while later Blaine still hasn’t moved and Sebastian is in the middle of cooking when the door goes, “Can you get that B?” Again Blaine grunts, but it’s decidedly a ‘no’,   
“Come on killer I’m kind of busy here.”

“No” Blaine grunts again more firmly so Sebastian wipes his hands and goes to answer the door. When he opens it he puts a finger to his lips to signal to the other person, plus extra guest, to keep quiet.

Sebastian and Cooper walk back to the living room. When Cooper sees his baby brother he looks to Sebastian who smiles, rolls his eyes and shakes his head fondly. Sebastian stays back as Cooper walks up behind Blaine and pokes him on his rear.

“Go away” Blaine moans so Cooper pokes him again, harder this time, “Not now”

“What kind of greeting is that for your big brother?”

Blaine immediately rights himself, “Coop!” he beams and throws himself at his brother for a hug, “What are you going here?”

“I’m coming to see your showcase of course”

“But I thought you were still filming”

“Yeah well Ian may have had something to do with that” Cooper gestures with his head to the other person.

“Wow you’re actually Ian Somerholder…I wasn’t sure to believe him or not considering he’s also meant to have worked with and been friends with Vanessa Hudgens and Bradley Cooper, who turned out to be a waitress and a mechanic respectively.”

“Nice squirt” Cooper ruffles Blaine’s hair

“Don’t call me that” Blaine replies automatically before ducking Cooper’s assault and shaking Ian’s hand, “Well it’s nice to meet you”

“You too Blaine…your brother’s told me a lot about you and congratulations for the showcase, though given your performance for your mid-term it’s definitely deserved.”

“You saw my mid-term?” Blaine swallows nervously

“Yeah I watched it with Cooper in my trailer”

“Dinner will be ready in ten” Sebastian interrupts

“Thanks Bas” Blaine smiles then yawns

“So you’ve clearly been doing too much if those bags are anything to go by” Cooper says actually serious, pointing at Blaine’s eyes in turn.

“I love you too Coop” Blaine replies sarcastically through another yawn as his brother throws an arm over his shoulder, “It means a lot that you’re here” Blaine leans in to Cooper’s side.

“Nowhere I’d rather be”

“Are you staying for dinner?” Blaine asks Ian

“Actually I’m on my way to meet some friends but I just wanted to stop by to meet this joker’s brother. I’m sure I’ll see you again sometime over the holiday period though, particularly as Cooper’s coming back here in the New Year.”

“It was nice to meet you and hopefully we’ll see you again” Blaine smiles

“I’ll show you out…why don’t you go and help that boyfriend of yours Blainers” Cooper gently pushes Blaine towards the kitchen.

Cooper shows Ian to the front door, “He’s just what you said Cooper…I can see why you’re the proud big brother”

Cooper smiles his show stopping smiles, “Thanks…particularly considering he’s obviously exhausted”

“Yeah, though I’m not surprised given everything he’s had going on recently, it’s obvious why everyone else’s exams stop earlier to give them time to prepare.”

“You’re telling me…well I’ll see you soon man”

“Definitely” Ian smiles before heading on his way

When Cooper goes back to the living room he sees Blaine sat on one of the sofas flicking through channels so the older Anderson heads to the kitchen to have a quick catch up with Sebastian, “Hey how’s he doing?”

“Apart from being exhausted? He’s good” Sebastian replies as he takes the homemade pizzas out of the oven. “I know you want to catch up with him, but he really needs to get an early night”

“I don’t think I or he will have much choice, he can’t stop yawning…how’s Kitty getting here?”

“I’ve booked a car service for her”

“Awesome”

“There is one thing about tomorrow night Cooper, but Blaine doesn’t know and I don’t want him to know…there’s a chance Kurt could be there as Rachel’s highlighted NYADA students are encouraged to go to other schools showcases.”

“Oh man” Cooper groans, “Well I can see why you haven’t told him…he needs to focus on himself and the performance, hopefully if the nightmare is there then he’ll leave well alone, after all it’s been a while since anyone’s heard a peep from him.”

“That’s what we’re all hoping too” Sebastian says as he passes Cooper a plate to carry through

They find Blaine watching an episode of Agents of Shield. After they’ve eaten they all head for a shower, Sebastian helping Blaine wash as he seems ready to fall asleep even standing up before seeing to himself. Blaine pulls on a pair of longue pants and one Sebastian’s lacrosse hoodies before heading back into the living room where Cooper is already waiting with a beer.

“Nice to see you feel at home Coop” Blaine teases as he sits next to his brother

“Well you did tell me to help myself…how do you two have beer and wine in anyhow? Plus the spirits”

“Puck stocked us up when we last saw him at Halloween. Bas gave him some money and he came back with more alcohol than I’ve ever seen before…it’s like he can sniff out deals when it comes to booze.”

Cooper chuckles then puts his arm around Blaine’s shoulders, who happily leans into his big brother’s side, his tiredness obvious by how he doesn’t even try to hold himself up.

“You should go to bed squirt” Cooper says lovingly

“Soon, I want to spend some time with you first”

“We’ll have plenty of time to catch up”

“I know…tell me about your last day filming” Blaine yawns

Cooper laughs softly and starts telling Blaine about his first series wrap. It’s not long before Blaine falls asleep, pressed against his brother’s side.

“I knew it wouldn’t be long” Sebastian smiles as he comes back into the living room in a pair of sweats and his superman t-shirt.

“Should we move him?” Cooper asks

Sebastian walks closer to the brothers and looks at his boyfriend for a moment, “No, not yet. Give it half an hour and we’ll be able to move him without waking him.” He then takes out his phone to message Kitty, letting her know to message or call him when she arrives as Blaine’s gone to sleep, clearly exhausted from exams and rehearsals. Kitty doesn’t protest at all, knowing how much Blaine would have been pushing himself. 

“So is it stupid to ask how much he’s been pushing himself?”

“Incredibly so” Sebastian teases, “You know how he is Cooper…he wants to make the most of this opportunity plus, he doesn’t want to let Michael or Dr Green down as he feels they’re taking a chance on him.”

“But he earned it”

“You’re preaching to the choir man”

“So how are you doing anyway?”

“I’m good. As proud as I am of him it will be nice to have some down time together.” Sebastian admits.

“Can’t be easy knowing you’re going to have to share him though…I know Blaine’s been missing spending quality time just the two of you.”

“We both have…and we’ll still get some down time together before he starts rehearsing for his musical theatre mid-term.”

“Oh man I hadn’t even thought of that”

Sebastian sits up from his reclined position and narrows his eyes at the older Anderson, “But you are still coming right?” 

“I am…chill!” Cooper jokes, “What’s he singing for it?”

“If he hasn’t told you I’m not going to Cooper” Sebastian warns

“So I’m not going to get anything out of you about tomorrow am I?” 

“Just be prepared to be blown away” Sebastian smirks

The two stay up talking for a little while longer before Sebastian carries Blaine to bed and Cooper also heads off. It’s not that much later when Kitty arrives, tired from travelling she gets a drink, has a shower and also heads off to bed, wanting to be up early to see Blaine in the morning before he has to leave.


	84. The showcase

The next morning Blaine and Sebastian are lying in bed, limbs tangled, sharing sweet, slow kisses.

“I could kiss you forever” Sebastian sighs

“You can” Blaine replies softly before connecting their lips again. A few minutes later Blaine’s alarm goes off. 

“We’re definitely picking back up later” Sebastian groans through a purr

“You’ll get no arguments from me” Blaine smiles, “I don’t want to stop now”

“Me neither” Sebastian leans in for another kiss but before they can get into it his alarm goes off. “Why did we set multiple alarms?”

“Because we knew we’d get distracted but that I can’t be late” Blaine grins before giving Sebastian a kiss on the forehead and pushing himself up, pulling on sweats and a t-shirt. 

“I’ll put the coffee on for you.”

“No I’ll do it” Sebastian rolls out of bed and pulls on some lounge shorts and a hoodie, “It seems cruel you doing it when you can’t have any”

“Yeah Rach was right…coffee is really hard going on your voice if you’re using it a lot. I plan on making up for it though…it’s nearly Christmas and I’ve only had one peppermint mocha.”

“It really is a travesty” Sebastian teases as they make their way to the kitchen. 

As soon as the coffee is brewing Cooper wonders into the kitchen yawning, wearing navy longue pants and a grey t-shirt, his hair still sleep mussed too.

“Are you sure you shouldn’t still be asleep Coop?” Blaine asks his brother

“No I’m good…I’ve been keeping some screwy hours anyway…I just need coffee”

“Huh you really are brothers” Kitty quips as she walks through, in her pyjamas with her hair tied back messily.

“Kitty?” Blaine asks dumbly with wide eyes

“Last time I looked fuzz ball” the blonde smirks and immediately Blaine’s face lights up and he picks the girl up, spinning her around, making her giggle.

Blaine puts her down when his tea is ready, “What are you doing here?” 

“Thought I’d do some Christmas shopping” She shrugs then rolls her eyes, “I’m here for your showcase you big moron” and shoves him playfully

“Hang on…McKinley hasn’t finished for the holidays yet” he frowns

“For me it has….I’ve done all of my mid-terms and Sue said I could come here…on the condition I film a demonstration video with you to show the Cheerios.”

“Wait what do we need to film?” Blaine questions

“Some of our lifts and the flips with the hoops and you and Britt pin-wheeling”

“This isn’t like Sue’s normal methods” Blaine comments, his voice heavy with suspicion

“Oh it actually makes perfect sense. She’s fed up of hearing the squad complain to Roz that things can’t be done…and we proved they can…and I won’t let anyone else pick me up until they’ve seen how they’re meant to and well…they won’t do it either.”

“How many people have lost their eyebrows?” Blaine asks as he pours himself some cereal

“6” Kitty replies flatly and Sebastian laughs

Blaine then mixes two other types of cereal into his bowel so it’s a mixture of Cheerios, Peanut Butter Crunch and Chocolate Crunch Toasts. “Hey do me one Blainers” Cooper half asks, half orders when he sees the mix his brother’s got going on so Blaine gives him his bowl and gets another for himself. “Man that’s good” Cooper grins, his eyes sparkling once again now they’re void of sleep.

“You’re both weird” Sebastian comments as he makes he and Kitty toast. Both brothers shrug then grin tight lipped in exactly the same way, mouths full. 

“I still can’t believe you’re here” Blaine smiles at Kitty and Cooper

“Nowhere we’d rather be” Cooper smiles

“Yeah but now I really can’t believe I fell asleep so early last night” Blaine cringes

“Better that than you having hallucinations again” Kitty smirks

“Hey I got them because of the gas leaking through the vent” Blaine retorts defensively

“But you only inhaled enough gas because you fell asleep under the vent because you were doing too much” the blonde fires back

“You’re not going to win this one killer” Sebastian laughs

“Fine…I’m going to go shower” Blaine huffs playfully as he finishes his cereal

When Blaine reappears he’s dressed in some old comfy jeans and a grey short sleeved Henley and a bright blue cardigan. He’s also holding a clothes bag with his outfit for the performance, as well as his satchel which he’s stashed some toiletries in so he can use the showers in the gym to have a quick freshen up and packs the flapjack, water and fruit that Sebastian passes him before choosing the acoustic he wants to play that night and packs spare strings.

“You look like a pack horse” Kitty comments

“You’re not seriously going on the subway with all of that are you?” Cooper frowns

“I do it basically everyday” Blaine rolls his eyes, not noticing that his boyfriend has disappeared.

“Apart from when you rollerblade in and you aren't doing either today” Sebastian replies, now with sweats, trainers and coat on, “I won’t be long…just don’t mess anything up” he points to Cooper and Kitty

“What would we do?” Cooper asks scandalized while Kitty giggles. When Blaine and Sebastian have gone Cooper turns to Kitty, “So…what do you want to do?”

“Well I’m going to go for a shower and get dressed. It’s up to you but I’d definitely suggest you do the same” Kitty jokes and wafting her hands, pretending he smells bad.

“Why is my brother friends with you again?” Cooper sasses playfully back

“Just as I tell him…because I’m all kinds of awesome” she winks as she shuts the bathroom door on Cooper’s face so he goes to use the en suite.

They both reappear at the same time and Cooper goes to start another pot of coffee when the door goes. Kitty answers it and squeals as she is wrapped up in strong arms and carried through to the living room.

“Hey Cooper!” Sam grins when he sees the older Anderson and puts Kitty down so he can give him a hug.

“Hey Sam how are you doing?”

“Really good actually…I’ve had some jobs through and I’m nearly happy with my portfolio…I just need to borrow Blaine to finish it off and sort my essay out.”

“Wow so you’re really going to reapply for school huh” the older Anderson smiles proudly

“Yeah…I’ve enjoyed modelling but I don’t know…it really doesn’t seem that healthy…a lot of drugs and things going on. This one girl I met would literally take a laxative every time she ate something.”

“Man that’s not right” 

“And people wonder why eating orders are on the increase” Kitty comments as she comes back with some juice for her and Sam.

“You didn’t have any problems after the whole photographer thing?” Cooper asks

“No, not at all…she did call me once but I stuck my ground…decided best not to go too far down that path.”

Cooper nods, “Wise move”

“So you hooked up with a photographer huh?” Kitty smirks

“She was hot” Sam shrugs

Kitty nods, “Fair enough”

“You’re not like normal girls are you” Cooper looks at Kitty

“Please I’m hardly like normal people” she winks and laughs at his expression. 

Just then Sebastian comes back, “I expected you earlier Sam”

“Nah I decided it wasn’t best to overload him this morning…that and Jeff locked me in my room” Sam admits.

Sebastian laughs, “So what were you talking about?”

“How Kitty’s not normal” Cooper answers

“You can hardly talk Cooper” Sebastian grins

“Normal is overrated anyway” Kitty replies

“True…if you think about it…I wouldn’t call anyone in our close group exactly normal” Sam adds thoughtfully. “So what time do we need to be there later?”

“Well I’m getting there for six fifteen” Sebastian replies, “But you have to be seated at seven for a seven fifteen start.”

“He ask you to get there early?”

“Yeah…you guys can come with me, but you won’t be able to see him before the show”

“It’s cool…I think we all know the drill now anyway”

“So he’s pretty nervous about tonight then?” Cooper asks not really having had the time to gage his younger brother’s mood before he left.

“He’s doing okay…better than he thinks he is” Sebastian answers

“But Mr Grab Ass is always good at calming Blaine down if he does get nervous so it makes sense that he’d want him there.”

The rest of the group slowly make their way over throughout the day, Hunter being the last to arrive lets himself in as instructed by Sebastian.

“Hey Hunter” Sebastian greets as he’s the first to spot Hunter when he enters the living room.

“Hey guys” Hunter grabs himself a can of soda before settling down with the rest. “Is Blaine ready for tomorrow?”

“Don’t you mean tonight” Cooper frowns in confusion

“No I mean tomorrow. I know he’ll be fine tonight”

“Wait what’s happening tomorrow?” Kitty asks nobody in particular

“Shit I hadn’t told you two yet” Sebastian runs a hand through his hair, “Blaine and Hunter are competing in a fencing competition tomorrow.”

“It’s something the club we’ve joined does. All proceeds go to charity.” Hunter adds

“We get to watch right?” Kitty beams

“Well the rest of us are” Artie replies

“Awesome I’ve never seen him fence before” Cooper smiles.

Another knock at the door goes and Sebastian looks around. “I thought we were all here too man” Sam replies to the silent question and goes to get the door for Sebastian as he’d been up and down most of the afternoon. When Sam returns he’s followed by Rachel.

“Berry what the hell are you doing here?” Santana asks

“It was agreed that I should have a night off, having performed solidly since opening night, so my under study is filling in”

“Of course it has nothing to do with the fact it’s Blaine’s showcase tonight” Brittany smiles mischievously

“A happy coincidence” Rachel replies not so innocently

“There aren’t any tickets left tonight though Rachel” Jeff tells her solemnly 

“Oh I’ve already sorted that…I’m sitting with all of you…I decided if I was going to use my Broadway fame for something I could use it to support a friend.”

Jean-Baptiste smiles, “Seems like a good use to me”

“Aren’t you worried about letting your under study out for a night though? I thought she was trying to steal your place” Thad questions

“Oh please…she can try, but she doesn’t have my talent” Rachel immediately dismisses.

“God where’s Blainers when you need him…he’s the only one who can stop you when your abnormally large head starts expanding even more” Santana groans.

Cooper laughs, “Yeah he’s good at that”

Artie looks at his watch, “What time do we need to leave?” 

“Now as you’ve all decided to come with me” Sebastian answers so they all put their coats and shoes on.

“I still think it’s cute you all take your shoes off as soon as you arrive” Cooper teases the group

“Yeah well between Blaine’s OCD tendencies, Sebastian’s want to keep the furniture as safe as possible, even though it’s only really Blaine who’ll climb on and walk all over it, and   
want to have to clean as little as possible, plus their stubbornness and sometimes short fuses…it’s just better and easier this way” Sam replies

“Definitely” Nick and Jeff agree.

It doesn’t take the group long to get to NYU. When they do Sebastian goes to see Blaine while the rest purchase drinks from the stands set out in the foyer of the auditorium where the performances will be taking place.

Michael sees Sebastian walking ahead of him down a corridor, “Sebastian!” he calls so the tall boy hears him.

Sebastian turns around, “Hi…where’s Blaine?”

“Come this way…it’ll be easier” Michael gestures with his head so Sebastian follows

“How’s he doing?”

“Starting to let those nerves build…Normally it’s only those involved in the showcase allowed back here before a show so you might get some funny looks, but all the staff agreed as Blaine’s been put in this position in his Freshman year, that if he needs to see you then he needs to see you.”

“Thank you”

“No problem…the fact he’s the closing act adds to the pressure.”

“Wait what?” Sebastian stops, “When was that decided?”

“Only this morning, the programmes for these shows are always quite literally fresh off the press…I guess he hasn’t had a chance to tell you. Sorry I should have kept my mouth shut.”

“No it’s okay…now I know what I’m contending with”

Michael smiles, nods and points to the corner Blaine’s sat in, facing the wall with his guitar on his lap, the guys supporting him sat around him, but not facing in his direction, as if making a protective shield. They smile when they see Sebastian and move to give the couple some privacy while also ensuring they aren’t disturbed by anyone else.

“Hey killer B” Sebastian greets as he settles on the floor next to his boyfriend and kisses his temple.

Blaine shifts his guitar so he can lean into Sebastian, “Hey Bastian…I love you”

“I love you too sap” Sebastian wraps an arm around Blaine’s waist, “So you’ve got to know you clearly kick ass considering you’re the closing act.”

Blaine looks into his boyfriend’s eyes, “How do you know that?”

“Michael gave slip as he brought me to you…he obviously thought I already knew though so don’t be angry at him.”

“I wanted to tell you earlier…I just didn’t have time”

“I know killer…and if you need to then just sing to me…plus if you think about it…as one of your pieces is a mash up and the other is an original…well nobody will know if they go wrong at all” he tickles Blaine’s waist making him squirm and giggle.

“Thanks Bas”

“What for?” Sebastian plays innocent

“You know exactly what for”

“So you’re feeling better?”

Blaine places a gentle kiss on Sebastian’s lips, “Yes I’m feeling better…I need you to do something for me though”

“Anything” Sebastian waggles his eyebrows making Blaine laugh

“I wasn’t actually thinking about that…but now you’ve mentioned it…if we’re quick we have time…I need you to collect everyone’s programmes… I don’t want them to see what   
I’m performing before…but you can tell them they’ve seen me play one of the pieces before but don’t give anything else away.”

“Done…as for the other thing” Sebastian stands and pulls Blaine up from the floor by his hands. 

“Guys I’ll be back in a minute…I’m just going to get some fresh air.” Blaine tells his band

“It’ll do you some good” Chris smiles

The couple slope out of the room and Blaine pulls Sebastian down a silent corridor, away from the auditorium and into a bathroom nobody else at NYU that evening would have any business being in. 

When Sebastian joins the rest of the group again Santana and Hunter both raise an eyebrow suggestively at him so he just shrugs in response and quickly downs a drink.

“So is he doing better?” Cooper asks Sebastian

“Much” the taller replies and Santana and Hunter smile knowingly

When the call goes for the audience to take their seats, Sebastian goes ahead and collects the programmes from the section they’re sitting in.

“Hey man I wanted that” Sam frowns

“I’m following orders…B doesn’t want you seeing what he’s performing before” the group groan. “He did say to tell you that you’ve already seen him play one of the pieces though.”

“Can you at least tell us when we can expect him to play?” Brittany asks

Sebastian thinks for a moment, “He’s the closing act”

“Hell yeah!” Calls Artie and the rest make other impressed, proud and happy comments.

The standard of the showcase is high from the outset. “No wonder he was so nervous if this is what he’s closing.” Cooper comments so Sebastian can hear him.

“Tell me about it.”

When Blaine’s next Sebastian sends a message down the line of friends and they all immediately perk up in their seats even more.

Michael walks onto the stage to introduce Blaine and Sebastian can’t help but think that he’s the most fitting member of staff to do so. “Our next and final act breaks the mould somewhat. As a rule we don’t invite freshman to perform in the showcase because of the additional pressure that most are not ready for, particularly as their exams only finish the week before. Yet for the next act we’ve broken this rule because of how well he’s fitted in to life here at NYU…more than fitted in. He’s proven himself a true talent on humble and bashful shoulders, something we don’t see in performers often.” Michael teases and the audience laugh. “So without further ado, please welcome to the stage, Blaine Anderson.”

The crowd applause politely as Blaine makes his way to the piano. As soon as he’s settled he locks eyes with Sebastian who nods encouragingly then winks flirtatiously at him, immediately bringing a smile to Blaine’s face as he starts to play randomly yet beautifully. Blaine continues to play as he speaks down the microphone, just as Michael and Dr Green had encouraged him to do, “Good evening everyone…so I apologise to those who’ve already heard this piece but for those who haven’t, for our NYU auditions we were told to perform something that is typical of what we normally do, so I performed an arrangement of a popular 90’s pop song…one of the greatest I think.” By now Blaine has charmed the audience as his fingers seamlessly smile into fluer de lis, confusing those who had never the arrangement before. Throughout the piece it’s clear everyone enjoys it, which is confirmed by the level of applause Blaine gets when he finishes, complete with his shy smile as he makes his way over to the acoustic guitar he’d set on stage when he made his entrance, in the area the amps and drums had been set up for any performances that required a band.

Blaine doesn’t talk this time and goes straight into playing the song. When none of the others recognise it they all look to Sebastian who nods and passes the programmes down the line. It’s then they all see ‘I still think – music and lyrics written by Blaine Anderson’ and beam excitedly as he starts singing. Part way through the first verse the guys come out and get settled at their instruments, they all start rocking out on stage at the first chorus and the audience gets carried with the song. The group all notice how Sebastian is singing along, clearly having heard the song more than a few times and love seeing Blaine in his element. He exudes a confidence none of them have really seen before and it’s clearly noticeable as to why he was selected to be the final act. It doesn’t take long for the audience to all be out of their seats, bopping and clapping along to the song.  
Part way through the band keep playing while Blaine breaks to speak down the microphone, “Welllll it looks like a band joined me…everyone this is Dan, Chris and Neil” he gestures to each one individually, “Well we’re just going to keep playing the song.” By the end most in the audience have picked up on the chorus and are singing along. Sebastian, Sam and Cooper can’t help looking around at the other audience members and Jeff captures a video clip on his phone while Artie takes some pictures. When Blaine and the band finish playing the audience erupts in enthusiastic applause. Blaine giggles bashfully, “Thanks guys” bows then promptly exits the stage with his band.

Michael walks back on stage, this time with Dr Green, before the applause dies down and gestures to the audience, who quickly quieten down. “Well I think you can all see why we invited Blaine to participate tonight.”

Dr Green takes over, “Thank all of you for coming and supporting our students. We hope to see you all again soon.”

With that the audience start dispersing, some talent scouts making their way up to Michael and Dr Green while others filter out to the foyer, some staying behind to wait for their friends and family who were performing while the others exit to begin their journeys home on the cold winter night. Unfortunately as they wait in the foyer the group all spot the person they were hoping wouldn’t be there. None of them say anything as it’s clear Kurt hasn’t spotted them and they hope he’ll just leave, but it seems that was too much to hope as he lingers, only one of the group he’s with hanging back, a girl none of them recognise, even Rachel.

Michael spots Kurt and recognises him immediately so excuses himself from the conversation with Dr Green and one of the talent scouts to go and talk to Sebastian. “I can’t do anything unless he causes trouble.”

“So you must be the famous Michael” Cooper beams and holds out his hand to Michael.

“This is Cooper, Blaine’s older brother” Sebastian introduces 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, you must be very proud, both of you must be” It’s then Michael truly takes note of the rest of the group, “You all must be”

“He was amazing!” Rachel squeals a little too loudly, attracting the attention of Kurt who immediately recognises her voice from across the foyer.

“I would ask what you’re all doing here though I won’t bother as it’s obvious” Kurt snipes after he’s sauntered over to them.

“Just as we know you’d have come as a NYADA student as you’re all encouraged to attend other college’s showcases.” Rachel replies.

“Shouldn’t you be on stage?” 

“I’ve got a night off” she says tightly

“Is your lift running late?” Cooper asks Kurt politely 

“I’m sorry?”

“I can only assume that’s why you’re still here” Cooper smiles charmingly. When Kurt doesn’t reply Cooper continues overly polite, “Or are you hoping to talk to my baby brother?   
Because if so, we won’t have time”

Sebastian takes the opportunity to go to his boyfriend and leaves the group, his movements unnoticed by their visitor.

“It’s none of your business” Kurt replies stiffly

Kitty steps forward, “Hello Kurt” and smirks evilly

“What are you doing here?”

“I came to see a friend who gave the performance of his life so far. I’m still here because I’m staying at his and Sebastian’s apartment and because I want to see him and he’ll want to see me.” Kitty replies, levelly yet coolly. Hunter can’t help but be impressed as he watches the way she makes Kurt flinch with nothing but the tone of her voice and look in her eyes.

“Kurt I really think you should go” Brittany says steadily

“And what if I’m here to see one of my other friends?” 

“Then you don’t need to be disturbing us or interrupting our conversation.” Michael steps in, “If you could so kindly move along Mr Hummel. We won’t have any disruptions here at NYU, particularly on a night that means so much to our students.”

Kurt lifts his chin but turns and exits, surprising the others as they thought he’d put up more of a fight. What they didn’t realise however was that he was waiting just outside the door.

As Sebastian heads backstage he sees a bashful, somewhat overwhelmed Blaine surrounded by a group of other performers from the evening congratulating him as his band pack up their things. The second Blaine locks eyes on his boyfriend he breaks into his Sebastian smile. It doesn’t take long for the people surrounding him to realise they’ve lost his attention. Many of them recognise Sebastian from before the show so move out of the way. Immediately Sebastian strides towards Blaine and captures him in a kiss, pouring his love and how proud he is into it.

When the kiss breaks Sebastian rests his forehead against Blaine’s, “You blew everyone away Blaine…and my bashful school boy making a fleeting appearance at the end? Superhot” he winks and Blaine tickles his side in retaliation. 

“But what do you think?” Blaine asks seriously. Sebastian pretends to think hard for a long moment, “Don’t be a dick and just tell me” Blaine practically whines as he bounces on the balls of his feet.

Sebastian laughs, “Honestly”

“Preferably” Blaine cuts in making his boyfriend laugh again.

“Alright Mr Impatient, you’ve got to let me get a word in if you want to know…B you took my breath away, that was the best you’ve ever played either of those pieces…and I’ve never felt prouder. You’ve always been an amazing performer and drawn the crowd in but tonight was something else….you entered a new level and took us all with you.” Sebastian notices how Blaine’s eyes have swollen up with tears, “You sap” he teases lightly, they both know it’s an endearment of their own.

“Yeah but I’m your sap” Blaine retorts as he buries his face in the crook of Sebastian’s neck.

Sebastian places a kiss on the top of Blaine’s curls, “Damn straight” 

At this point the band guys interrupt to say goodbye, “We’ll see you after winter break” Chris says

“Tonight was awesome Blaine, thanks for asking us to be part of it.” Dan adds and Chris and Neil agree.

“No thank you, I couldn’t have done it without you three…you gave up free time to give me a chance…so…thank you…seriously” Blaine tells them all earnestly.

“Okay that’s the last thank you we’re going to accept from you” Neil jokes, albeit seriously, making everyone laugh, “Have a good break Blaine, you’ve earnt it.” With that the three leave.

“Let’s get out of here Bas”

“Just a second killer” Sebastian tightens his hold on his boyfriend

Blaine furrows his brow, “What?”

Sebastian runs a hand through his hair, “Kurt was here, might still be here, I left the others when he came over.”

“Why would he be here?” Blaine asks puzzled

“Rachel said NYADA students are encouraged to attend other schools’ showcases”

“But you said you left when he came over…wait…she warned you before didn’t she?” It’s not really a question but Blaine looks to Sebastian for confirmation.

“Yes”

“You should have told me Bas” Blaine chastises

“I didn’t want you worrying about it when you had so much else going on…you forget I’ve seen how tired and actually sometimes stressed you’ve been…and we both know you don’t stress easily killer.”

Blaine takes a deep breath, “I know you were looking out for me and protecting me but you should have told me Bastian.”

“I knew you wouldn’t like being kept in the dark and I still stand by it being the right decision in this case B.”

“You may be right, but please don’t cut me out of the loop again, I have a right to know what’s going on…and I can handle it.”

Although Sebastian made his decision out of love, Blaine’s words strike a chord with him as they’re very similar, albeit a lot milder, than ones he’d said to his dad in the past, time and time again. “I know you can…I’m sorry…I just…”

“I know Bastian…I love you” Blaine joins their lips in a chaste kiss

“You have no idea how much I love you”

“Actually…I think I do” Blaine smiles and tugs on Sebastian’s arms, “Come on…let’s get out of here.”

Blaine picks up his guitar, already in its gig bag and puts it on his back. Before he can protest Sebastian has grabbed his satchel, now with clothes bag and the clothes he was wearing earlier inside as Blaine hadn’t changed out of his performance gear and they start walking to the front hand in hand.

As Santana sees the couple approach she grabs hold of Rachel’s arm, “Remember to let Cooper and Trouty at him first Rachel”

“You’re right” Santana’s grip loosens, “Don’t let go though, or I might not be able to help myself.” Rachel admits.

The Latina laughs, “Trust me, I wasn’t going to”

Cooper pulls his brother into a hug as soon as he can, trapping Sebastian’s hand with it. “Cooper, I can’t breathe” Blaine complains after a minute of being trapped.

“Yeah and I’d like my hand back” Sebastian wiggles his fingers in emphasis

As soon as Cooper lets go of his brother Sebastian unclasps his hand from Blaine’s just in time for him to be swept up by Sam and then the rest of the group one by one.

“I can’t believe we never knew you wrote!” Rachel almost squeaks

“Yeah you certainly kept that quiet…right Sam?” Jeff adds then looks at Sam, “Oh of course you knew”

“Only recently!” Sam defends, “And only because”

“Sam!” Blaine interrupts

“Erm…because I saw his music” the blonde changes what he was going to say

“It’s alright, we won’t push” Nick reassures and the rest agree, none of them believing the last minute excuse

“But of course lurch here would have known” Santana elbows Sebastian knowingly

“But of course” Sebastian smirks smugly, “I won’t make you all even more jealous by telling you how long” he winks as he wraps an arm around Blaine’s shoulders, the guitar blocking access to his waist.

“Have you written much?” Artie asks

Blaine chuckles embarrassedly, “A fair bit yeah…are we all happy to walk and talk? I really appreciate you all coming, you have no idea how much but…”

“He’s going to need his energy and focus for tomorrow” Hunter finishes seriously, taking any innuendo out of the phrasing. 

“It’s not like those flimsy sword things can hurt though” Sam teases

“They’re called foils and let me hit you with one, then you might change your mind.” Blaine retorts.

“It’s like being whipped, even with the padding” Nick adds

“Kinky” Brittany comments playfully making them all laugh as they get ready to head out, Cooper taking Blaine’s guitar from him, being able to recognise that although his brother is on a post-performance high, he’s definitely tired and from what Nick and Hunter had said earlier, he really will need to recoup before the fencing competition tomorrow.

“And on that note I’m going to say my congratulations, have a good holiday and actually get some rest Blaine” Michael tells him firmly, “We’ll catch up after break…and remember if you want to get any extra help to work on your vocal techniques, it’s not cheating, many students have private tutors for instrument and voice work outside of NYU.”

“Wait did you really think that would be cheating?” Jeff asks

“Fine I’m an idiot” Blaine sighs

“No just an incredibly talented yet self-doubting and questioning student. I’ll see you in a couple of weeks.” With that Michael leaves the group.

“So does that mean you are going to ask Shelby for help?” Rachel asks, “I hope you realise she’s itching to do it.”

“It does…it’d be good to get her opinion.”

“It would but I think you’ve got it killer, you’ve been working ridiculously hard and it definitely shows, but you wouldn’t be you if you didn’t want to go the extra mile.”

“I could say the same to you” Blaine raises his eyebrows at his boyfriend as they step outside, hand in hand.

“You were amazing…Blaine…I said you were amazing” Kurt calls out, walking quickly to catch up with the group, having almost missed them leave as he’d been deep in thought.

“Err…thanks Kurt” Blaine replies as they all keep walking

“Blaine…” Kurt tries again

“Now’s not good…we’ll be late meeting the others”

“Others?” Kurt stutters

“Yep” Kitty grins, quickly catching on

“Okay” Kurt stops, not wanting to see anyone else, if Kitty was here who knows who else is and the new New Directions were not fans of his and wouldn’t be afraid to show it. Yet Kurt couldn’t help but feel like he’d made progress, Blaine had spoken to him, had thanked him and from the sounds of it only didn’t stop because he had somewhere to be and Blaine didn’t like keeping people waiting if he could help it. Yes, things were finally starting to move in the right direction. Now Kurt just had to try and get to talk to him again and then it wouldn’t be long, he just knew it, they’d been apart so long he was starting to believe his dad was right, but at the same time Mercedes had said that love always finds its way and after seeing Blaine and his mesmerizing eyes again Kurt knew he still loved the younger boy. Was it too much to allow himself to read into the lyrics, ‘I still think we’re in love’ it was too early to say but it gave another boost of hope.

“Meeting the others hey Frodo?”

“Yeah well considered he tried following you girls to ours that time I didn’t think it would be wise to say we were heading home.”

“Wait…you didn’t tell me that” Cooper cuts in

“It’s fine…Santana dealt with it” Blaine replies

“How?” Cooper asks curiously

“I pushed him in the fountain” the Latina replies flatly, making Cooper laugh, “we then disappeared into the crowd.”

“Wait!” they hear Kurt’s voice calling

“Man I thought that had worked” Sam moans

“Sorry Kurt…this really isn’t a good time” Artie tries, the only one of the group on civil terms him.

“I wasn’t talking to you” Kurt replies rudely

“To be fair you didn’t exactly address anyone and there’s no need to be so rude…now’s not a good time.” Artie tries again.

“Artie’s right” Blaine adds

“We still need to talk”

“I thought we’d finally moved passed this…I’m too tired for this Kurt.”

“Just leave it man…you know as well as I do that pushing will only make the situation worse, can we not just leave it as having an encounter that didn’t end in yelling or someone being hit.” Artie says plainly, hoping the obvious progress will soothe Kurt. It’s obvious he and Blaine will never be more than acquaintances again, hopefully civil ones if they pass in the street, but the older boy really needed to accept it now, once and for all.

“Oh just like you know all about directing?” Kurt scoffs, “Honestly I’m surprised you’ve managed to hold on a semester at film school”

“Why do you have to be so mean when you don’t get your own way?” Brittany frowns, “You must be a very unhappy person because life isn’t about getting what you want.”

Kurt raises his chin, “It’s not mean if it’s the truth”

“Everyone’s truth is different” Thad retaliates, “And from what I’ve seen Artie is a fine director”

“Yeah…that’s why he chose Blaine as Tony instead of me” Kurt scoffs

“Seriously?! You’re still stuck on that?” Santana gasps unimpressed 

“Kurt I thought we cleared this up, based on your audition you weren’t right for Tony.” Artie explains.

“Then you obviously don’t know real talent when you don’t see it…besides it’s not as if you’re cut out for the city Artie, it’s not exactly equipped for people like you.”

“Oh hell no!” Santana shouts

“Watch what you say…you could be done for discrimination” Sebastian growls

“And are you saying Blaine doesn’t have real talent?” Sam questions

“Cos coming from you that’s real rich” Kitty adds, “And you could argue that nowhere is equipped for your voice, yet we’re still all seemed condemned to have to listen to it.”

Kurt ignores all the comments relating to Artie’s disability, he knew he was on shaky ground, but at the same time the city wasn’t that well equipped for those with disabilities so he did somewhat stand by what he said, “None of you can comment, you didn’t see the auditions” he defends.

“But they will now…after everything I still tried to be cool with you Kurt, but seriously? Fine…if I’m honest your audition was cringey and embarrassing and now I’m going to let them see it.” Artie starts leaving.

“Don’t follow us or I will call the cops” Cooper tells Kurt firmly, leaving no room for doubt. To make sure they aren’t followed the group all then hail a couple of cabs to travel in. 

Everyone ends up at Blaine and Sebastian’s apartment, not having split into the cabs in a way that meant they could go straight home. Hunter opens the cab door for Kitty and gives her his hand to help her out of the car. Sebastian sees and raises his eyebrows at his friend, who smirks in return and walks with Kitty up to the apartment.   
Meanwhile Sam lifts Artie back into his chair and makes his way inside with Blaine, “Are you okay Artie?” Blaine asks

Artie doesn’t reply. None of them have ever seen him so angry. Cooper looks back to his brother who just shrugs helplessly. When they enter the apartment Artie goes straight to the TV and links up his phone. He accesses his Dropbox and goes straight to the folder labelled ‘West Side Story auditions’.

“So you’re really doing this huh?” Kitty comments as they all settle

“Yep” he snaps

Blaine heads into the kitchen, followed closely by his brother, “You okay squirt”

“Yeah fine”

“Blaine…come on we’re passed this now”

“Sorry”

“So…I’m not as good as Sebastian at this, are you pissed by the meeting tonight or by what’s going on now.”

Blaine hops up on the island with a bottle of water and Cooper leans against the cabinets opposite, “I’m not pissed…well maybe a little…it sucks that it put a dampener on tonight, I’m just…kinda embarrassed I guess…each time something happens it reminds me how stupid I was.” Blaine shrugs.

“Hey…you are far from stupid…if any of us had been in the same position I bet we’d have done the same thing…and it’s not where you have been but where you are now that counts right, like it’s how you handle the cards you’ve been dealt that’s more important than the actual cards themselves.”

“You’re in danger of starting to sound like Yoda” Blaine raises an eyebrow.

Cooper laughs and walks to his brother, “You’re a smart one aren’t you” puts him in a headlock and gives him a viscous noogie rub. 

“I didn’t say it was a bad thing” Blaine squirms, but his position stops him from getting away.

“Yeah but I’m a million times better looking than Yoda” Cooper quips as he continues his assault.

“If you’re quite finished harassing your brother Cooper, I’d like my boyfriend back now” Sebastian’s smooth voice cuts across the kitchen from where he’s stood in the doorway, smirking at the scene.

Cooper releases his brother, who immediately goes into his boyfriend’s arms and the three join the others in the living room. “Nice hair” Kitty giggles from where she’s sat particularly closely to Hunter.

“Yeah well you can thank Cooper” Blaine sticks his tongue out at the older Anderson as he tries to flatten his hair to no avail.

Artie starts Kurt’s audition. As he struts across the stage Cooper leans over to Blaine, “Okay perhaps you should be a little embarrassed” and gets a pinch in retaliation.  
Everyone cringes throughout the audition clip. “How did he think that would ever get him Tony…he’d have had more chance of being Maria.” Kitty quips as soon as the video finishes.

“I think you should make that recommendation to him next time you see him” Hunter eggs her on.

“Don’t you worry about that” she winks flirtatiously back at him. Blaine and Sebastian look at each other knowingly.

“The best bit about it was we had to wait for half an hour while his stupid scaffolding thing was fixed before he’d audition because apparently some idiots broke it.

“So who were the other idiots killer?” Sebastian asks as soon as Blaine’s eyes roll up to the ceiling, getting everyone’s attention.

“Wait that was you?” Artie demands, still a little angry from the encounter

“To be fair, we didn’t know what it was going to be used for…we just saw it on our way back from the track.” Blaine defends.

“Who’s we?” Jeff asks

“Myself, obviously, Puck and Mike”

Artie frowns, “Did this moment get videoed”

“Yeah…Puck filmed it.”

“Then I’ll forgive you if you show us”

Blaine smiles, “That I can do” and links his phone to the TV.

The camera is pointed on Blaine, still in his gym kit, with Puck obviously behind the camera doing a voice over, ‘Next up is Blaine Anderson, we have high hopes for this young athlete’. With that Blaine runs at the scaffolding, grabs one of the high up bars and swings over it before dismounting, ‘Very nice and a smooth dismount. Next up, Mr Michael Chang’. The next thing they all see is Mike run up to the bars, fail to grip properly and crashes into the wall after tripping over one of the knee height parts of the structure, damaging it. The only thing you can hear after that is the three boys laughing as Mike untangles himself from the bars against the walls before the video cuts.

“Okay…that was worth it” Artie laughs

“So who was your favourite audition Artie?” Rachel asks coyly

“Funnily enough…not you” he replies, making her face drop instantly, “That actually has to go to our star of the night” he looks straight at Blaine who blushes.

“Can we see it?” Cooper asks

“You don’t even have to ask” Artie finds the video and selects play.

Sebastian’s grip on his boyfriend tightens throughout the audition and he places kisses on his temple. 

“Okay…I see why mine wasn’t your favourite” Rachel happily admits at the end.

“It’s also when we discovered Mike can sing” Sam adds so Artie plays that video too.

Time passes much quicker than any of them notice until Blaine nuzzles against his boyfriend, clearly getting ready to sleep. “How did it get so late so fast?” Sebastian rubs his eyes. “Okay, who’s sleeping where so you don’t all have to travel back”

“You won’t get any arguments from me” Santana stretches

“If I go in with Jeff someone can have my bed” Sam offers

“I’ll take it” Artie speaks up

“Well no offense but, I’m going home…I’d rather go to sleep later and sleep longer in the morning considering the gym is just around the corner from my apartment” Hunter stands and calls for a cab before looking to Brittany, Rachel and Santana, “Would you three like me to drop you off?”

“Actually yes please…that way we don’t have to worry about the lack of clothes to change into in the morning.” Brittany answers so the four head off together.

After that Artie and the others head back to the bachelor pad as Blaine, Kitty, Cooper and Sebastian go to bed.


	85. Spiderman and Venom

The next morning Thad, Jeff, Nick, Sam and Artie are round the Seblaine apartment sat talking to Cooper, Sebastian and Kitty. Hunter and the rest of the group are due to be meeting them at the fencing club later. 

“What time are you going to wake him up dude?” Sam asks Sebastian

“If he’s not up in twenty minutes I will, but he looked like he was slowly starting to stir” the taller replies 

“Well you’ve definitely done to the right thing letting him sleep as long as possible, even if he was buzzing for a while last night it was obvious he was exhausted.” Cooper comments. At that moment Blaine comes stumbling into the living room in his boxer briefs and one of Sebastian’s oversized hoodies, coming down to his mid-thigh. “Morning squirt” Cooper tries but gets nothing in return, not even a look of recognition.

“Save it man, he’s still basically asleep, he’s just in Sebastian finding mode” Sam replies having seen this before. Blaine continues to stumble through the room, walking over the coffee table, the most direct route to Sebastian, somehow avoiding the mugs of coffee and plonks down on his boyfriend’s lap where he’s sat on the arm chair.

Sebastian automatically wraps his arms around Blaine and kisses his sleep mussed curls, “You alright killer B?” Sebastian asks softly as Blaine nuzzles into him.

“Mmm…I love you…wanted to be with you but you weren’t there and need to wake up…still sleepy…I’m rubbish…who’s here?” Blaine mumbles with his eyes still closed and face pressed into Sebastian’s chest in such an incoherent way only his boyfriend can understand him.

“I love you too sap…I left you so you could sleep longer because you needed it and Jeff, Nick, Thad, Sam and Artie are here, plus Kitty and Cooper of course and Jeff’s just brought a cup of coffee for you to help you wake up.” Sebastian nods in thanks to the blonde, “And you’re not rubbish” he chuckles.

Blaine opens his eyes, “Coffee?” he blinks, honey and green meeting for the first time that day.

“Yes coffee” Sebastian smiles and leans forward, taking Blaine with him to pick the mug up off the table. When they’re better positioned he passes it to Blaine.

After a few sips Blaine becomes much more with it and looks to the group with a shy smile, “Morning”

Everyone laughs and choruses, “Morning”

“Are you ready for today Blaine?” Nick asks

“Yeah I think so…I feel fine now…and I’ll feel better after I have my shower in a minute.”

“And breakfast” Sebastian adds

“And breakfast” Blaine rolls his eyes fondly, “So what are you making me?” he flutters his eyelashes.

“Yeah I’m starving” Kitty comments

“Why haven’t you eaten yet?” Blaine questions

“I wanted to see what he’d make you” 

“Who says I’m going to make anything?” Sebastian raises an eyebrow. Blaine pulls his puppy dog eyes. Combined with his morning hair and how he’s dressed, Sebastian is completely powerless. “Fine…I’ll make you poached eggs on toast…in or out Kitty cat as I’m not doing anything else?”

“In” Kitty purrs playfully in response to the name, “And you’re totally in danger of being whipped”

Sam and the other New York guys laugh, “Nah, they’re as whipped as each other, which cancels it out”

“And that’s what you call a balanced relationship” Blaine retorts as he settles back on the chair after letting Sebastian up.

After eating Blaine jumps in the shower and double checks that he’s got everything he needs for the day as they wouldn’t necessarily be coming back home as Hunter had offered Blaine his apartment to shower in after the competition should the group want to do something afterwards, knowing that Blaine isn’t a fan of open showers and that you never feel fully fresh showering at a gym. 

When the group arrive at the gym the fencing centre is based at Hunter and the girls are already waiting outside.

“I hope you haven’t been waiting long” Blaine greets

“No we just got here” Rachel smiles

Sebastian looks to Hunter with a raised eyebrow, “I only just got here too Smythe…in fact I arrived the same time as the girls”

“Ah so you didn’t have time to settle yourself into standing to attention” Sebastian goads

The group make their way in, “So anyone we should look out for?” Nick asks – although he’d stopped fencing when they came to NYU he still enjoyed watching it.

“Us obviously” Hunter smirks as he signs them all in, “Seriously though the final should be between Blaine and myself. Some of the guys don’t like that we’ve come and ruffled things up a bit considering we don’t compete in league and apparently have much less experience, so there could be some interesting tactics used in some of the duels.”

“It’ll be fine” Blaine rolls his eyes, “The event is for charity…anyway we better go and get ready. We’ll see you guys after considering we’ve got to stay in the competitors’ area and you’re not allowed there. If you get bored and want to go though, just message us.”

“Yeah that’s not going to happen…all you boys in your all in one tighty-whities” Kitty teases flirtatiously before head to the changing rooms, leaving the rest of the group to find their seats, reserved at the front, and get settled. It turns out there’s hot chocolate plus other drinks and pieces of cake for sale, again all the money going to charity, so they stock up before the duels begin.

Neither Blaine nor Hunter are in the first couple of duels – the centre being big enough for two to take place at once and gives those who don’t know much, if anything, about the sport some time to have the rules explained. They do however spot Hunter and Blaine in the competitors’ area that overlooks the two pistes, clearly discussing the current duels. The competition is simple, working in a knock out scenario. 

The both have their first duels at the same time and take their places on the pistes. Just as Hunter said the duo easily beat their opponents, who take it well and offer their congratulations, but Sebastian can’t help but notice two disgruntled looking men in the competitors’ area. The competition carries on in much the same way up until the semi-finals. At this point only one piste is used at a time. The group see an older man, who’s just been knocked out talking to Blaine and Hunter, clearly a friend they’ve made at the club. Hunter is up first and is against one of the men who’d been getting increasingly annoyed at Blaine and Hunter’s relatively easy progression throughout the event.

From the offset his opponent is trying to unnerve him, something that will never work on Hunter. The scores start mounting up in Hunter’s favour and it’s then the man starts using dirty tactics, Nick immediately picks up on it and starts informing the rest of the group as to what is going on. Sebastian looks over to Blaine who is still with his and Hunter’s friend, Steven, Sebastian thinks to himself remembering the duo talking about him, and the pair are clearly not happy with what is unfolding. It is a battle, but Hunter still manages to win, going through to the final and walking over to Blaine, as his competitor, who turns out to be called Ray from what the referee announces, goes storming over to his own friend.

Blaine takes to the piste against Ray’s friend, who is announced as Martin and turns out to be much more aggressive than Ray. Sebastian can’t help but sit at the edge of his seat or notice how Hunter and Steven are clearly pissed off. Yet from what Nick is saying Martin isn’t doing quite enough to be disqualified, but he’s hitting much harder than he should and making ‘mistake’ blows on areas where contact is not allowed. Part way through Martin lands a hard blow against the back of Blaine’s hand. From the way his body reacts Sebastian knows it’s hurt him and Hunter calls out for the referee to take action. It however spurs Blaine on, who then quickly finishes the duel, mounting up points rapidly and winning, also going through to the final.

There’s a fifteen minute break between Blaine’s duel and the final. When he leaves the piste, Blaine quickly heads back to the changing rooms with Steven and Hunter. As soon as Blaine takes his glove off Hunter winces at the whip mark across the back of his sword hand and at how quickly it’s swelling. Steven is quick to get ice and put it on the injury.

“Are you going to be okay to fight?” Hunter asks

“Yeah” Blaine replies, watching his hand swell more, “But I might need to borrow someone else’s glove that’s a little bigger, mine will be too tight around it.”

“You can borrow mine Blaine” Steven replies and gets the right hand glove from his pair for Blaine to wear.

Blaine looks to Hunter, “How bad did that duel look?”

“Bad” Hunter replies honestly

Blaine lets out a big sigh, “Can you do me a favour and message Bas from my phone telling him I’m okay and that I’ll see him after?”

“Yeah no problem…how many kisses do you normally put?” Hunter teases as he messages the taller boy

The message helps Sebastian a bit, but that’s soon undone when ten minutes later Blaine and Hunter reappear for the final, with Blaine clearly wearing someone else’s glove on his right hand, thanks to the distinctive arrow design on Steven’s kit. 

Hunter and Blaine don’t pack any punches, though it’s a clean duel. The Dalton boys recognise that Blaine is playing a more defensive style than normal and instinctively know it’s because of his hand. It’s a gruelling duel, the best they’ve seen all morning but Hunter pips Blaine to the win whereas normally it comes down to the last point between the two.

“Congratualtions!” Blaine beams at his friend when they enter the changing rooms

“It doesn’t count…it wasn’t a fair fight” Hunter retorts

“Hunter…” Blaine tries

“I’ve seen your hand Blaine, you couldn’t fit it in your own glove, I’m not taking this as a fair win”

Blaine knows he’s not going to win this argument, “Fine” he sighs, “But can we at least celebrate that it was one of us who won?”

Hunter laughs, “That we can do”

Blaine hands Steven’s glove back to him, “Thanks for letting me borrow it”

“No problem, I’ll see you both soon, and for the record me and the guys are all happy it was one of you two that won and not Martin or Ray.” He comments then heads out.

Neither Blaine or Hunter bother getting changed for the walk back to Hunter’s apartment where they’re both going to shower so go and find the others after grabbing their bags.

“Hand” Sebastian says as soon as he sees his boyfriend. Blaine rolls his eyes but shows Sebastian his injured hand.

“Wow you were right, those sword things really can hurt” Sam comments

Blaine grits his teeth, “Not helping Sam”

Nick takes a look, “It will be fine after some ice…they always look worse than they are” he claps his hand on Blaine’s shoulder

Sebastian kisses the back of Blaine’s injured hand, “Come on…you really need a shower”

“Yeah you’re gross” Cooper wrinkles his nose, “But you were awesome! And congratulations Hunter”

“Don’t…it doesn’t count…it wasn’t a fair fight” Hunter replies

“And yet it was still the most interesting duel of the competition so who cares…and at least one of those assholes didn’t win” Kitty counteracts making Hunter smile as they start their short walk to his apartment.

When they get back Hunter lets Blaine take first shower and gets an ice pack and ibuprofen gel out ready for the shorter boy. It’s not long until Blaine comes back into the living room and Hunter jumps into the bathroom.

“Ice and ibuprofen gel” Sebastian holds up to his boyfriend, making Blaine chuckle so he goes and sits, letting the taller nurse him.

“I’m glad he’s finally letting someone take proper care of him” Cooper comments to Sam and Jeff

“We all are” Jeff replies

“So what do you think is going on with Hunter and Kitty?” Blaine asks his boyfriend quietly

“I don’t know for sure but I think he might have a bit of a thing for Miss Wilde, more than I’ve seen him with any other girl anyway. He’s had plenty of offers but nobody has interested him from what I know.”

“Do you think you can find out? I’ll talk to Kitty when I can”

“Of course I can find out but don’t you think we should just leave them to it? It’s not as if Kitty can’t handle herself.”

“Actually when it comes to something like this…not so much”

“B…”

“I can’t say Bastian, but trust me, when it comes to this sort of thing she needs some protecting…plus you know the breakup with Artie wasn’t as smooth as everyone else was made to believe.”

“You mean that it more came from him so he could get the full college experience”

“Exactly…she knew that and although she’s playing nice, she’s pissed at him for it. Can you imagine being basically told you’re being dumped so the person you love can go see other people?”

“Better that way than him cheating on her though”

“Yeah I know…” Blaine squirms

“Stop it B…that was no reflection on you and I can respect that Kitty has obviously told you something in confidence and that for her to say you can’t tell me it must be pretty major so I’ll talk to Hunter. Find out if he’s serious about something committed and long-term or not.”

“Thank you Bastian” Blaine kisses his boyfriend deeply, only stopping when Kitty plonks herself down on his lap. “You kind of ruined a moment there” he chastises her

“Oh I know” she smirks and wiggles suggestively

“Shut up!” Blaine laughs and goes to push her off, making the blonde start cackling as she clings onto him

“What’s going on?” Hunter asks as he emerges, dressed but drying his hair with a towel

“Kitty’s trying to make everyone think B’s hard” Sebastian answers plainly

“Which nobody else had noticed until now…and for the record I wasn’t and am not”

“At least she didn’t do it to you in the cafeteria” Sam glares at the girl

“You’ve got to admit that was priceless!” she beams at him

“Miss Smith couldn’t look at me for the rest of the year!” Sam protests

“Personally I think it just shows she thought too highly of herself…you’d have to have a major kink to get hard because of her” Kitty retorts

Santana, Brittany and Rachel all start laughing, knowing what the teacher looks like as Blaine struggles to keep a straight face in support of his friend, only being able to maintain the façade as Sebastian starts applying the gel to his hand before wrapping it for protection and support. 

Jeff finds the teacher’s picture on the McKinley website, “Jesus you weren’t lying” and shows the others.

“So what are we going to do with the rest of the day?” Cooper asks as he gets his laughter under control, Blaine’s friends reminding him of his own in some ways when they were that age.

“There’s something I want to do” Kitty stands up from Blaine’s lap, “Go ice skating”

“Yes! I haven’t had the chance to go yet! Please Bas” Blaine basically whines excitedly as he also jumps up

“Fine by me killer” Sebastian chuckles softly 

Everyone else agrees and soon they’re all heading to the park.

“Mittens Blaine really?” Cooper teases

“You’re just jealous” Blaine argues as he joins hands with his boyfriend, who’s wearing the gloves Blaine brought him the previous year.

“Yeah mitten high-five!” Sam shouts and they do they’re special Blam mitten-high five. 

“If it’s possible, you two have gotten even dorkier” Kitty smiles at them

“It’s definitely possible” Santana agrees

“Leave my boys alone” Brittany playfully chastises them

“Jesse’s going to meet us at the park” Rachel interrupts

“Of course he is” Blaine smiles at her

“And what’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing absolutely nothing…right Thad?” 

“Hey don’t drag me into this”

It’s not long before they’ve all got their skates on and are heading over to the ice, Artie assuring them he’s happy for them to skate as he’ll use the opportunity to try out some of the new filming and photography techniques they’re meant to be trialling over the holidays.

“Will you be alright Coop?” Blaine asks his brother

“Pfft of course” When Blaine turns away and heads to the ice with Kitty, Hunter and Sebastian he turns to Sam, “So being honest I haven’t been skating since I lived in Lima…don’t leave me out there”

“I’ve never really had the chance to go so don’t you leave me out there” Sam replies

“We’ll look after you” Thad, Nick and Jeff reassure them as the girls and Jesse take to the ice together.

“Do you need a hand?” Hunter asks Kitty as she steps onto the rink

“I was about to ask you the same thing” she smirks before skating backwards into the middle and doing a pirouette, making Hunter smile even more.

Blaine nudges his boyfriend, before going to join Kitty, the two of them clearly very competent skaters

“So…how into her are you?” Sebastian asks

“Blaine want you to find out?” Hunter laughs

“Yes…he’s protective of her for a reason Hunt, so don’t start something if it won’t mean anything.”

“Look I like her okay…I like her a lot. If I’m honest in the summer I started to but timing wasn’t good, her and Artie had just broken up.”

“So is that why you don’t take any of the girls up on their offers?”

“Maybe…I did one but it was empty…I’ve done empty and meaningless before and it was fine then but not now…I mean look at you and Blaine.”

“Look if you want it to work then make it work. For what it’s worth, I think you’d work well together, just know they’ll be no stopping B if you mess her around and hurt her”

“Jesus when did I turn into someone with feelings…it’s disgusting” Hunter pokes fun at himself

“Tell me about it man…but it’s also one of the best things that can ever happen to you”

Meanwhile Blaine is having his own talk with Kitty, “So you and Hunter hey?”

Kitty side-ways glances at Blaine, “There is no me and Hunter” 

“Do you want there to be?”

“Maybe…but I don’t want to be someone’s thing for when they’re back home or for the holidays.”

“I’ve gotten to know Hunter pretty well and he’s not the kind of guy to mess around. If you become girlfriend-boyfriend he’ll be faithful to you while you’re together.”

“Yeah but what if in a couple of months he misses being a free college guy and breaks it off”

“Putting it out there…he’s not exactly being a free college guy” 

“Seriously? He’s gorgeous”

“And you’ll never let yourself be happy if you don’t take the chance…look at me and Bas. You know not everyone thought we’d work or were happy for us…just to goes to show how much they knew and how worth it risks can be”

At that point Sebastian joins the two as Brittany and Santana had commandeered Hunter, “Sooo to Hunter or not to Hunter?”

“Smooth Bas”

“Who cares, what did he say?” Kitty asks

“Tell me what you said” Sebastian replies

“That she likes him but would need commitment” Blaine answers

“Hey…I’m right here” Kitty pinches them and forces them apart to skate between them, holding one of their hands each.

“In that case…you and Hunter really need to talk” Sebastian smiles warmly at her

“Well what are you waiting for?” Blaine asks her as he and his boyfriend launch Kitty forward.

Brittany’s giggle alerts Hunter to Kitty’s projectile towards them and he looks up in time to receive an encouraging nod from Sebastian. Santana and Brittany share a look before skating off. 

Blaine skates backwards in front of his boyfriend so they can wrap their arms around each other. “Show off” Sebastian teases

“Well if you don’t want me to” Blaine goes to pull away

“Don’t you dare” Sebastian tightens his grip and they move around the ice, almost dancing together.

“I’ve got it!” Cooper beams, now feeling a lot less like Bambi

“Me too!” Sam exclaims

“You’re both doing very well” Nick laughs

“Disgusting” someone comments as they skate passed the group

Cooper then looks up to realise the couple who have just skated passed them are staring at his baby brother and his boyfriend and frowns. The others also heard and none of them are happy about it, in fact Sam is almost red with anger.

“Cooper will you do me the honour of being me boyfriend for the next five minutes?” Sam holds out his hand to the older Anderson

“It would be my pleasure Sam” Cooper takes Sam’s hand then looks back to Jeff, Nick and Thad, who have now also been joined by JB. “You guys would make cute couples too”

JB and Thad pair off as do Nick and Jeff and skate around the disgusted couple, all playing up and pretending to be sickeningly sweet couples.

“My god it must be spreading” the man says to his wife, or girlfriend or whatever she is.

Cooper turns to the couple, “What can I say…once you try it you never want to go back” he acts overly camp and runs his hand dangerously close to Sam’s ass, the blonde taking it in his stride.

“Got to say I agree” JB acts, squeezing Thad tightly into him as Jeff kisses Nick’s cheek.

On the other side of the ice Hunter and Kitty are oblivious, “So Sebastian was the least subtle he’s ever been” she starts

“Tell me about it” Hunter laughs, “What did he say?”

“Just that it would be worth me speaking to you”

“Oh really?” Hunter flirts, making her giggle. “So…do you want to go on a date with me tonight?”

“A date sounds good” she agrees, “But I want to put it out there, that if we do this, it just needs to be us and if you can’t do that…even to see how it goes, then I’m not interested.”

“I like a girl who knows what she wants. Does it make me sound like a complete stalker to say this isn’t a new infatuation?”

“Wow infatuated…I just thought you think I’m hot” Kitty teases him

“Well that too”

“I like you too...and it more than just because you’re easy on the eye” she admits shyly, a trait Hunter’s not seen from her before but he definitely wants to see it again.

“So what do you say to spending more time together while you’re out here to figure things out…if you’re not sick of me by the end of the holidays then we can find a way to make it work.”

“Sounds good to me……I don’t doubt you can come up with an impressive comms plan to counteract the distance Captain Clarington” she mocks salutes and winks at him, making him laugh.

They end up skating back with Blaine and Sebastian, “You both look like ridiculous grinning fools” Kitty tells the couple

Blaine’s gaze shifts from his boyfriend as he rolls his eyes fondly at the girl and something catches his eye, “Hey why is Cooper almost feeling Sam up” he looks across the ice to his brother and best friend.

“And is it me or did Jeff just kiss Nick?” Hunter asks

“And Thad is looking very comfortable with JB…have we gone into another dimension?” Sebastian frowns

“Another dimension? So you’re a geek too” Kitty summarises

Blaine frowns when he sees the guys starting to look more pissed off so the four of them go skating over, being joined by Santana, Brittany, Rachel and Jesse, who have also noticed that something is off. “What’s going on?” he demands

“Apparently your friends felt the need to put on a display to try and match yours” the man sneers

“What display?”

“There are children around, they shouldn’t have to see something so unnatural” the man aggressively gestures to Blaine and Sebastian’s joined hands

“Do you know what I am sick and tired of bigoted people like you. There is nothing unnatural about love in any shape or form and the world would be a much better place if small minded assholes like you could accept that.” Blaine fires back, impressing everyone.

“Besides it’s not as if we’re making you watch. It always amazes me that homophobic assholes are the ones who stare the most” Sebastian adds and crashes his and Blaine’s lips together, the shorter quickly responding, with Santana and Brittany having their own heated kiss, making the bigoted couple quickly skate away. 

“Guys…you can stop now stop” Sam tells the couples when they don’t break apart, making the four of them laugh.

“Come on, let’s go join Artie again” Blaine takes Sebastian’s hand as they head off the ice

“That was quite the performance” Artie comments, “And I caught it all on film”

They all return their skates then Blaine jumps on Sebastian’s back for a piggy back ride, “What does everyone say to coming back to ours for a while and having some hot chocolate?”

“Can we bake cookies?” Brittany asks

“Why not? But you all have to help tidy up” Blaine replies

“Well there goes my ride” Kitty comments as she looks at Blaine, obviously staying on his boyfriend’s back for their walk back to the subway. It’s then she looks to Hunter, “Might as well know what you’re getting yourself in for” she then jumps on his back and he quickly supports he legs.

Sebastian looks to his friend, eyebrows raised, receiving an eye roll in return.

It’s then that Cooper and Sam find themselves supporting Brittany and Santana respectively. “You’re a bad influence Blainey” Cooper tells his brother, making him laugh. Cooper loves seeing his brother so comfortable and not hiding who he is at all, even after that anything but pleasant encounter. Most of all though it’s the look of pure love on Sebastian’s face as he holds onto Blaine, who’s also holding on tightly with his chin resting against the side of Sebastian’s head as he tilts his face up to the sky, eyes closed but with a beaming smile on his face. Occasionally they also press kisses onto each other where ever they can reach. When Cooper catches Sam’s eye it’s obvious the blonde boy has noticed too and they share a knowing, happy smile. 

When they’re settled on the subway Hunter looks to Kitty, “So I’ll pick you up at eight.”

“I take it you’re not coming back for hot chocolate then”

“No can do…I’ve got a date to plan and I get the feeling anything won’t do”

“Your feeling would be right” she smirks

As Hunter stays on an extra stop to head home the others arrive at the Seblaine apartment and put music on while they dance around like idiots, making cookies and hot chocolate. Time flies until Kitty jumps in the shower, needing to start getting ready for her date with Hunter.

“They make a good couple” Sam comments

“Definitely” Brittany agrees

“I’ve never seen him interested in anyone before” Thad adds

“Seriously?” Santana asks

“Yeah…he’s had offers but the girls have never interested him”

“It’s true” Sebastian says

“Maybe she’s Hunter’s Blaine” Brittany smiles wistfully before going to help Kitty get ready, who’d just come out of the shower.

XXXXXXXXXX  
An hour later Kitty comes out of her room, following Brittany and Santana.

“Kitty you look beautiful…and hot, very hot” Blaine tells her

“Are you sure you’re gay?” Cooper teases

“Gold star” Blaine smiles then kisses Sebastian from where he’s settled on his lap

The doorbell goes, “Nobody move” Sebastian tells them all firmly so Hunter can collect Kitty without an audience.

Later that evening, everyone has gone home and to bed, apart from Blaine and Sebastian, who’d agreed to wait up for Kitty with his boyfriend. Typically, they get distracted from the movie they are watching and it’s not long before Blaine is pushing into his boyfriend, under the cocoon of blankets they’re wrapped up in. Blaine’s only just settled into a rhythm when the front door opens.

“Shit” Sebastian groans as Blaine makes sure the blankets are still wrapped firmly around them and lays back down on top of his boyfriend as if they were just cuddling, neither having fully lost the sweatpants they were wearing. Sebastian shuffles up so he’s sitting more against the sofa arm, pulling Blaine up with him, never losing the connection below their waists.

“So how was it?” Blaine asks as Kitty comes into view

“Honestly I had a really good time…in fact I’ve never had such a good first date before” As Kitty makes her confession Sebastian notices the vulnerability Blaine’s spoken about before and starts to understand why his boyfriend is so protective of her.

“Well that’s good”

“Only if he feels the same way”

“Did he ask you out again?” Sebastian asks

“Yeah…he asked if I’d go to brunch with him tomorrow before the families arrive”

“Hunter’s a straight up guy…if he wasn’t still interested he would have told you” Sebastian tells her plainly 

Kitty smiles, “Well I’m beat so I’m going to head to bed”

When she’s left the living room Blaine starts his movements again, building them back up, “Oh my god I didn’t think I’d be able to hold on”

“Me neither B” Sebastian crashes their mouths together

However neither of them hear Kitty leave her room again on a quest to get a glass of water, “Oh my god you were totally in the middle of doing it when I came back” she laughs and Blaine immediately freezes, eyes wide

“Okay so maybe we were but please leave so we can finish” Blaine gasps, still frozen

“I’ll bring you a glass of water after” Sebastian adds, knowing that she normally has one next to the bed.

“No rush” she winks then runs back to her room giggling

“That hasn’t ruined the moment has it?” Blaine asks his boyfriend

“Being caught never has before” Sebastian purrs back

“True” Blaine smirks then starts thrusting again

A while later Blaine takes a glass of water in to Kitty but finds her asleep so puts it down on the bedside table next to her. He can’t help but notice how she has already fallen asleep and how innocent she looks in that moment, cuddled up in the blankets and it makes him pissed that someone could have ever taken advantage of her.

“You okay B?” Sebastian asks when his boyfriend joins him in bed

“Yeah” Blaine replies distantly

“No you’re not”

“No I’m not but I can’t tell you why, though I really want to”

“I can tell you do…come here” Sebastian wraps his boyfriend up tightly and makes a mental note to tell Hunter that if he screws with Kitty at all then he’ll have him to deal with too, as he knows whatever it is that Kitty’s been through has got to be something big to be making Blaine act like this.

The next morning the couple get up to find Kitty and Cooper already in the living room. When Sebastian goes to sit down the blonde throws a cushion at him, “I thought you might need it after last night”.

“Oh shut up” he laughs as he throws it back at her

“Healthy sex life indeed hey Blainey” Cooper cracks up

“Yeah well you’re just jealous because you’re not getting any” Blaine argues back

“Who says?” Cooper challenges

“Well you’re definitely not at the minute” Blaine raises an eyebrow 

“And I doubt you do as much anyway” Sebastian adds

“I never thought I’d see the day I’d be arguing with my baby brother and his boyfriend about who has more sex” Cooper leans his head back and grins widely

“Yeah me neither…to be honest I didn’t even think we’d be talking at all by this point” Blaine admits

“Wouldn’t have it any other way though squirt”

“Snap pooper” Blaine grins devilishly 

“Pooper?!” Sebastian and Kitty both exclaim

“Well according to Nona that’s what I first called Cooper…pretty accurate don’t you think”

“Actually it was first Coo” Cooper argues

“That’s just a baby noise and so doesn’t count”

“When did you find this out?” Sebastian asks through his laughter

“Last night when I spoke to Nona and Grandpa”

“I’m assuming this was before you started to do it…or did you speak to your grandparents in the same position?” Kitty fires at the couple

Cooper laughs, “I really do like this one” he says pointing at Kitty.


	86. The start of Christmukka

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I am so so incredibly sorry for the massive delay between the last chapter and this! I've worked solidly for the last three weeks pulling 14 hour shifts and travelling for work. But today I finally have a day off so have had chance to finish off this chapter and post it! I hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving and haven't completely given up on this fic. I really am sorry!

The next morning everyone is up early as the Berrys and Evans are due to be arriving that day along with Puck, Quinn, Tina, Beat, Mike, Trent, David and Wes. The plan is for the families to settle in their hotels and then for the friends to go to where they’re staying. Unlike everyone else, Blaine and Sam are completely oblivious to the fact that this will only be the beginning of the Christmukka celebrations, and the first of the guests to be joining them.

Sam is at the Seblaine apartment by the time Kitty gets back from her brunch with Hunter, obviously buzzing from knowing he’ll be seeing his family in a matter of hours.

“I thought you’d be with the guys getting sorted for the arrival of Trent, Beat and Mike” Kitty comments, knowing those three are actually only staying two nights there as they are booked into a hotel for when the others arrive, but Blaine and Sam wouldn’t have those they know are coming stay anywhere else.

“And I thought you’d still be sucking Hunter’s face” Sam retorts

“Blaine Sam’s being mean” Kitty tries playfully

“If he was I know you wouldn’t be calling me” Blaine replies as he walks through from the kitchen and Sam throws his arm around his shoulders, Blaine replicating the action.

Sebastian comes walking back through to the living room, “You two just can’t wipe the smiles off those faces can you?” he says fondly to the two boys

“There’s one way we could….just ask Blaine who he’s looking forward to seeing most” Cooper jokes but Blaine’s face falls immediately

“That’s an asshole move” Blaine frowns

“Seriously Cooper?” Sebastian glares at him

“I wouldn’t actually!” Cooper defends

“You sometimes have the emotional capability of a stick, you know that right?” Kitty looks at him

Cooper sighs, “Yeah I know”

“Good”

“Anyway Wild Kat how was brunch?” Blaine asks and a smile creeps to her face, “That good huh?”

“Shut up” she fires back, but it’s not at all serious

“So did you kiss?” Sam grins

“Who says we didn’t the first date lips?”

“Man now you’ve got to tell me...I bet Blaine knows” Sam looks to his best friend

“Fuzz ball” Kitty warns

“What? I’m not saying anything!”

Sam continues looking into Blaine’s eyes, “Oh my god you did! And you really liked it and he did too?! That’s a great sign! Enjoying each other’s kisses definitely is a good sign” Sam exclaims

“Hey!” Kitty shouts at Blaine

“What? I didn’t say anything!”

“You two do your weirdo sad sap psychic voodoo shit”

“I can’t not ever look at Sam again Kitty” then Blaine pulls out his puppy dog eyes

“Oh now that’s not fair…you know I love you” she hugs him and he smiles, Sam joining in on the hug and pulling Cooper and Sebastian in too, making everyone laugh.

The door goes and Sebastian goes to answer finding Thad, Jeff and Nick with Wes and David, plus their luggage, and Quinn, Puck, Mike and Trent in tow. 

“What are you all doing here?” Sebastian asks amusedly

“What kind of greeting is that?” Wes jokes and immediately finds himself with armfuls of Blaine.

“You guys aren’t meant to be here yet!” Blaine exclaims as he hugs Quinn and Puck

“Yeah you’re early, where’s Tina and Beat?” Sam asks

“Tina went to the girls and Beat went to Hunters to leave their things. They’re going to meet us in Times Square.” David replies as he hugs Blaine and greets the others.

“Makes sense if that’s where they’re staying….I kind of lost track when I was told the plan” Cooper comments

“It’s hard to keep up with” Trent replies knowingly and Sebastian glares at him not wanting either Blaine or Sam to get even a hint that something else may be going on.

David approaches Cooper, “Hi Cooper, I’m David, we haven’t actually met before but I feel as though I know you on some level. I was Wes’ roommate at Dalton.”

“Same” Cooper grins, “Well obviously not the Wes’ roommate bit”

“Smooth” Blaine teases

“So how come nobody stayed on your sofa bed last time? If these two are this time” Puck asks, gesturing to Wes and David

“I’m sure you know why” Blaine frowns

“Maybe I want to hear it first-hand” Puck grins

“Man that was so funny” Sam laughs

“That would be because Blaine half hummingbird Anderson was flittering about, jumping on different pieces of furniture one guy’s night when he slipped off the back of the sofa when nobody was sat on it, trapping his foot between the back and the cushions and unwittingly making it fold out into a bed.” Blaine blushes as buries his face into his boyfriend’s neck. 

“Awww don’t be mean” Quinn giggles and forms a Blaine sandwich with Sebastian

“Man I wish I’d seen that” Mike adds as Quinn lets go and pats Blaine’s shoulder

“So where should we leave out things?” Wes asks Blaine

“Oh…there’s room in the laundry cupboard for your cases and any clothes you want to hang up. Then we’ll just have to make up the sofa bed each evening.”

“Works for me” David replies and Wes shows him where the laundry cupboard is so they can sort their things out

“Is it stupid to ask who wants coffee?” Sebastian asks and gets a lot of blank stares, “So I’m taking that as a yes then” so he unwraps himself from Blaine and goes and starts the machine.

The rest settle in the living room, catching up, “Blaine what happened to your hand?” Wes asks

“Fencing accident” Blaine replies shiftily

“Less of an accident and more of a deliberate assault” Nick adds

“Let me see” Wes holds his hand out

“It’s fine Wes” Blaine groans

“Amuse him Blaine” David adds

“If you want to see then come here and see” Blaine retaliates

Cooper raises his eyebrows at his brother, “Real mature squirt” 

“It’s fine though!” the shorter protests again

“Look I know you don’t like fuss, just let me see” Wes stands and walks over to Blaine, “It looks sore”

“Not really” Blaine shrugs and Wes sighs, “I’m not actually being difficult, it seriously is fine, it looks far worse than it feels”

“It was iced, had ibuprofen gel and was wrapped yesterday” Sebastian adds as he walks in with a tray of coffee for everyone, “Trust him when he says he’s fine”

“Okay, that I can accept” Wes sits back down

“You really do fuss over him like a pair of mother hens” Puck tells Wes and David but not unkindly 

“We have our reasons” David explains

“I can appreciate that man, but it would drive me mad if I were him”

“He’s sat in the room you know…but he won’t be for much longer if this conversation doesn’t change…can’t we just catch up for a bit before we have to meet the others?”

“Of course…we didn’t mean to talk about you like you weren’t here” Wes apologises and Blaine smiles from where he’s sat on Sebastian’s lap once again. “We know you hate it”

“That’s okay…I know what a worry wart you are” Blaine teases, clearly happier again

They continue to catch up until Blaine gets a phone call from Rachel and Sam gets one from his mum.

Blaine looks at his watch after he gets off the phone, “Okay…we need to get going if we’re going to get to Times Square to meet everyone in time” As everyone gets their coats and shoes on he pulls Quinn to the side, “Are you really are okay with Shelby and Beth joining us right?”

“Of course I am. It will be lovely to see them both again…stop worrying” she hugs him tightly

“Man I told you they were cheating on us” Puck says jokingly to Sebastian loud enough so everyone can hear

“Can you blame us?” Blaine winks at his boyfriend

“Yeah…we have to put up with the two of you after all” Quinn adds teasingly

“I suppose you think you’re cute” Sebastian frowns playfully at Blaine as he looks at him with Bambi eyes

“It’s working though right?” Blaine pushes up onto his tiptoes to give Sebastian a kiss

“Alright alright I thought you said we’ve got to get going” Cooper interrupts

“Yeah come on man” Sam whines excitedly

Blaine pulls back and Sebastian pulls a beanie onto his head so some of his curls are sticking out and smacks his ass before they all head out.

“Are you okay Cooper?” Wes asks when he notices the older Anderson looking at his brother slightly oddly as he walks hand in hand with Sebastian.

“Yeah I’ve just never seen him get kind of pissy like that before when you were only concerned.”

“Actually I’m glad he reacted like that.” Cooper looks blankly at Wes

“I am too Cooper” David adds

“A quiet completely shut off Blaine who you can basically manoeuvre with no response is the worst, like how he was at times at Thanksgiving” Wes explains

“Basically him getting how he did is a sign that he’s in a good place, not that we doubted it.”

“And I didn’t ask him as some form of test, I will never be able to sit back and not ask him” Wes finishes

“I know you saw him go through an awful lot, things I should have been there for so I can respect that” Cooper smiles, “But he didn’t complain at Sebastian making a fuss yesterday.”

Wes laughs, “That’s because it’s Sebastian. They actually both had to learn and adjust to letting someone else care for them and be there for them, but because they both love each other they could understand where they were both coming from and that was that.”

“When you put it like that it makes sense” Cooper smiles

Their conversation ends when Blaine hangs back so he can talk to David and Wes, after all the three of them hardly have time as a unit.

The group make it to Times Square in good time and wait under the tree like they agreed with the other joining parties. It’s not long before Jean-Baptiste and Artie arrive together and join them. There are lots of street entertainers with the main screen flickering between them.

“What’s this all about?” Kitty asks

“It’s highlighting different art forms…it’s a sort of mini festival. The entertainers here though had to go through auditions to earn their place” Sebastian explains, all of a sudden his attention is snapped to a quickly disappearing Blaine. “Hey B where do you think you’re going?” he shouts after Blaine and Sam.

Both boys turnaround, “Spiderman!” Point in the direction they’re headed and run. It’s then the group see that there are a group of entertainers with different life-size puppets like those used in the Lion King on stage, but of superheroes, acting out battles and letting people pose with them.

Rachel, Santana, Brittany, Tina, Hiram and Leroy plus the Evans family and Hunter and Beat all turn up together, having bumped into each other at the subway station. 

“Hey where’s Sammy?” Stevie asks after everyone has greeted each other

“And Blainey” Stacey adds

Just then Shelby turns up with Beth, “Hi I’m sorry I’m late” and greets everyone

“Where’s Blaine?” Beth asks Sebastian when she realises he’s missing and Cooper giggles quietly 

Sebastian bends down so he’s on her level, something Blaine basically always does, “Blaine and Sam ran after Spiderman” he explains to her, Stacey and Stevie while the others fill the adults in.

“Oh my god!” Rachel shouts, looking at the big screen, everyone follows her line of sight and they all see Blaine and Sam caught performing with one of the street bands. 

Sebastian uses his height to an advantage and quickly spots them not far from where they are so they all make their way to see the boys perform ‘Best day of my life’ dancing with some of the crowd at points and having clearly no idea that their performance is being broadcast on screen or watched by so many. 

At the end, the girl who was dancing with Blaine clearly tries to give him her number, but he acts as the perfect wingman so Sam ends up with it instead. Blaine looks up and immediately spots Sebastian so grabs Sam’s wrist and they run to the group.

“What did I say about running off?” Sebastian asks seriously

“We’re sorry” they reply in unison

“But Spiderman” Blaine tries and Sam smiles widely but Sebastian’s gaze hardens, “Sorry” the two boys squirm

Sebastian and everyone else then burst out laughing and Sam and Blaine greet everyone, getting bundled on by the twins and Beth. 

“Got a girlfriend yet?” Sebastian asks Stevie

“Ewww no…I told you girls are gross!” he scrunches up his face

Beth gestures for Blaine to pick her up, which he does automatically, making Shelby roll her eyes fondly. “That’s not fair, I don’t get to see Blainey as often” Stacey pouts but before Mary can say anything he’s picked her up too, so he has Beth in one arm balanced on his right hip and Stacey in the other, making both the girls giggle. They decide to get away from the square given how busy it is and as they walk, Beth and Stacey quickly become friends. The two girls in Blaine’s arms don’t stop Sebastian from managing to keep contact with his boyfriend for most of their walk, with one of his hands pressed against Blaine’s lower back.

“Have you decided on a place for lunch?” Hiram asks as the group continue to walk, none keen to go on the crowed subways

“I think Sebastian has” Rachel answers and looks to the tall boy

“Yes I spoke with Hunter and we agreed the High Line would be a good place to go and have booked in to one of the restaurants there”

“Sounds good to me” Shelby replies, “How are your wedding preparations coming along?” she asks Leroy

“Very well…we’re so excited to have Blaine and Rachel singing too. The way they sounded when they performed one hand one heart was breath taking”

“Did I hear my name?” Blaine asks as he approaches Sebastian having put the two girls down to walk now they are happy to chat with each other

“Leroy was just telling me how excited they are to have you and Rachel sing at their wedding, I believe the description of your performance was breath taking” Shelby teases, making him blush

“Who’s just given my baby brother a compliment?” Cooper asks through a laugh as he sees Blaine turn a shade of pink and throws an arm around his shoulders, “Awww less of that squirt, you’ve had your big screen debut now”

“What?”

“You and Sam appeared on the large screen in Times Square…it’s how we knew where you were…I thought you would have grown out of running off though” Cooper teases so Blaine jabs him in the ribs playfully, quickly dodging a clip to the head and hides behind Sebastian, eyes gleaming as he peeks at Cooper and laughs when he flips him off.

 

“Jesse’s just messaged saying he’s at the restaurant already as he’s running ahead of schedule” Rachel says to nobody in particular

“Rachel and Jesse sitting in a tree” Blaine starts 

“K I S S I N G” Kitty continues

“First comes love” Brittany picks up

“Then comes marriage” Quinn joins

“Then comes…man this rhyme is out of date if that’s the order they put things in” Santana jokes making everyone laugh

“Is your name really Hunter?” Stevie asks the older boy

“Yes”

“That’s a cool name…sounds like a comic book character”

“But you wouldn’t be able to have a secret identity with my name…Stevie however makes a great secret identity name”

“That’s true” the younger boy frowns thoughtfully in a way that reminds Hunter very much of Sam

Kitty clearly notices the same, “You’re like a mini Sam” she tells Stevie

“It’s a good thing Stevie” Blaine calls back

“How do you have the hearing of a bat?”

“When you have Cooper for an older brother you quickly learn to have a keen sense of your surroundings” just then Blaine ducks another attempted clip round the back of his head, “See what I mean” Kitty giggles and tangles her hand with Hunter’s from where their fingers had been brushing against each other’s. 

“You must be a very proud big brother” Shelby comments to Cooper

“More than I can put into words…I’m just thankful he’s got such a big heart and let me back in his life after I screwed him around so much.” He tells her wistfully as he watches Blaine and Sam mess around before being chastised by Mary when they almost trip her up.

“I won’t pretend to know Blaine well, he’s a very private person, but I have gotten to know him on some level from the times he’s babysat Beth, and from what Rachel tells me…and there’s no escaping how proud he is to have you as his big brother. When he told me you got the male lead, congratulations by the way, you couldn’t wipe the smile off his face. Plus I know a little about what happened at Thanksgiving. So you may not have always been the best big brother, but you are now and that’s what counts.” 

“That’s…thanks” Cooper settles for and smiles

“I didn’t say anything that wasn’t true” Shelby looks to her daughter who is once again attached to Blaine her arms wrapped around one of his legs, “Beth sweetie come here a moment” Beth skips over, “I know you love Blaine but you also need to let his friends spend some time with him okay? They don’t get to see him as often as you.”  
She goes to protest but quickly stops given the look Shelby is giving her, “Okay mummy”

“So you’re in love with my baby brother too huh?” Cooper teases, “I’ll have to have words with him about being such a heart breaker.” Beth giggles slightly shyly then goes back to talk to Stacey.

“Tina I do need to breathe” Blaine protests as she squeezes him

“Then you shouldn’t have ignored me”

“I wasn’t!” he protests and gives her a hug back, “It’s just hard catching up with you all at once”

“That’s true” Sam tells her as he helps Blaine get out of her grasp, “You know we love you Tina, and you know we’re not ignoring you, and I know you’re jealous that Kitty has gotten to spend more time with Blaine”

“I am not”

“Yes you are” Kitty chips in. It’s then that Tina notices that her hand is joined with Hunter’s and immediately rushes to her, not one for missing out on gossip. The group continue to mingle as they finish their walk and it’s not long before they see Jesse waiting outside.

“Hi Rachel, and everyone, Shelby you look well”

“So do you Jesse, I can’t believe we haven’t had a chance to catch up yet” Shelby greets him. Rachel then introduces Jesse to those he doesn’t know and they make their way into the restaurant and have a lovely lunch.

“We’re going back to yours now right?” Leroy asks Sebastian

“Unless you want to do anything else?”

“Not at all, just would it be possible to get off the subway a little early and walk through the park, it’s been a long time since we’ve been to New York at this time of year”

“It’s fine by me”

So that’s how the group find themselves walking up through the park, skirting around the ice rink and going through the Christmas market. 

“Oh my god Sam?!” Sam freezes at that voice, he hadn’t expected to hear it again, not after the way things ended, but he knows he can’t be imagining things when Blaine immediately appears at his side.

The blonde turns slowly, “Err hi Mercedes…how are you?”

“I’m good thank you, I’m here visiting Kurt” she glances at Blaine, “I see you two are still thick as thieves”

“Well he is my best bro” Sam tells her and at that Blaine wraps an arm around his waist

“Hi Mercedes” Blaine greets

“Well what are the chances of this” Burt comments as he appears

Sebastian and Cooper make their way to stand with the two boys, being protective of them both and knowing it can only be seconds before someone else appears.

“Dad? Oh my gosh hi” Kurt greets overly nicely, his eyes focussing on Blaine 

Blaine frowns slightly in confusion and clasps Sebastian’s hand with his free one, “Erm hi…good to see you Burt, what are the chances?” he nods at the older man politely

“Well I’d rather thought we’d see each other anyway”

“Oookay” Blaine’s frown only deepens with more confusion

Burt looks to his son who shrugs his shoulders, “Can we have a word Blaine?”

“Of course” 

Burt looks pointedly in turn at Sam, Cooper and finally Sebastian, “In private”

“You can say whatever you need to say in front on Coop, Bas and Sam” Blaine pulls Sam even tighter into his side as he continues to look at Mercedes, not finding anything there.

Burt sighs, “Are you sure about that kid?”

“Absolutely”

“Alright then…to speak plainly, I understand why things have been so rocky between you and Kurt, I really do, but it’s not fair to him or Sebastian to be leading him on. It sounds to me as if you need to make a choice.”

“What?”

“Well that song, the messages, but then this weird greeting as if you’re merely acquaintances, I can see why Kurt’s confused.”

At that moment another guy joins them and wraps his arms around Mercedes’s waist, “Thought I lost you there for a moment” 

She giggles, “I know you wouldn’t lose me…This is Sam….Sam this is Kieran” 

“Oh I hope this isn’t awkward” Kieran greets Sam

“I don’t see why it should be” Sam throws back

“Kieran I think we need to give them some space to talk” Mercedes pulls her boyfriend away

Blaine looks back to Burt, “I’m sorry Burt but I have no frigging idea what you’re on about”

“This is why I didn’t want to do it in front of Sebastian…but Blaine you now have to admit what you’ve been doing isn’t fair to him or Kurt”

“But I haven’t been doing anything”

“Dad just leave it” Kurt tugs on Burt’s arm, who then he realises something isn’t right, which Sebastian immediately picks up on

“I hate to break it to you Burt, but Kurt doesn’t even have Blaine’s number so the messages you think you know about don’t exist” Sebastian says plainly, having added all the pieces together

“And putting it out there, but I’m not exactly enamoured with the way you’ve basically cornered my brother or assumed that he’s in the wrong…again. How haven’t you questioned what your son has told you after the lies he spun before?” Cooper adds

“But Blaine did cheat on Kurt”

“And Kurt cheated on him, and did far worse, but the difference is that Blaine admitted his mistakes and has since gotten himself to a much happier place, even if that did involve changing his cell number twice after your son wouldn’t leave him alone and stole his original new number from Rachel’s phone…why do you think he and she aren’t friends anymore?” Cooper retaliates a little angrily.

Burt closes his eyes for a moment, “Kurt, answer me honestly, is what Cooper is saying true?”

Kurt hesitates for a while but can’t find a way out, not with Rachel and the others not far away who would readily give information if needs be, “Yes”

“So you and Blaine haven’t been in contact, so he isn’t leaving you confused as to how he’s feeling”

“He is…the song he sang at the showcase, he said ‘I still think we’re in love’”

“I didn’t even know you were going to be there” Blaine fires back as Sebastian releases his hand to wrap his arm around his boyfriend’s waist tightly.

“But…” Kurt goes to protest but Blaine cuts him off

“And the song wasn’t written for you…it wasn’t written for anyone!”

“But…”

“Kurt I have done nothing to lead you on, I know you’ve been dating, so why did you fixate on me again? This is why we can’t even attempt at being anything more than civil to each other if we bump into one another…and why would I even want to be friends with you when you constantly make me out to be the bad guy? Plus you still haven’t ever apologised for any of the shit you’ve pulled. I’m done!”

“Now Blaine don’t you think there’s some way…” Burt tries

“No”

“Now son…”

Cooper cuts Burt off, “All due respect Mr Hummel, but he said no…they aren’t kids anymore, you have to respect my brother’s decision, even if you don’t like it and accept that Kurt’s got to live with the consequences of his actions.” 

Burt takes a deep breath then nods slowly, “You’re right of course…I’m sorry for interrupting your day”

“I bet you love this don’t you?!” Kurt spits at Sebastian

“Actually…I’m just bored of it. Leave us alone”

Kurt then spots Sam still looking at Mercedes as interacts with Kieran in only a way couples who have been intimate with each other do, “They make a wonderful couple don’t they, I can’t believe they’ve been dating for a year already. I know she’s so glad she waited for him though…she deserved someone truly special”  
Sam turns and starts walking, “And you wonder why I don’t want you in my life anymore” Blaine snaps at his ex, “Bas give us a ten minute head start” he then runs to catch up with his best friend and takes his hand, pulling him the quickest way back home.

“Kurt that was uncalled for” Burt chastises

“But gives an insight into how manipulative and poisonous he can be” Sebastian comments before going and talking to the group who had been watching the scene unfold, though doesn’t tell them specifically what was said, “I’m sorry Mary, but it’s best to let B and Sam spend some time together”

“Trust me although my instincts are to go and mother Sam, I know enough about the two that some time with Blaine is better than anything I can do. I know he’ll always want his mum but when it comes to relationships, parents aren’t the people you naturally want to talk to.”  
Just then Cooper comes back over, “Hopefully that will be the last of that nasty piece of work”

“What did you say Coop?” Sebastian asks

“I’ll talk to you and Blaine together later”

“Fair enough, but I’ll hold you to it”

When Blaine and Sam get back to the Seblaine apartment they both lose their coats and shoes before heading to the master bedroom. They quickly make a small blanket fort on the floor before Blaine closes the blackout blinds and grabs the soft light he has on his bedside table and places it into the blanket fort so it resembles a torch in a tent on a   
camping trip.

“You can cuddle Yoshi if you want” Blaine says to get his best friend talking

Sam laughs softly, “Nah, but a bro cuddle sounds good” and pulls Blaine into him, who quickly wraps his arms around his best friend. After a moment of silence Blaine starts humming, knowing music helps Sam unmuddle his thoughts and not having another way of providing any, not without breaking the cuddling Sam is obviously in need of. “She broke up with me so she could focus on her career and because she wants to wait until marriage, but neither of those things seem to matter for him.”

“Don’t put yourself down Sam. There is nothing wrong with you so don’t you dare keep thinking there is.”

“You always know what I’m thinking”

“Of course I do…we’re the blonde chameleon and night bird…and you’re the best friend I’ve ever had”

“Nah…we’re more than just best friends…we’re brothers”

“I’m serious though. The whole Mercedes thing has got nothing to do with you. It’s all to do with her.”

“I’m over her…I really am…it just sucks knowing having someone better rammed down your throat.”

“He’s not better Sam. For whatever reasons Mercedes is in a different place from where she was when you two were together and it’s not about one person being better than another…it’s about a couple being more suited or not…you’ll find your someone…you’ve got loads of time.”

“I know…and dating is kind of fun in a really scary way…but…”

Blaine breaks the cuddle so he can look into Sam’s eyes, “Do you need me to make you a better video? Because I will….you are an incredible guy Sam...in every way” after a few moments of his words sinking in Blaine notices the look in Sam’s eyes change so lies back down.

“Soooo are you saying if we weren’t basically brothers and let’s say you hadn’t met Sebastian yet so you couldn’t be madly in love with him, you’d still want to do me”

“Sam…”

“Come on dude…you know you would” Sam teases

“Yes, but not just because of how you look on the outside, but because you’re an amazing person on the inside too”

“The abs help though”

“Hmmmm maybe a little...Anyway if I was a girl you’d totally want to do me”

“Yeah I probably would” Sam admits. They both look at each other then burst out laughing. A pillow fight breaks out and they end up tangled in their blanket fort, only being untangled when the others get back and Sebastian goes to investigate. Mary and Dwight both smile at the huge grin Sam has on his face and Sebastian laughs when Blaine tells him quietly their conversation and how the pillow fight broke out.

The group spend the evening together, relaxing and helping prepare what they can ahead of the Christmukka celebrations the next day, which is being hosted at the Seblaine apartment as it’s the one everyone can fit in. Even if some creative seating arrangements are needed.


	87. Christmukka day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Remember...this is not the end of Christmukka

David and Wes are the first awake and quickly get ready for the day ahead so their bed can be turned back into a sofa. Wes is a little surprised when Sam messages him telling him to open the door.

“I woke up early and thought I might as well come round here” Sam says when Wes lets him in with a raised, questioning eyebrow.

“Nobody else is up yet” Wes replies

“But I know Blaine set an alarm so he wouldn’t sleep in too late” David adds

“Given how much he had going on at the end of term he should get as much sleep as he can,” Sam frowns

“But you know what he’s like” Wes says

Sam nods, “I do…which is why I’m going to make lots of coffee” he says seriously and starts the machine, “you two are looking smart” he comments when he looks up at the them when they join him in the kitchen.

“So do you” Wes smiles and continues to get cereals and juice out. They’re just starting to eat when Kitty comes through, freshly showered and dressed ready for the day but with her hair still up in her towel “Morning losers” she smiles and helps herself to some cereal. “Aren’t we all looking gorgeous today…I thought I heard Cooper moving around, has he not appeared yet?”

“Not yet…maybe he’s going to jump in the shower” Wes answers

“That would make sense” Sam adds

“Well I’m glad fuzz ball isn’t up yet. I was half expecting him to be up and in the kitchen already.”

“He still needs to catch up on sleep from all he was doing at the end of term” Sam tells her

“I know lips” she rolls her eyes, “That’s why I’m glad he’s not up yet….and why Sebastian delayed the alarm he set”

David laughs, “I know I don’t know him as well as the rest of you, but that doesn’t surprise me”

“PISS OFF!! YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!!!! JUST GET OUT YOU STUPID FUCKING DICKHEAD!!!!” Blaine’s voice bellows through the apartment accompanied by Cooper’s laughter followed by a loud bang.

Cooper stumbles into the kitchen having calmed his laughter down. “Why did you do whatever you did?” Sam whines

“I haven’t woken him up for ages and his reaction is still as priceless!” the older Anderson defends himself through a giggle

“You know he actually needs sleep at the minute right?” Kitty frowns

“Oh come on he’s been sleeping fine since I’ve been here…and it’s not as if he doesn’t need to get up soon anyway”

“Cooper…Blaine wouldn’t have been sleeping properly for the last month or so. Not with everything he’s had going on. He goes through spates of insomnia.” Wes fills in

“Yeah he does.” Sam nods in confirmation, “He’s gotten better since being with Sebastian but he can’t shut off when he has too much buzzing round still, so at points like this the unspoken rule is to let him sleep as much as possible.” 

“Wait he really gets that bad?” Cooper asks eyes wide, “I didn’t know!”

“Well we only know because we’ve seen it happen. How did you wake him up?” Sam asks “He’s never good at being woken, unless Sebastian's doing the waking, but he sounded really really pissed off”

Cooper then lifts up the small Santa squirt gun he’d used and demonstrates by squirting it into the sink. As he presses the trigger, the gun shouts ‘ho ho ho’. Sebastian storms into the kitchen and slaps the back of Cooper’s head, grabs two cups of coffee with a mumbled thanks to Sam and marches back to his and Blaine’s room.

“I feel I may have overstepped” Cooper says shiftily 

“You think?” Kitty scoffs, “For the record, wake me up like that and you’ll lose your eyebrows and hair and find nice new marker pen tattoos on your head…and they won’t be family friendly.”

“Oh my god you’re actually serious” Cooper mumbles at her

“Very” she gleams

“She will do it” Sam confirms so Cooper puts the squirt gun in the trash, “And it’s also why her and Hunter make such a good couple” he smiles goofily before making some toast and takes it and a bowl of cereal through to the couple. Everyone looks to him when he comes back into the kitchen. “What? I just left them breakfast…they’re in the shower. Let’s clean up and put more coffee on” he tells them before putting on some of the Christmas blend coffee he knows Blaine loves.

It’s not too long before Sebastian reappears with the plate and bowl, “Thanks Sam I Am” he turns to Cooper, “Do anything like that again and I’ll cut your dick off”

“Ooookay so threats of baldness and removal of junk….man you all suck” Cooper sulks

“How about we wake you up with a loud Santa squirt gun?” David asks amusedly, seeing some of the shared characteristics in the Anderson brothers from when he’d seen Blaine sulk in the past, now in Cooper.

“No that doesn’t sound good” Cooper says without thinking

“Then why do it to Blaine?” Sebastian retorts annoyed

“Because he’s hilarious with the way he reacts!” Cooper answers, “Though this time actually a little scary, maybe it’s not so fun now he’s not little.”

“He could put you on your ass if he really wanted to...easily” Sam tells him flatly

“I can believe it, I saw him when he stopped Puck at Thanksgiving when the fight club thing came out….where is he anyway? I should err probably go apologise”

“Music area…and I’d let him work off some steam” Sebastian replies

“Man those sound proof doors must really work” Cooper comments

The group move to the living area and see Blaine drumming. “I wish I could hear him” Sam says earnestly

“You’re not the only one”, Wes smiles.

Ten minutes later Blaine puts his sticks away and comes out of the music area, “Can you not all stare at me?” he asks as he settles against Sebastian, receiving a kiss to the top of his head.

“So I want to say sorry…I shouldn’t have woken you up like that. It’s not fun for you and it’s not as fun for me either now you’re kinda scary and not so little” Cooper squirms

Blaine raises his eyebrows, “That’s not the best apology, but I’ll take it. How many threats did you get?”

“One from Sebastian, one from Little Miss Sunshine here and a warning from Sam that you could put me on my ass if you wanted to”

Blaine can’t help but laugh at that, “Anyway, let’s just move on. It won’t be long until people start arriving and I’ve given the drums quite a beating…I better get changed. If everyone else is dressing up a bit I can’t be sat here wearing a t-shirt.”

Kitty jumps up, “I’m coming with…I need to finish getting ready too”

It’s only ten or so minutes until the duo reappear with Kitty with her hair now blow dried and Blaine wearing black dress pants with a deep red shirt and a black bowtie that has silver stars on. It’s not long after when the doorbell starts ringing, though everyone appears within a fifteen minute window. When everyone is there Mary, Blaine, Sebastian, Shelby and Leroy make the first push in the kitchen, all working together to get things done as quickly as possible.

“I have to say killer…you look pretty damn edible yourself” Sebastian murmurs into Blaine’s ear as he mixes the cranberry sauce

Blaine looks up through his eye lashes, “As if you can talk…you know what you in that dark green shirt does to me” 

Mary spots them and wants them to enjoy themselves, “Go and enjoy the fun you two”

“Yes we’ve basically got everything that needs to be in the oven in it anyway” Shelby adds

“But…” Blaine goes to protest but is quickly cut off by Leroy

“Plus it’s not as if you’re the only two who can help.”

“We’ll shout if we need anything but we’ll be through ourselves in a moment” Mary says as she pushes them out of the room.

“There you are we need to sing our annual Christmas song, it is tradition after all” Rachel grabs hold of Blaine and pulls him further into the room.

“But…err Rach…we’ve only sang together once at Christmas…and that wasn’t even last year.”

“Well traditions have to start somewhere right? And we sang together last New Year…so that’s close enough” Rachel manoeuvres him so he’s stood in the middle of the area in front of the sofas with the Christmas tree just off to the side. 

Blaine looks to Sebastian and shrugs, “Rach…”

“Nonsense….everyone wants us to sing” she continues as she sets up the backing music, leaving Blaine looking a little helpless in the middle

“It’s just us Blainers, you know she won’t stop being as annoying until you sing together…the quicker you do the sooner it will be over” Santana comforts him in her unique way

“And I won’t take your presents away if I feel you can do better this time” Cooper grins

“That makes me feel so much better” Blaine replies sarcastically

“You really did that?” Shelby looks to Cooper as she joins them

“Oh yeah….I was really horrible to him” Cooper admits

Once the music starts to Extraordinary Merry Christmas Blaine rolls his eyes fondly and quickly gets into the performance, pulling the kids in and Santana and Brittany who are unable to resist dancing with them. 

“You two really do make quite a pair when you perform together” Mary complements when they sit down as Hunter slips out to take a phone call.

“Thank you” Blaine blushes lightly

“Blaine’s my favourite duet partner” Rachel beams and notices Jesse’s face fall a little, “Don’t take it personally…I love singing with you too” at that Shelby, Hiram and Leroy share a knowing look.

“Yeah man…why do you think Finn hated on him so much when he first came to McKinley” Puck adds

Hunter comes back in obviously pissed. “Awww what’s up Hunter?” Sebastian taunts him

“The garage won’t fit my car in…even though it’s clearly their fault it’s making the noise it is as it was fine before they serviced it…it did it all the way here”

That immediately gets Blaine’s attention, “What sort of noise”

“Like a clicking rattle if that makes sense”

“Continuous?”

“Pretty much yeah”

“I’ll get changed then come take a look…I think I know what it could be”

When Blaine comes back into the living area he’s wearing a pair of old, worn jeans that have a tear on his right knee and a long white Henley. “That’s very 50 shades of you” Santana laughs, the adults joining in. Blaine grabs the key for the locker they have in the parking area so he can access his tools and Sebastian stands up to follow.

“I’m coming too” Kitty stands

“And me” Cooper adds

Before he knows it everyone is following Blaine down to the underground parking and where Hunter’s car is parked in their second space.

“Where’s your car squirt if his is parked there and not in a visitors spot?” Cooper frowns, not having been down there before to spot the 'missing' car

“I don’t have a car Coop” Blaine shrugs

“What about the one you got for your birthday?”

“I never got one for me birthday”

“Yeah…I got an Audi and you got that Toyota”

“No that was got for me to use while I lived at home as there wasn’t exactly great public transport from home to anywhere as you know and it was cheaper than me having to get taxis and less hassle for anyone concerned, but was never mine to keep” Blaine replies as he lifts the bonnet on Hunter’s car.

“Oh” Cooper’s shoulders slouch

“Don’t feel bad Coop…it wasn’t your fault and now I get to drive Bas’s on occasion…and I have to say I’m not keen on going back to automatic, I like shift too much” Sebastian pinches Blaine side as he holds the torch for him to give him better light. “Hunter can you turn it over?” When Hunter starts the engine it’s obvious Blaine knows what’s wrong.

“What it is?” Hunter asks curiously

“They’ve fitted the wrong spark plugs” Blaine shakes his head. “We need to get the parts here and I’ll change them…if you drive it, well it could destroy the engine” Blaine then continues to poke about. “They didn’t even change the oil, look it’s dirty” he then turns back to the locker to get a jack out and lifts the front of Hunter’s car up.

“How do you know so much about cars?” Dwight asks

“My grandpa is really into them and I used to help him out with his cars….plus I built one with my dad once” Blaine clears his throat before selecting the wrench he’ll need and grabbing the bucket from the locker. “But luckily for you Hunter…you’re car needs the same oil as Bas’s.” He then slides under the car, with the wrench and bucket so he can drain the oil. Once it’s drained Blaine puts new oil in. When he reappears he has a small smudge of oil on his face, which Sebastian chuckles lowly at and wipes off.

“So how can I get the right spark plugs here?”

“Oh easy…” Blaine pulls out his phone and goes to a website, quickly ordering the right parts. “They’ll be here in an hour…you really need to get your money back from the garage you went to and complain…and never go back again.”

“Oh I have a feeling he’ll do more than complain” Kitty giggles and pinches his cheek playfully

Hunter raises an eyebrow, “I’ll get you back for that later”

“Stop staring at us” she chastises Sam, Blaine and Brittany when she turns to see their grinning faces

“Well there’s no point waiting down here…we might as well go back upstairs” Hiram interrupts so the moment doesn’t escalate

“Too true…everyone back up” Dwight adds

Sebastian turns to Blaine when he lingers behind, “Killer?”

“I just want to check a few things on your car while I’m like this” he gestures to his outfit

“I’ll stay and be his extra pair of hands” Sam volunteers

Sebastian furrows his brow, “Of course” but he knows they’re up to something

When the pair are sure the coast is clear Blaine opens the bottom section of the locker and pulls out his roller blades and Sam’s board. “Okay remember, no matter what, don’t risk bumping into any of the cars.”

“Pfft, what kind of boarder do you take me for?”

They get set up on their ‘start’ line, “How many laps?” Blaine asks

“How about we see how many we can do before the spark plugs get here? Winner’s the one who does the most”

“You’re on” Blaine grins and the two start whizzing around the underground car park

When the spark plugs arrive the main desk call up to the apartment. Sebastian takes the phone call and heads back down with Cooper, Dwight, Hunter, Wes and Kitty. Everyone else being too caught up in other things or simply not interested in engines to go back down.

“This is definitely going to be the decider” Sam calls across to Blaine

“I’m ahead of you by two laps!” Blaine shouts back

“You won’t be for much longer”

“You two are lame” Cooper calls out causing Blaine to lose his focus as he speeds round a corner, disturbing his balance and skidding across the concrete, Sam narrowly manages to miss him as he comes to an abrupt halt, scraping the underside of his skateboard.

Sebastian’s taking off across to where to Blaine is sprawled out before anyone else has had chance to take in what happened, but then they’re quickly following.  
Blaine moans and sits up, “B talk to me”

“I’m fine…Sam?”

“I’m fine dude…I’m not the one who went down” Sam replies where he's crouching over his friend

Wes takes Blaine’s roller blades off to make sure the ankle he went down on is okay and looks up when he hears Sebastian swear when he lifts up Blaine’s now blood stained t-shirt on his left side, the side that scraped across the concrete.

“It’s fine Bas” Blaine tries

“I don’t know who the bigger idiot is…you two for skating around like that or Cooper for shouting out at a critical point” Sebastian glares at the older Anderson

“Well I clearly didn’t think that would happen! If I did I wouldn’t have called out” Cooper fires back

“It’s fine…I’m fine” Blaine shifts and stands, pulling down his sleeve so nobody can see his hand, grabs the box with the spark plugs from Hunter and heads back towards the car. 

Sebastian knows that it’s best to give Blaine some space when he’s in that sort of mood so makes everyone leave him be.

“Done?” Sebastian raises his eyebrows at Blaine when he closes the hood of Hunter’s car only ten minutes later. Blaine nods then hugs into Sebastian’s side so they all make their way into the elevator and head back up.

“You are going to need to clean your cut Blaine” Wes tells him

“I know Wes but that one really isn’t bad, it doesn’t even hurt”

“Only because of your stupidly high pain threshold, and I appreciate it’s not that bad, but you have effectively skinned that area of your side”

Sebastian tilts Blaine’s face so he’s looking into his eyes, “What do you mean that one’s not bad?” 

It’s then Blaine pulls back his sleeve and reveals his hand, the bottom half of which is well and truly skinned, more deeply than his side, “This one does hurt” 

Sebastian kisses Blaine’s forehead, “You can be so stubborn sometimes, you should have said something but no, you had to finish Hunter’s car and didn’t want a fuss”

“Jesus” Cooper winces when he takes it in

“High pain threshold indeed” Dwight comments

“That definitely needs to be bathed in antiseptic wash…and I’ll dress it for the rest of the day but then let it breathe tonight...if it was any worse I'd be taking you to the emergency room” Wes says as he looks at it

Blaine rolls his eyes, but fondly, “Yes doctor”

“Sam, look at the state of you” Mary chastises when she sees her son’s dishevelled, sweaty state

“We may have got carried away with roller blades versus skate board rally…I’m going to go shower” Sam quickly says, not hanging around to get into trouble

“I could do with a shower too” Blaine comments then heads off with Sebastian to the en suite

When the couple reappears Blaine hasn’t done up his shirt yet as he knows he needs to put some cream on his side and let Wes cover it if needs be.

“You’ve done a good job this time” David tells him as he checks the cut on Blaine’s side with Wes while Sebastian massages the back of his neck

“This one should be fine” Wes says after he’s put a dressing on, “Just remember to let it breathe tonight and add more cream if it feels tight, “Let me see your hand”, Blaine winces when Wes uses iodine spray on his hand. “Sorry Blaine but it’s the best thing for this sort of cut”

“I know” Blaine smiles through a grimace, receiving a kiss to his temple from Sebastian

“It was certainly one way to get out of cooking” Shelby teases while Wes wraps Blaine’s hand

Sebastian buttons up Blaine’s shirt and ties his bowtie, “It probably won’t be up to your standards, but it’s the best you’re going to get” 

“Thank you Bastian”

Brittany pulls at the couple, “Come and cuddle” and leads them back into the living area where a freshly showered Sam, in his dress pants and one of Sebastian’s shirts is sat with the others. 

Stacey comes back through from the kitchen where she’d been with Mary and Cooper and gives Blaine a class of cola, “Cooper said this one is for you”  
Blaine takes a sip, smiles then passes it to Sebastian to try, who smirks at the strong taste of whiskey that comes through, “Thanks Coop!” 

“Though it might help” Cooper winks when he comes back to the living area with Mary

“Why do you wear bowties?” Stacey asks Blaine as she settles down next to him

Blaine shrugs, “Because I like them”

“I like them too” she grins

“Do you want to wear one?” she nods excitedly, “I’m sure Sam can help you pick one out” Stevie and Beth also follow Sam and the three children each come back with one, which   
Blaine does up for them, “Good choice Stevie, that was my first one” Blaine smiles at the now slightly faded peacock blue bowtie

“Ah but do you remember how you got it?” Cooper asks with a grin

Blaine furrows his brow, “Not exactly, but I know the lady in the shop gave it to me”

“She did and started your obsession off”

Blaine looks his brother square in the eyes, “So I guess the question is why did she give it to me?”

“Bingo!” Cooper winks and points cheesily, “It all started one day when I had to take you with me to the mall and I left you in the toy store so I could say hello to Samantha Carter”

“Cooper I remember enough to know that you left me for a lot longer than to say hello…I just didn’t realise it was on the same trip”

“How long did you leave him for?” Leroy asks

“I may have taken her to lunch” Cooper admits, “But she was the hottest girl in school”

“That made it fine then” Santana raises an eyebrow

“I didn’t want to take him in the first place, I was made too”

“Love you too Cooper” Blaine deadpans

“Anyway” Cooper continues, “When I got back to the toy store you were gone”

“Shocking” Shelby teases, “How old would Blaine have been?”

“Erm well I was fourteen so three…I know I shouldn’t have left him and I would never do it again now…I was a dumb teenager” he admits, “So I started looking for you everywhere. Eventually I asked a security guard for help who put a call out to all the stores. It came back over the radio that you were in the tailors that used to be upstairs. When I got there you were singing the shop lady a song as you helped her with the bowtie display….in fact you’d drawn in quite a crowd and after having a go at me she let you keep your favourite bowtie, which was that one.”

Everyone laughs softly and a light dusk of pink dusts Blaine’s cheeks

Trent then looks to Blaine, “Is it me, or do you have another cello and a couple of other instruments?”

“I thought I was going mad” Quinn adds

“No there are a few extras” Blaine shifts then looks at Sebastian and nods, letting him know he can tell them why

Sebastian wraps his arms around Blaine a little tighter, “After Thanksgiving an instrument rescue program took off…most of them went to NYUs actual program where they give unwanted instruments to schools in disadvantaged areas so their pupils have a chance to learn, but a few stayed with us.”

Everyone knows what is being left unsaid. When there’s a silent pause Cooper quickly fills it knowing that it would be making his baby brother uncomfortable, “That’s my baby brother…he used to rescue pumpkins on Halloween. One year I was having a party and I got set up to carve the ten I got for it on the patio outside the kitchen backdoor, but the phone went so I left the kitchen to answer. When I came back only a few minutes later he was sat in the middle of them and had named each one. You’ve all seen his puppy dog eyes now, imagine four year old Blaine pulling them with tears in his eyes because as far as he’s concerned, you’re about to kill his pumpkin friends by carving faces onto them….needless to say I ended up drawing faces onto them with marker pen and got ripped by my friends for it.”

With that story Blaine fully blushes. He knows Cooper loves embarrassing him on some level even now, but at the same time he knows he was drawing the focus away from Thanksgiving so he doesn’t mind.

“That is ridiculously cute…even for you” Kitty ruffles Blaine’s hair where he’s hiding his face in Sebastian’s neck

“Just when I didn’t think you could get any sweeter” Tina teases 

When the oven timer goes Blaine goes to stand up, “Sit down” Mary tells him authoritatively and he freezes making Sam, Stevie, Stacey and Dwight laugh

“Yeah she’s good at that kiddo” Dwight chuckles

“It’s fine Blaine…if you want a job to do you can sing me the piece you want help with” Shelby pulls him to the music area where they close the glass divider and shut the blinds on it so nobody can see or hear.

“I thought we were going to get to hear him sing then” Stacey pouts

“Yeah I thought we were going to get to know one of his performance songs too” Rachel adds glumly

When Sebastian sees Santana eyeing the door he moves to guard it. “You’re no fun” the Latina teases him

“Just protecting what’s mine” he winks back

“How does Blainers feel about your possessive streak?” Cooper goads waggling his eyebrows

Sam scoffs, “Please he loves it and is equally as possessive”

“Little ears everyone” Leroy points out

A few minutes later Blaine and Shelby reappear, “Mummy what’s wrong?” Beth asks when she notices her mother crying 

“Nothing is wrong sweetie….Blaine just sung that beautifully….there’s nothing he needs help with, at least not from me” she wipes her eyes

“No that tip you gave me was really useful” Blaine defends

“Rachel you better take a box of tissues on the night” Hiram tells her part in jest, part seriously

“Daaaaad….are you really sure I can’t play on the Xbox?” Stevie asks eyeing the games console

“Very” Dwight tells him firmly receiving a huff in response

“Hey Stevie do you wanna jam?” Blaine asks him

“Not in front of everyone”

Blaine thinks for a moment, “How about you, Beth and Stacey challenge me?”

“How?” the three ask wide eyed

Blaine grabs his guitar then sits on the floor crossed legged, guitar wresting on his lap and starts playing, “Take it in turn to give me a word and I’ve got to get it into the song”

“Awesome” Stevie smiles

Everyone bar Sebastian is stunned by how quickly Blaine can take the words the kids give him and work them into a song full of humour. While Blaine’s sat with the three Sebastian stands at the side, smiling proudly and warmly at the scene in front of him.

Santana sidles up to the tall boy, “You realise that if you had ovaries, they’d be glowing right now”

“Shut up Satan” he throws back weakly, his mind and eyes still fixed on his boyfriend

“Just saying”

“Just do me a favour….don’t say to anyone else” Sebastian looks at her for a fleeting moment, “And don’t get ahead of yourself”

“My lips are sealed….and I didn’t say anything about soon…just it’s obvious that it will happen one day” Santana kisses his cheek

Mary then starts calling everyone through to get ready for dinner and to help with the final bits. They all squeeze into the dining area which has a mixture of furniture in, but it allows them to all sit together. Those who didn’t help cook clean and tidy up and it’s not long before everyone succumbs to sleep in the living room sprawled across the seats and floor while the watch Elf due to the warmth and fullness of their bellies. Cooper being the last one to cling onto consciousness takes a moment to capture a picture of Blaine and Sebastian, tangles together in a way that shouldn’t work on the arm chair, both looking completely content.


	88. The second day of Christmukk - Part one

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi all. I am once again so sorry for the ridiculous wait to get this posted. I've decided to post this as part one, as I feel it works on it's own while I sort out the rest of this chapter. I really am sorry for the longer delays, but working in a hospital on the run up to Christmas is always hard going. I have some time off coming up and promise to dedicate a good amount of time to writing. This fic is not in danger of being abandoned, just is suffering from a lack of writing time. Please hang in there with me!

The next day everyone meets for brunch before the families split off.

“Are you sure?” Sam asks Mary one final time before they part ways.

“We’re sure…we’ve had these island tours booked for ages and we knew you wouldn’t all want to do the touristy things again plus it’s not as if you aren’t coming home for Christmas Sam…we’ve got plenty of time yet.”

“Okay” he smiles and hugs her

“So what do you all want to do now?” Blaine asks everyone

“Go back and chill at your place” Puck replies

“Amen to that!” Artie backs up

“Sounds good to me” Jean-Baptiste adds so that’s quickly decided, if not pre-planned.

“He’s getting itchy to do something” Sebastian comments to Cooper

“Yeah I’d picked up on that too”

“I’ve got an idea” Puck says and goes to his coat, getting an X-box game out. “Hey Anderson…look what I’ve got” he taunts Blaine with the game, swinging it in front of his face. For a few moments Blaine’s head tracks the movement before he grabs the game and puts it on. It’s not long before everyone is watching Blaine shoot zombies, though they won’t go down. As he gets more wound up he starts bouncing in his seat before eventually standing up and jumping up and down.

“I don’t understand! Why won’t they die?! I’ve shot that one four times in the head.”

“Let me have a look.” Puck logs out of Blaine’s profile and into his own. The zombie goes down with one shot to the head. “Sorry man…you can’t be shooting it right, it’s working fine for me.” He then logs Blaine back in.

“It always does” Blaine grits through his teeth then goes back to playing

“This is hilarious” Jean-Baptiste whispers to Sebastian, Cooper, Puck and Jeff.

“How come they aren’t dying for him?” Cooper asks wanting in

“Because we modded the game so when it’s on his profile it’s set to impossible mode, whereas for the rest of us it’s just normal.” Immediately Blaine’s head snaps away from the screen and to Puck. “Oh fuck” Puck just manages to get out before Blaine’s flying over the sofa and tackles him to the ground, the two entering into a full on ‘play’ fight.

On Sebastian’s order the extra guests silently enter the apartment and when Kitty sees them she shouts, “Bundle!”

Puck sees the incoming from where he’s pinned to the ground and instinctively covers Blaine’s head as they get jumped on by some members of the new New Directions, including Sam and Brittany.

“Oh my god what are you all doing here?” Sam laughs

“Hey…whoever just bit my ass has just gone way over the line” Blaine’s voice cuts through. While a few snigger Sebastian growls and grabs his boyfriend out of the bundle. Kitty’s cackling quickly gives away she was the biter.

“Never again…if it was anyone else….” Sebastian threatens and she giggles, hiding behind Hunter.

Blaine and Sam meanwhile have been greeting everyone, “This is Spencer” Ryder introduces, “My boyfriend, and this is Blaine and Sam” he gestures to each one.

“Hi…it’s great to meet you” Blaine smiles blindingly at him. “Don’t worry, nobody will get offended if you can’t remember who is who, apart from maybe Santana, who is the gorgeous Latina over there, hopefully it won’t be too intense coming into all this mix. I’m really glad you could join us, though it’s clear Sam and I are the only two who didn’t know this was happening.”

“Man this is awesome” Sam half jumps on Blaine, the two toppling to the ground laughing.

“You’ll get used to Blam” Unique tells Spencer

“So far, they’re just what I was expecting.”

Blaine notices Sebastian gazing at him so quickly shucks off his best friend and takes a running jump at his boyfriend, wrapping his legs around his waist. "Thank you Bastian...so so much. I love you more than I can describe."

"And I you killer" the couple share a deep kiss before Blaine unwraps his legs and stands back on the floor.

"I hope you all brought your glad wrags with you" Santana cuts across the room, "Because tonight we are headed to one of the hottest jazz bars in New York."

Blaine turns in Sebastian's arms, "You were all in on this weren't you!"

"Maybe..." Rachel grins, "Luckily for me I was allowed another day off from the theatre, but that's mostly due that after this I'm performing solidly over the holiday season."

"And...we've got tickets to the downstairs club...having connections really can get you in places" Hunter winks at Cooper

Blaine moves and hugs his brother, "Thank you"

"You deserve it squirt...and you Sammy boy" Cooper ruffles both of their hair.

"Soooo not to push when you've only just seen each other, but we don't have that much time to get everyone settled, showered and changed" Wes announces and soon there's a buzz of activity as everyone gets to their accomodation to do just that with the agreement that they'll meet at the jazz club later, where they will be eating dinner before continuing the evening in the basement club.


	89. Christmukka part two

After Sebastian’s finished getting dressed he turns and sees Blaine struggling with his hair so walks up to him and gently takes over, “Let me Killer B”

Blaine smiles softly at his boyfriend in the mirror, “Thank you Bastian…I really do love you”

“And I really love you too sap”

“I can’t believe you organized all of this…yet at the same time I completely can as it’s so you”

“You’re worth it B” 

Blaine stands up now Sebastian’s done with his hair and wraps his arms around the taller boy, “It’s going to be amazing properly catching up with everyone again and them being here has made me so so happy, but do you know what I’m looking forward to the most this holiday?”

“Nu uh” Sebastian steals a kiss

“That from Christmas Eve it’s just us for a few days and we can just be”

“And maybe a snow man or two if it snows?” Sebastian teases

“Oh it’s going to snow…I’m sure it will tonight actually but actually I’m thinking that on Christmas Eve we don’t leave our bed apart from to get food and crank up the heat so we don’t have to worry about pesky clothes. Maybe the furthest we’ll make it is the sofa, cuddled under a blanket of course.”

Sebastian smiles warmly, “That sounds more than perfect to me….I’m tempted to keep you to myself tonight.”

“Please don’t be afraid to be greedy with me. You know they’ll understand and I need my Bastian time”

“I need my Killer B time too” they share a deep kiss and Sebastian’s hands gently squeeze Blaine’s ass as Cooper knocks at the door, “Love birds the car is here” he calls through.  
Blaine takes Sebastian’s hand and leads the way out of the apartment, followed by Kitty, Ryder, Spencer and Jake in addition to Cooper.

“You sure you’re going to be okay sharing with Coop tonight Jake?” Blaine asks on their way down

“Yeah no problems”

“Aren’t you going to ask me the same?” Cooper teases

“Nope” Blaine grins cheekily

“Well he can’t kick as much as you so I’ll take him”

Jake frowns, “I’m not a pet…anyway what’s happening with you and Hunter?” he asks Kitty

“Well…we’re going out”

“Like officially? Exclusive and everything?” Ryder asks

“It would seem that way” she replies nonchalantly 

“Knew you would be” Blaine teases her

“Oh shut up fuzz” she jabs his side

That sets the tone for the journey to the jazz club, with Spencer getting to know Blaine, Sebastian and Cooper well and the other three him. The others arrive as they do so Spencer   
takes a moment to speak to his boyfriend, “Okay maybe I’m not feeling angsty over the fact you used to crush on Blaine now I’ve met him…and I can admit I can see why”

“Should I be jealous?” Ryder teases

“You know the answer to that Ry…I love you” Spencer says for the first time

Ryder swallows and squeezes his boyfriend’s hand, “I love you too” they share a quick kiss before following the others inside.

Their faces all light up as they are shown to their table, Blaine of course taking a detour to go and say hello to the band, one of the members he knows a little from NYU.

“Who’s that then Blainers?” Santana asks

“He was one of the seniors in the showcase right?” Sebastian cuts in

“Right” Blaine smiles at him

“The Smythe memory strikes again” Thad declares dramatically

“You okay Marley?” Blaine asks her as she looks wistfully at the stage, “You know they’ll let you sing with them if you want?”

“No it’s okay.”

“Come on you’ve been awesome since that time” Sam encourages

“And you can’t ruin Gangnam style any more than it ruins itself” Unique adds

“Why was that even chosen for a competition piece?” Quinn asks

“Finn chose it” Tina replies

“I got him to read the competition scoring guidelines” Blaine explains, “And he was convinced that song interpretation was in regards to languages, none of us could convince him otherwise. Though of course the fact he made Tina learn the lyrics in Korean meant that it wasn’t even being interpreted in that way.”

Everyone bursts out laughing, particularly Puck, “Man he was a dumbass….my best friend and my brother but a complete dumb ass sometimes!”

“That is just so Finn” Rachel smiles, “But he was really smart….just in his own way”

Sebastian raises his glass to toast, “To Finn”

The others copy and chorus, “To Finn”

They all enjoy a delicious three course dinner, talking and laughing, making up for being apart for so long yet it’s as if no time has passed at all and as if the group was always one unit rather than a few fused together through one common thread of Blaine Anderson.

After desert Sebastian notices Blaine’s twitchy in his seat, “Go and play with them for a bit B…we have time”

“Go on Blaine” Wes encourages so Blaine excuses himself and joins the band on stage, filling in on piano so his friend from the showcase is free to sing without worrying about having to play too – something that not many can do as naturally as Blaine.

“Hey Marley…will you come sing with me?” Rachel asks

“Oh I don’t know”

“Don’t be silly…you know I make a fantastic duet partner and I know just the perfect number that we would sound amazing singing”

“Just do it…she won’t give up until you do” Brittany says playfully

Marley doesn’t have time to protest however as Rachel grabs her hand and pulls her to the stage, speaking to the band when there’s a break in the music. The two end up singing a breath taking duet of New York State of Mind after a an improv jazz piano build up played by Blaine as they got set-up.

“They sounded beautiful together” Ryder comments

“And Blaine is insane on the piano” Spencer adds

“That’s not even close to half of it” Santana chuckles

The three on stage join the main group again. “We should have asked earlier, but where is Sugar?” Blaine asks

“Oh man…she made me promise to show you this when you asked” Jake winces, “It’s classic Sugar is all I can say.”

Blaine presses play on the video as Sam leans across to watch, “Hello Blam…I’m not sure which of you was the ‘Bl’ and the other the ‘Am’ anymore. Anyway I’m sorry I can’t be with you but as much as I love you…I decided I love the Caribbean more. Try not to miss me too much.” She blows them both a kiss before the camera cuts off.

Everyone is silent for a moment before Sam speaks up, “Would I like the Caribbean more than I do Sugar?” he asks Blaine seriously 

“Quite possibly…some of the islands have these small pigs you can go swimming with”

Sam’s face lights up, “That does sound awesome”

Cooper laughs, “So that’s settled then. Swimming pigs beats girl called sugar.”

“Yeah I can see that” Spencer adds

They don’t stay at the table for long before paying the bill and heading to the downstairs bar.

Blaine’s whole face lights up, “This place is awesome!” and he grabs Sebastian’s face and presses a forceful kiss onto his lips.

They go to the bar and order drinks, those old enough or with good enough fake IDs get alcoholic drinks while the others make do with soda. As always it doesn’t take Blaine,   
Rachel or Brittany long to get buzzed the three of them disappearing quickly into the crowd on the dance floor, Sebastian of course keeping an eye on them.

“Come on Ry” Spencer stands, taking his boyfriend with him, “It’s obvious you want to join them.”

Kitty quickly drags Hunter to the dance floor too and soon everyone is up on the floor apart from Santana, Cooper, Thad and Sebastian who all make their way and sit at the bar where they can better see the dance floor and get more drinks.

The music to Love Shack starts and Sebastian doesn’t have to look to know that Blaine will be up on stage. He’s right of course, there is his boyfriend with Rachel and Brittany all having fun and delivering a great performance of the song.

When they get down everyone gathers on the dance floor for a little while dancing some of the night away together.

“Hey guys, let’s go back to ours that way everyone can have something more to drink than soda plus I want to see the snow!” Blaine exclaims, his arms still wrapped around Sebastian.

“It wasn’t forecast to snow” Jake tells him

“Trust him, if he says it’s going to snow, it’s going to snow” Sebastian laughs

“Yeah it sounds crazy but he can always predict it” Sam adds and Cooper nods in confirmation

“Only Blaine” Marley laughs so the group head back to the Seblaine apartment.

When the get back home they are all covered in a layer of snow, “Okay I will never question Blaine’s prediction of snow again” Unique laughs brightly.

It’s not long before the whole group is tipsy and spend time dancing and singing some of the songs they’d performed together throughout the years.

“Yeah I’m going to need proof he can rap” Ryder says to Kitty as they laugh at the Blam antics the McKinley group miss so much. 

“Yeah I’m with Ryder on this one” Spencer agrees, “He’s just too…”

“Adorkable” Marlety fills in with a laugh

In the end they manage to get Blaine wrapping the alphabet rap by Blacklicious.

“How the hell do you know that?!” Jeff asks 

“It’s good for warming up” Blaine shrugs

Everyone has a great night, all getting rather drunk before crashing where they land, apart from Blaine who gets taken to bed by Sebastian. Kitty spends the night in Hunter’s arms, feeling very protected and not pressured to do anything she isn’t yet ready for.


	90. A very Seblaine Christmas

The new New Directions had an amazing couple of days together but time flew and soon Blaine and Sebastian found themselves stood at the airport saying goodbye to all of their friends, being the only two staying in New York for the holiday. There were a few tears but they all promised to see each other in the summer and of course keep in touch as they had been. The Anderson brothers both found saying goodbye much easier this time as they knew it was only a matter of a couple of weeks before Cooper would be back to see Blaine’s musical theatre examination performance.

When they get back to the apartment Blaine takes a deep breath, “It feels really quiet now”

Sebastian wraps his arms around his boyfriend, “It does….it’s kind of nice”

Blaine chuckles, “I know what you mean….I can’t remember ever being so excited about Christmas before”

“Me neither” Sebastian smiles then goes to the thermostat to turn up the heat, “Might as well start as we mean to go on…” he smirks and saunters back to Blaine sexily 

The two crash together with electrifying energy, clothes being stripped with vigour and thrown out the way with no thought for where they land.

Sebastian tackles Blaine to the couch. They end up rolling onto the luxurious rug in a tangle of limbs, mouths still caught in a passionate kiss.

Sebastian runs his hands down the length of Blaine’s spine and over his ass before pulling his cheeks apart and pressing against the sweet pucker, “Fuck” he says abruptly

“What’s wrong?” Blaine asks concerned

“All our lube is in our room, we moved our supplies there so nobody stumbled across them remember” Sebastian quickly stands but is back in seconds with and jumps back on top of Blaine who laughs. “Find that funny do you?”

“Yuh hu” Blaine grins cheekily in a way he knows will only rile his boyfriend up more, “So what exactly are you going to do about it?” he goads

“I’ll show you what I’m going to do about it” Sebastian flips Blaine over and takes him from behind with very little preparation before raising him so he’s on all fours and slaps his ass hard.

Blaine arches his back with a moan, “Again” so Sebastian slaps him hard again before changing their position so Blaine is on top before drilling upwards into him. They are both worked up from not being able to have each other like this for too long so it takes little time for them both to spill over.

After a few minutes Blaine looks at Sebastian, “Shower then round two?”

“I fucking love you” Sebastian growls before kissing his boyfriend and carrying him to the shower, Blaine laughing the whole way.

They don’t leave bed for the rest of that night, both going to sleep in a post-sex haze. When Blaine opens his eyes he snuggles into Sebastian, waking the taller boy.

“Bas it’s Christmas” Blaine smiles brightly

“Merry Christmas Blaine” Sebastian smiles warmly

“Merry Christmas Sebastian” they share a sweet kiss before getting up to give each other their gifts. Sebastian gives Blaine a green onyx ring, a BB-8 that can be controlled with his phone and a canvas that says ‘Music is what feelings sound like’. Blaine gives Sebastian a new wallet complete with a picture of the two of them in, a new hat and some high tops the taller boy absolutely loves.

After some phone calls the two cuddle on the couch with just the blanket over them watching Christmas films. 

“Bastian…”

“Hmmmm”

“What did Santana say to you the other day that made you blush?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about B” Sebastian shifts

“You know exactly what I’m talking about…You don’t have to tell me if you really don’t want to…I guess it’s just I’ve never seen anyone else make you blush like that before…”

“Shhhh B shhhhh…." He takes a deep breath, "She told me that if I had ovaries they’d be glowing when I was watching you with the kids”

“Oh...” Blaine’s eyes go wide with realisation, “Oh! Right well…”

“She just caught me off guard…”

“So one day?”

“You know I do B…Jesus wind the clock back two years ago and I would never have thought it but I can’t not have a family with you”

“Me neither” Blaine smiles

“Complete with the fluffy dogs” Sebastian smirks and Blaine giggles. 

“I know it’s ages before we really need to talk about it but do you know how you’d want to go about it?”

“You mean adoption or surrogacy?”

“Yeah”

“Surrogacy” Sebastian answers easily, “There’s a really real chance that by the time we get there we would really be able to have a child that’s both of ours. Did you know they’ve completed successful trials about taking an egg but mixing the genes of two other parents and inserting them back into the cell?”

“That sounds amazing” Blaine beams

“It is…the science is amazing and not even in a creepy Gattaca way where you end up with designer babies. Everything is left up to chance, the sex, eye colour, hair everything just like normal but it’d mean that any child we’d have really would be ours…both of ours.”

“You Sebastian Alexander Salvador Smythe are genuinely the most incredible human I’ve ever come across and ever will. You blow my breath away more and more every day. I am just so so lucky to have you in my life. You really are my heart and my soul.”

“I love you too killer…more than I ever dreamed was possible. Now do you know what one major advantage for us is?”

“Noooo” Blaine furrows his brows

“We don’t have to get worried about getting knocked up in the meantime, until we decide we’re ready”

Blaine laughs hard, “And there’s my sassy boyfriend back again, I wondered how long your inner sap was going to be allowed out for….just one question…how long…I mean I know we don’t really know but when do you think you’ll want….”

“Kids B…if you say the word they won’t magically appear….well I bloody hope not.” Sebastian looks around dramatically, making Blaine laugh again. “I guess ten or so years. I mean I’ve got law school after college, then I need to pass the bar and I want to be set-up with a good career before so I have more control over my working hours than I would if I was new in. Plus I want you to have a chance to have the career I know you are destined to have. Again if you’re established then you’ll have more control over your working patterns.”

“I love how much you’ve thought about this…and…well…I’ve thought exactly the same, but you are forgetting one tiny detail”

“Oh really what’s that?”

Blaine shrugs innocently, “We’ve got to make each other honest men before then. Well I’d at least like us to”

“Yeah?” Sebastian smiles

“Yeah…Blaine Smythe”

“Blaine Smythe?”

“Orrrr Blaine Anderson-Smythe…that way my initials would spell Bas”

Sebastian laughs, “Now you’re forgetting one tiny detail….you’d still have a middle name killer”

“BDAS…haha say it together and it sounds like bad ass” 

They both crack up and leave the conversation there, bursting with happiness and love that they really are heading in the same direction together in life, every single step of the way and they know they will always look back on this Christmas, the first one truly together, together in their home, celebrating it how they both want to with the person who means the most to them.


	91. New Year

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year to all of you! Here's to 2016 - can't wait to see where it takes us :D

Time seems to march on after Christmas for Blaine and Sebastian with both completing some studies they needed to over the holiday, which for Blaine included practising for his musical theatre assessment and getting some tips from Tabatha via Skype on the pieces they had been told at orchestra to go over during the holiday. As he’d been granted the honour of being first violin in his freshman year, he really didn’t want to screw up.

The Berry’s wedding came and went, with a beautiful performance by Blaine and Rachel as Mr and Mr Berry exchanged rings and walked back down the aisle together. And now, as if by all of a sudden, Blaine and Sebastian are in their bedroom, getting ready to go and watch the ball drop with all their New York based friends, plus Wes.

“Are you sure you want to go tonight killer?” Sebastian asks as he wraps his arms around his clearly nervous boyfriend.

“In part no…in part yes. I wish the others hadn’t just dropped these plans on us, but I really do want to be in Times Square to watch the ball drop, I mean it’s something you’ve got to do at least once right? Particularly if you live in New York like we do…but…it’s going to be so crowded Bas.” Blaine gulps

Sebastian of course already knew that’s why Blaine was getting anxious. It’s something he knows his boyfriend will always have to live with, a result of the horrific Sadie Hawkins attack, in the same way that he’d never go into an empty car park late at night on his own either. “I promise to keep tight hold of you okay?”

Blaine nods with a nervous gulp, “Okay”

“Plus you know Wes will stick to you like glue too…and Sam”

“I don’t think Sam knows, I mean I’ve never told him about the whole crowd thing and it’s not often we’re in a scenario like we will be tonight…well tonight will definitely be the most extreme it will have ever been for me in terms of number of people.”

“I’m pretty sure he does know…much in the same way you picked up on his fear of clowns when nobody else did because of how much he tried to hide it….you two know each other and will always look out for the other.”

Blaine giggles slightly, “Yeah I guess you’re right”

“So…you ready to do this B?”

“As I’ll ever be” Blaine smiles then takes Sebastian’s hand and they head out with Wes, who’d been waiting in the living room for them.

They meet the guys at the subway station and head to Times Square together, where they meet the girls outside the station before heading into the square as a complete group.  
Blaine keeps a tight hold on Sebastian’s hand as they head into the crowd, receiving encouraging squeezes. He’s managing to keep his anxiety at bay and feed on the electric, happy vibe until someone barges through, forcing the couples’ hands apart.

Panic sets in immediately as the movement in the crowd acts like a current, forcing Blaine further from his boyfriend and the rest of the group, “Sebastian!” he shouts as loudly as he can.

“Blaine I’m coming!” Sebastian shouts back, being able to see his boyfriend due to his height advantage, something he knows Blaine doesn’t have. Blaine starts taking deep breaths and running timetables through his head. It feels like a lifetime before he feels his boyfriend’s arms wrap around him again. “I’ve got you B, I’ve got you” Sebastian reassures his trembling boyfriend.

“I feel like an idiot for getting so scared” Blaine whimpers into Sebastian

“You’re only an idiot for feeling like that for getting scared…anyone would be freaked out about getting separated tonight…you’ve got more reason than most to feel that way so don’t be so hard on yourself…..Do you want to go home?”

“Kind of…but if I do I’ll have let them take something away from me” Blaine replies, ‘them’ clearly being his attackers. 

“Okay…that makes sense and I completely support that. So how about a piggy back, or you walk in front but I’ll keep my arms so tight around you like a rollercoaster harness you’ll never get away.”

“The harness option sounds good” Blaine smiles up at his boyfriend and gives him a kiss. The two position themselves with Blaine flush to Sebastian’s front, with long protective arms wrapped around him, which Blaine then locks his arms over. They manage to walk with surprising ease. Of course Wes and Sam are the two to see them and flag them down first, the group having stepped to the side when Sam and Wes alerted them to the couple getting pulled away.

“You okay dude?” Sam asks tentatively

“I will be” Blaine smiles tightly, “Keep close?”

Sam beams at his best bro letting him in rather than denying there was a problem, “Totally….me and Wes will be your body guards”

“Thanks Sammy”

“No problem BD”

Wes claps Blaine on the shoulder with a proud smile which boosters the younger boy. After a while Blaine manages to relax much more again, earning him a gentle tickle from Sebastian, who of course picks up on his change of state immediately. They watch the ball drop and share a kiss at midnight, as do Jesse and Rachel who receive some well-intentioned jibes and teasing about it taking them so long. They don’t hang around on the square, but instead head back to the Seblaine apartment where they were icing the prosecco Camille and Joseph had sent them all to enjoy.

When they finally manage to get home Blaine puts some slow music on and pulls Sebastian into him, forcing him to dance with him. The other couples, Santana and Brittany, and Jesse and Rachel join them so Wes gets Nick and Thad to help him pour out the prosecco while Jeff and Sam get out the snacks Sam knows Blaine had prepared earlier.

“Camille must know exactly how many glasses you can get in one bottle for there to be enough for two glasses each…we’ve only used half of the Prosecco this first time around.” Wes says to Blaine and Sebastian as he hands them a glass each.

“That doesn’t surprise me” Sebastian comments

“No, that’s exactly the type of thing she’d know…plus you know what Grandpa always says Bastian…”

“One glass just isn’t enough” Sebastian grins

Wes naturally leads the toast, “I think we can all agree the year has been full of ups and downs with great loss yet many happy memories created. I can certainly say I’m grateful that we are all as close as we are now, something I’m sure you all feel the same about. Here’s to a happy, successful, safe and peaceful New Year.”

They all raise their glasses and drink. It’s decided that the girls will stay with Blaine and Sebastian that night, as will Hunter with Jean-Baptiste crashing in with Sam. Everyone agrees it’s a shame Artie wasn’t with them but they know he’s created some firm friendships of his own since coming to the city and truly carved his own way, something he never felt he managed to do at McKinley. They all understand it’s part of the course of life, that friendships will change throughout the years and accept it. As long as they are all happy and healthy in life, they will be happy for each other.


	92. A big brother talk and an assessment

As promised Cooper comes back to New York for Blaine’s musical theatre class assessment, arriving the night before. Due to the time he arrives Blaine is already in bed which is where he and Sebastian head straight away.

In the morning Sebastian creeps into where Cooper is sleeping on the pull out bed in the office, Wes having stayed in the guest room to also be there to support Blaine. He carefully opens the safe and takes out his camera and the leather strapped necklace with silver pendent he’d been keeping back to give to Blaine until this day. As he shuts the safe however, he doesn’t realise that he traps Cooper’s quilt in the door, stopping it from properly closing. 

As Cooper wakes up he tugs on his quilt to try and wrap it higher around his shoulders but sits up when he finds he is unable to. Hearing his baby brother flittering around the apartment he decides to get up, throwing on the sweats he’d brought with him and a clean t-shirt. It’s when he tries to throw the quilt over the bed that he realises it’s trapped in the safe door. As Cooper frees the quilt a picture falls out of the safe. It’s a picture he never wanted to see of his baby brother and Sebastian in a position he never wanted to see them in. Although he has no problem what so ever with their sexuality, it’s one thing knowing your sibling has an active sexual relationship and another seeing an image of it.   
He knows he shouldn’t look but as Cooper puts the photograph back he sees others, the two boys both in very risky positions during oral and penetrative sex, or simply tied and blindfolded. The problem is he can’t help but notice the same thing in all of them – the couple aren’t having safe sex. Quickly he puts the pictures back and closes the safe before taking deep breaths, partly to clear the images from his mind but also to figure out how to bring this up with his brother.

Finally Cooper stands and takes one final deep breath before stepping out of his room. He immediately finds Blaine in the kitchen, wrapped in Sebastian’s embrace.

“It’s beautiful Bastian…thank you so so much…but you…”

“If you say I shouldn’t have got it for you or that you don’t deserve it there will be consequences” Sebastian leans down to give Blaine a kiss.

Cooper coughs to break them up when they don’t break for a while.

“Oh hey Coop” Blaine beams and hugs his brother

“Hey squirt…that’s a fancy piece around your neck”

Blaine blushes lightly, “Bas just gave it to me” and turns the pendent around so his brother can make out the engraving ‘there is no try, only do’.

“Very nice…can I have a word with you?” Cooper doesn’t give Blaine a chance to answer but wraps his arm around his shoulders and walks him back to the office.

Wes comes out just as Cooper has taken Blaine away and immediately notices something is wrong with Sebastian, “What’s up?”

“Cooper’s just taken Blaine for a talk” Sebastian frowns

“Okay…and?” Wes pushes

“Something wasn’t right” Sebastian answers then starts to eat his breakfast in silence

“Coop what’s going on?” Blaine asks after the brothers have settled next to each other on Cooper’s bed.

Cooper turns to face his brother, one leg dangling over the edge of the bed, the other tucked up, crossed underneath him, “Sebastian didn’t close the safe properly after he came   
in here this morning.”

“Riiight” Blaine shifts so he’s also facing his brother front on.

“I saw the pictures Blaine”

“You went looking through our stuff? Our obviously personal stuff that’s kept in our safe?” Blaine asks, clearly affronted. 

“I was just shutting it after getting the quilt free when one fell out, as I put it back I saw others” Cooper calmly defends.

“You shouldn’t have looked at them Cooper” Blaine argues back, completely red with embarrassment and annoyance.

“Look Blaine…I don’t think I need to tell you the risks of doing such things, you must know how easy it would be for those things to end up on the internet. It could destroy yours and Sebastian’s careers before they’ve even started.”

“We do know, and that’s exactly why those copies are the only traces. There aren’t any other files on laptops or anything else”

“Okay good…but that’s not what bothered me most…”

“I don’t think what we do is of any concern of yours” Blaine goes to stand, but Cooper pulls him back down

“You don’t use protection” Cooper blurts out

“And how is what we do or don’t use any concern of yours?” Blaine throws back, voice raised

“Because you’re my baby brother, I love you and I want you to be safe!” Cooper’s voice also raising.

“We are safe!” 

“How can you say that when you’re clearly not?!” Cooper asks exasperated

Out in the living room Sebastian and Wes have heard increasingly raised voices. Sebastian can’t take anymore, knowing that today is important to Blaine’s overall grade for the year so goes to intervene, Wes hot on his heels, also concerned.

“Because we’re in a committed relationship, we only sleep with each other and we’re both clean!” Blaine fires, standing abruptly as Sebastian opens the door

“Now’s not good” Cooper stands and stares at Sebastian

“You’re not going to intimidate me Cooper, particularly not in my own home”

Cooper ignores Sebastian and turns back to his brother, “I still think you’re putting yourself at risk”

“What?! Do you think Sebastian’s going to cheat on me? Do you think I’d cheat on him? Do you think we’d sleep with other people without protection? Gay stereotype right, not being good at monogamy” Blaine scoffs out obviously hurt, tears threatening to spill over. 

“Hey you know that’s not fair…you know I support you guys…I really was just trying to look out for you Blaine. I doubt anyone’s ever had this talk with you before.”

“Yeah well you’re a little late for it and actually Patrick did, just as he did with Tabatha and Wes…and even if he hadn’t…I’m not stupid Coop” Blaine says, his voice cracking a little with emotion.

Wes steps forward to diffuse the situation before Blaine gets any more upset or Sebastian blows his gasket, “I think we can trust they’re safe Cooper”

“Yeah well the images I’ve seen show otherwise”

Sebastian pulls Blaine into him before calmly yet completely authoritatively speaking, “For your information Cooper, I will never cheat on Blaine. With previous partners I have always used protection, as has your brother, and before we went without we were both tested and found to be clean. Now, us guys here in the city all go together every six months out of routine even though technically none of us need to. Happy?”

“I didn’t mean any offense…I just”

“It’s okay Cooper….you were only trying to look after your younger brother, we all understand that and there are absolutely no hard feelings are there?” Wes prompts, looking at Blaine and Sebastian pointedly.

Sebastian grunts but Blaine takes a moment before speaking, “I guess it shows you care”

“I really do” Cooper smiles softly

“It can’t have been easy to bring up Cooper, and I would have probably done the same in your position” Wes nods, “Now you better have something to eat Blaine before Sebastian   
takes you to NYU”

Blaine takes Sebastian back to the kitchen.

“Thanks Wes” Cooper says

“No problem, you probably didn’t take the best approach but I know you did it for all the right reasons” Wes smiles and claps Cooper on his shoulder.  
Cooper feels a little uneasy until Blaine gives him a hug before Sebastian helps him take his bags down to the car and drives him to college for the final run-through and bits before tonight’s performance.

“So you sure you don’t want to tell me what you’re performing tonight?” Cooper teases his brother just before he leaves.

“Bas can tell you all what the group number is when all of you are together” Blaine replies, “It’s safe to say we didn’t get to choose the song.”  
With that Blaine leaves with his boyfriend.

Sam and the others, including the girls and Shelby, minus Beth who is being babysat by a friend so she could attend tonight, all appear before Sebastian gets back.

“Are you okay Cooper?” Shelby asks, noticing he’s not quite as carefree as he’d normally be.

“Erm…” Cooper starts thinking it might be nice to talk to someone who could understand from his perspective but Wes cuts in.

“He’s waiting for Sebastian to get back…Blaine’s said he can tell us what the group number is tonight.” Wes then turns to the older Anderson so only he can hear him, “Talk to me if you want to Coop but if Blaine finds out you’ve spoken to anyone else about earlier, he will be really hurt and feel betrayed. I understand you might want to talk things through though, but you’re best off not going to outside parties, imagine how you’d feel if it was the other way round.”

Cooper nods, “Okay you’re right…that makes a lot of sense. You’re going to be a great doctor one day.”

“Hey!” Sam greets Sebastian, the first to notice he’s home.

“So Sebastian, Cooper says you can tell us what the group performance is tonight!” Rachel beams

Sebastian laughs, “Yeah I can…I’ve been given the go ahead”

“So what is it?” Brittany bounces

“You can’t stop the beat from Hairspray…as you can imagine it wasn’t his group’s choice.”

Everyone bursts out laughing bar Shelby, “Okay what am I missing?”

“Hairspray must be the one musical Blaine really doesn’t like…at all” Jeff fills in.

“How does tonight work anyway?” Santana asks, “So they’ve been split into groups?”

“Sort of…basically although the intake at NYU each year for the musical theatre programme is really small, they split it into two, so you have ten to twenty in each one, depending on how the split works the best. Normally it’s fifteen in each group though.” Sebastian explains.

“It’s actually a really good way of doing it” Shelby adds, “They make the split according to ability, so those doing the best overall can be pushed further and those who need it get the extra support they may need and work at a slightly slower pace, though they of course have to cover the same work, it just means those in the advance group get more extension work which is really good for them.”

“Well we can assume Blaine is in the advance group” Sam beams proudly, “There’s no way he wouldn’t be”

“Of course he is, it’s my baby brother you’re talking about!” Cooper beams

“He most certainly is, and he’s finally accepted his place” Sebastian confirms though he doesn’t need to. “I don’t know what his group are doing with the song but I know it was up to them to split the parts and choreograph the whole thing. The real funny thing is that none of them like that song or the musical. They came round here to brainstorm one night and there were some of the funniest rants going I’ve ever heard.”

The group have dinner together, Sebastian and Cooper putting everything from the morning behind them. They had both reacted the way they did because of one reason, because they both love and care about the same person, in different ways of course, but still if anything it gave them another level of respect for each other. For Cooper it was also a wake-up call for how grown up his not-so-baby brother is and a reminder that he missed so much of him growing up and that he would never get that time back, so the best thing he can do is to recognise Blaine, and Sebastian, for the young grown-ups they are and treat them as such.

“Did he say when he’d be able to get here?” Sebastian asks Cooper as they’re all waiting around the corner from NYU.

“Who?” Rachel cuts in

“Is this the point where you threaten them or are you doing that after I’ve told them?” Cooper looks to Sebastian

“After”

“My friend Ian is going to join us…he was gutted he didn’t get to spend more time with Blaine when I was out here before Christmas and wanted to come tonight. Luckily his filming schedule allowed him to.”

“Filming schedule?” Santana frowns

“So Ian who? Will we know him?” Rachel continues

“This is the point where I’m going to warn you as you know I don’t do empty threats” Sebastian starts, “He is one of Cooper’s friends, embarrass him in any way, post anything what so ever on to social media or draw unnecessary attention and there will be consequences. You for one Miss Berry could find yourself in the news for harassing him due to your Broadway fame and the rest of you can use your imaginations.”

Rachel calms herself, “Okay…I can respect that. It’s a private night after all.”

“And you should all know, I’m in with Sebastian in this” Hunter adds and the rest all agree to be on their best behaviour. Sebastian and Hunter as individuals are a force to be reckoned with; together they really are something else.

“So be prepared for Ian Somerholder to join us tonight” Cooper finishes

“Holy shit you really are going up in the world from those commercials” Santana teases

“Yet you all acted like I was a god for being in them” Cooper sasses back

“Yeah well we know you better now” Brittany jokes and Cooper clutches his heart to play hurt, in a similar way Blaine will do.  
Just then Ian approaches, “Hey Cooper!” the two share a quick hug in greeting.

“Hey man…I’m liking the face fuzz” Cooper laughs at Ian’s moustache 

“Yeah well you know it’s for my part, it will be gone before long.”

“So…nobody will be offended if you get names but here we go, well you already know Sebastian, then we have Hunter, Sam, Thad, Nick, Rachel, Jeff, Brittany, Santana and Shelby.”

“Hi guys!” They all return his greeting, “So what can I expect to hear him sing tonight?”

“Only two people know and they’re not saying” Cooper narrows his eyes at Shelby and Sebastian playfully

“I only know one of his songs…I just hope you’ve all brought tissues with you because you’re going to need them.” Shelby replies.

“I can tell you that the group song they were given is you can’t stop the beat” Sebastian adds, “Which is hilarious considering none of them like that song or Hairspray.” 

“Can’t say I’m a fan either” Ian replies, “So do we get to see him before the show at all?”

“Very doubtful” Sebastian replies, “But we’re doing something after…didn’t Cooper tell you about it?”

“Hey of course I did!” Cooper defends

“But you should get more out of him than a tired mumbled conversation” Sebastian continues, “He’s normally buzzing after performing”

“Just as it should be” Ian grins before turning to Rachel, “Hey you’re Fanny right?”

Rachel looks shocked and for a moment doesn’t say anything, “Yes that’s right” she grins widely.

“Blaine called me via Cooper’s phone a couple of days after we met to apologise for being useless, even though he was just clearly exhausted, and recommended I see Funny Girl while I was on break. Got to say he was right, you were amazing!”

“Th..thank you” Rachel stutters and Santana nudges her

“Come on come on! We need to get in there!” Sam excitedly pushes the group in, making them laugh.

“Hi…I didn’t expect you to be here tonight” Sebastian greets Michael, “It’s not your specialism”

“No but as assistant Dean it’s important I’m here to support the student’s…particularly as I also teach many of them.”

“Hey congratulations! If what you’ve done for B is anything to go by, you really deserve it.” Sebastian shakes Michael’s hand.

“What are we congratulating him for?” Cooper joins the conversation

“His promotion…you’re now looking at the assistant Dean of Tisch” Sebastian explains

“Congratulations!” Cooper beams

Michael excuses himself to go and get settled, just before the audience are asked to take their seats. Sarah, takes to the stage, “Hi everyone, I’m Dr Sarah Turner, the head of the musical theatre programme here at Tisch. I would like to thank you all for coming tonight to see our very talent students who have worked extremely hard to put tonight together. Each student has been given two songs to perform. In each of their performances myself and my colleagues will be assessing on how they interpret the song, the emotions they have drawn from it and how they portray the story they have created around it as well as their technique. You will see from the printed programs you should have all had on your seats that each member of the group will sing once, in alphabetical order, which will then repeat for their second performances, before the big group finale, which they are also being assessed for. Again this song was given to them by myself and I know we will be able to expect the unexpected from this group! Please take the time now to silence your cells. No recording is allowed, we will be filming the performances this evening, which will then be available online as is the norm. There will be a short intermission after the first round of performances and we ask you use this time to use the facilities and get refreshments, the less movement in the theatre during the performances the better, as I’m sure you can all appreciate this is their first major assessment for this programme and it will count 45% to their final mark for the year. Without further ado the performances will now begin. Thank you.”

“Wow I didn’t realise this counted so much towards their final grades” Cooper whispers to Sebastian, the thoughts being echoed further down the line of friends too.

As it’s in alphabetical order, Blaine is the first to perform and as the music starts, he steps out onto a plain black stage that has been lit with large streaks of white light. He’s wearing black jeans, a plain white button down shirt, his curls, which he’d allowed to grow a little longer than normal, much to Sebastian’s delight, loose and noticeably with bare feet. Shelby hands Rachel, Santana and Brittany tissues as they are all sat one end of their row.   
Everyone quickly recognises the song as ‘Who wants to live forever’ by Queen and immediately know this is the song Shelby would have helped him with due to the controlled vibrato of Freddie Mercury. They also know that technically, this song is much harder than it sounds due to the often underestimated or credited vocal ability of Freddie. They are all blown away by the power Blaine has developed in his voice and by the way he manages to mimic the vibrato sound with such control, clearly part of the reason why he’d been given the song.

When Sebastian looks around at the end of the performance he’s sure he cannot see one dry eye in the audience, the power of the emotions Blaine had poured into the song affecting every single person in the room. 

During the applause Ian says quietly to Cooper, “He’s truly incredible”

Cooper wipes his eyes, “Yeah…he really is” 

All of the group are in a similar state, having never seen such a performance from Blaine before. If this is the progress he has made only a semester in to college, they can only imagine what he will be capable of by the end of his studies. The rest of Blaine’s group then go on to perform, Sebastian of course having gotten to know them a little already knew that Blaine’s friends made up the advanced group. Hunter, Jeff, Rachel and Sam also recognised that, having met them on various occasions and were happy that was the case, knowing they were the type to look after one another rather than being overly competitive, how NYADA was famed to be, and that they had many common interests.   
Some performances made them burst out laughing, others were very dark and some uplifting and full of hope. It was clear why each member had been selected to be in the advanced group. During the short interval Sebastian and the others all stand up to stretch their legs and use the facilities before gathering in the foyer area until they have to go back to their seats. 

“Please tell me you all cried as much as I did” Rachel says

“I’m not sure that’s possible” Brittany teases

“Even Sebastian and Hunter cried” Jeff comments

“Of course they did…my baby brother was heart breaking!” Cooper smiles proudly, “I knew he was talented, but, I’m lost for words after that.”

“Understandably so” Ian replies, “He’s going to have an amazing career in whatever path he chooses I have no doubt.”

They are all called back to their seats. Once everyone is seated the lights go dark. The music to Pain it Black starts and a spot light shines on Blaine, who’s seated on a simple staircase upstage. He’s wearing the same black jeans, but now with black converse and a black t-shirt with a simple silver dragon on the side. His hair is a little more ruffled than before and he has a thin line of black eyeliner on. He sings the first few lines on spot before the lights go up and he moves around the stage. Somehow he takes the classic rock song and turns it into a very dark song, again highlighting aspects no-one has seen before from him. It’s been cut so it’s an abrupt end after the last ‘pain it black’ and Blaine ends kneeling on the floor, up on his spread knees with one hand reaching for the sky, head tilted back. The audience is with him the whole way and he gets a standing ovation.  
This time no words are exchanged between the friends as they are all a little shocked by what they have just witnessed from their curly haired member of the group. None of them, apart from Sebastian of course, and Sam and Wes a little, had any idea he could channel dark energy in that way. Again the remaining individual performances of the rest of the group are all of a very high standard with a huge range of emotions reached. 

When the music for ‘You Can’t Stop the Beat’ start no one was expecting a cardboard Mystery Inc. van to appear complete with Blaine as Shaggy, Joey as Scooby, Joe as Fred, Jamie as Velma and Lauren as Daphne. During the course of the five and a half minute song a complete original Scooby Doo story was played out that had the audience in stitches. The group members who weren’t part of the Mystery Inc. played various characters. A range of well painted cardboard cut outs were used very effectively, including for a classic door opening and closing scene as the monsters chased Mystery Inc. Blaine and Joey took the verse about Christmas ham and were clearly chosen as Shaggy and Scooby due to their impeccable comedy timing together. Throughout the whole performance was lots of very difficult, fast, jive-based choreography, which each member completed while maintaining the physical characteristics of the role they were playing.

Everyone in the audience gave them a standing ovation when the group came out briefly to bow at the end of the performance. Sarah took to the stage briefly to thank everyone for coming to close the night and soon the audience all filed out. Sebastian and the others kept back for Blaine and the group. Luckily, due to the moustache and beanie, Ian went unnoticed by anyone.

"I thought for sure someone would have spotted you” Rachel comments to Ian

“The moustache helps for now, but also nobody is expecting to see me here and that makes a big difference.”

At that moment Blaine and his friends appeared, obviously having got changed very quickly. Joe saunters up to Sebastian and presses a kiss to his cheek, “Hey babe” quickly being pushed out of the way by Blaine, who gives his boyfriend a proper kiss before making introductions between those who haven’t met.

“So what’s with the special greeting for Sebastian? I feel there’s a story there” Cooper grins

“Oh it’s from when his, why-the-hell-did-you-ever-date-that-pain-in-the-ass ex decided to pay us a visit here. I stepped in and he accused me and Blaine of sleeping together, but if I was going to turn, Sebastian would probably be more my type.” Joe answers playfully, making everyone laugh.

“Kitty wants to know when the link will be ready Blaine” Hunter says

“By tomorrow lunch” he answers, “Tell her I love her”

Hunter rolls his eyes fondly, “Fine”

“So we have a slight change of plans if that’s okay?” Blaine speaks up

“Go on…” Sebastian encourages

“Well when we got in some of our cut-outs had been damaged so none of us got to eat as it was all hands on deck to sort them out for the final performance.”

“There’s a pretty great diner round the block we’re all kind of hoping you don’t mind going to” Brian finishes

“Not at all” Sebastian answers immediately and everyone else agree. 

They all have a laugh at the diner, with some curly fries being chucked at each other. Cooper loves seeing his brother with the friends he’s made and feels happier seeing for himself that they really are a great group.

After they’ve finished eating everyone parts ways, all having college or work the next day, or for Cooper and Wes, early flights.

“It was great getting to know you more Blaine…keep in touch” Ian hugs Blaine goodbye. “I mean it…get my number from Cooper’s phone.”

Blaine chuckles, “I promise…you too”

As expected, Blaine crashes quickly when he gets home, which is no bad thing. Sebastian is glad his boyfriend has a day off tomorrow, one where he will have to stay very still so Sam can finally create his human angel and complete his portfolio for re-submission to Pratt now his essay and everything else is complete.


	93. Painted wings

Cooper has to leave very early to catch his flight so leaves a note for Blaine on the coffee machine to find knowing it would be seen there.

True to form, Sebastian is the first to stir when the alarm sounds so he turns it off before turning his attention to Blaine, who is lying face down on top of him and kisses and nuzzles the top of his love’s head, which is covered in wild morning curls.

“Mmmmmm” Blaine moans

“As much as you hate it, it is time to get up” Sebastian laughs softly, squeezing Blaine in his arms

Blaine giggles before lifting his head to look at Sebastian, “Morning” he grins dopily and kisses his boyfriend.

“Morning” Sebastian smiles, which turns into a smirk, “You’re poking me”

“And you me…shower?” Blaine waggles his eyebrows

“Absolutely” Sebastian grins naughtily before rolling over, getting out of bed then picking Blaine up so his legs are wrapped around his waist, the two going into their en suit in a passionate kiss. 

Blaine is first out of their bedroom and heads to the kitchen to start the coffee machine where he finds Cooper’s note:

Squirt, sorry sorry Blaine,  
As I had to leave stupidly earlier to get back to LA in time I wanted to make sure you know how incredibly proud I am of you. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, you really are the most talented person I know and you truly blew me away last night with all three performances. I know you’re going to be a great success in whatever you choose to do and I’ll support you no matter what, I hope you know that. So I’ll be there every step of the way, at your concerts, to watch you on TV, in the audience at your Broadway shows and to see your movies.

Lots of love your older, more dashing brother,

Cooper

Blaine continues to look at the note, tears welling in his eyes as he feels Sebastian’s arms wrap around him.

“That’s so Cooper” Sebastian comments after he’s read the note over Blaine’s shoulder

“But at the same time, so not him” Blaine wipes his eyes

“I know what you mean….morning” Sebastian greets Wes as he enters the kitchen

“Morning…is everything okay?”

“Huh? Oh yeah…” Blaine rubs his eyes, “Cooper left me a note is all…what would you like for breakfast?”

“Cereal would be good…then I better go to make sure I catch my train on time” Wes sits down as Blaine hands him a bowel and puts the cereals on the table.

“Thank you for coming last night Wes” Blaine says as he and Sebastian join him

“Nowhere I’d rather have been…you know I’ll always come to your performances if I can. And I know I said it last night but I’m going to say it again in the hope you believe it this time, but you were absolutely incredible. Ian wasn’t exaggerating when he said you’d give some professionals a run for their money. You’ve always been a gifted actor and singer, but last night you were something else. I’m proud of you Blaine.” Wes tells him earnestly, maintaining eye contact the whole time.

“Me too killer B” Sebastian adds and kisses Blaine’s temple

They all finish breakfast and Sebastian goes to get ready for class while Wes grabs his already packed bag. He finds Blaine waiting for him near the door, who quickly gives him a tight hug.

“What time is Sam coming over?” Wes asks as the hug breaks

“In about twenty minutes actually” 

“Good…you having to stay still a lot today isn’t a bad thing…I know how hard you work on the run up to performances. I’ll see you soon okay?”

“Yeah…soon…I better email your dad back before Sam gets here” Blaine comments

“Yes you better…you know what he’s like” Wes smiles brightly before saying his final goodbye and heading out.

A few minutes later Sebastian appears ready to start his day, “Tell Sam I’m happy to take the pictures for his portfolio when I get back.”

“Will do”

“I love you killer”

“I love you more Bastian”

“Impossible”, Sebastian smiles, his eyes sparkling before kissing Blaine and leaving.

Blaine goes to the bathroom to wash his face and do his teeth before Sam gets there. The blonde lets himself in, the only one who ever will and the only one with the go ahead to do so when he’s expected. He’s also the only one to have an emergency key.

“I’m here dude!” Sam shouts through 

“Hi” Blaine grins as he comes through, “Are you sure you don’t need anything?”

“Nope I have a cheap inflatable mattress I picked up for you to lie on, an old towel and a pair of grey sweats I want you to wear…so go empty your bladder, I’ll grab some water and put on some music…what do you fancy listening to?”

“Something relaxing...ideally instrumental if that’s okay?”

“I’m on it” Sam grins and sets everything up, next to the big window for maximum light before selecting a playlist on Blaine’s blue iPod, one he knows is purely orchestral, strings and piano pieces that have sent Blaine to sleep on different occasions and have proved a soothing back drop for Sam when doing school work and art projects. 

When Blaine wonders back Sam chucks the pair of sweats at him. Blaine takes off the ones he’s currently wearing and pulls on the new ones. “Is that lavender I can smell?” he asks as he makes his way to the inflatable mattress that’s now been covered with the old towel and lies down, front first and gets comfy.

“Yeah and camomile….I figured it would work better if you were as relaxed as possible”

Blaine laughs softly, “I might go back to sleep”

“We both know that wouldn’t be a bad thing” Sam comments as he moves Blaine’s arms into the position he needs them in.

“How long do you think this will take?”

“I’m not really sure…a couple of hours maybe?”

“Okay that works out well…Bas said he’d take the pictures for your biography if you’d still like him too? He won’t be back late.”

“Awesome” Sam replies before he rolls down the top of Blaine’s sweats and his boxers underneath before straddling him.

“Err Sam what are you going?”

“You know I’ve got to sit on you like this to get the right angle” Sam replies as he settles, basically seated on Blaine’s ass

“Yeah but why is half my ass on show?”

“So the tops of the sweats and your boxers don’t get in the way or get paint on them…As amazing as it is you know your bubble butt doesn’t do it for me so don’t worry dude” Sam teases

“I know that” Blaine rolls his eyes

“But if you feel like you’re enjoying yourself too much I promise not to tell Sebastian” the blonde continues goading his best friend.

“Oh shut up” Blaine laughs, “You know you don’t do it for me either. I love you like a brother…it’d be weird and kinda wrong” Blaine shudders

“Tell me about it” Sam agrees, “Okay no more moving…if you need to sneeze or something give me heads up so I can stop”

“Okay” Blaine agrees then Sam uses his fingers to put the first smears of paint onto Blaine’s skin, the shorter managing not to flinch despite the cold, “Ah that’s colder than I was expecting” Blaine gasps

“Sorry dude…hopefully it will get better.”

“Mmmm” Blaine murmurs, his eyes already starting to feel heavy again, the music and the feeling of basically being massaged, plus his lingering tiredness building up. “So once you have the pictures from your day in your portfolio are you going to submit your application to Prat?” he asks, eyes now closed.

“Yeah…hopefully they won’t see my name and bin my application after last year.”

“They won’t Sam…and you’ve explained in your essay why you did what you did in a way they should respect. It’s an amazing essay and if they don’t at least interview you then they’re idiots.”

“Thanks man…that means a lot”

“Well you’re amazing and they’d be lucky to have you”

“What’s made you so sappy this morning?” Sam asks, albeit kindly

“Coop left me a note…it’s on the side” Blaine gestures with his head

Sam looks up and sees the unfolded note so stops what he’s doing and walks across to read it, he settles back on Blaine before he speaks, “Safe to say he’s every bit the proud big brother he should be. His little brother clearly means the world to him.”

“It’s a little bit weird in a really really good way” Blaine hums

“Well get used to it dude because this time he isn’t going anywhere”

From that point they settle into a comfortable silence. It’s not too long before Sam hears the gentle puffs of air coming from Blaine’s slightly parted lips and immediately knows he’s gone to sleep. Smiling to himself, Sam keeps working and about two hours later has painted beautiful angel wings on Blaine’s back that resemble those of the X-man he’d been inspired by. He gently climbs off his friend and pulls his boxers and sweats up so he’s covered and knows they won’t get in the way of the painted wings. Sam sits on the sofa and soon looks at his best bro for a moment and thinks about how far they’ve both come and smiles to himself once more before he too dozes off.

When Sebastian gets home, he hears one of Blaine’s favourite chill out playlists gently cascading through the speakers before entering and seeing the two boys in the living room. Sam who’d only been in a light sleep stirs and sits up, “Hey man” he greets gently.

“Hey Sam I Am…how long has he been asleep for?” Sebastian nods towards Blaine

“He fell asleep about thirty minutes after I started soooooo a few hours actually now…man I hope he sleeps tonight”

“I’ll make sure he does” Sebastian smirks

Sam laughs, “Don’t need the details dude”

Sebastian looks at the wings painted on his boyfriend, “They look incredible” he muses

“You really think so?” Sam asks hopefully, knowing the taller wouldn’t say so unless he absolutely meant it

“I really do…the way they look like they’re moving as he breathes, it’s incredible”

“Can you do me a favour?”

“What’s that?”

“Wake him up”

Sebastian laughs, “On one condition…you make his comfort spaghetti…there were some tears this morning…happy ones, but still tears”

“Cooper’s note?” Sam asks 

“Yeah…did he tell you?”

“Not exactly…but he was being extra sappy and I asked why, he gestured for me to read the note. He really wears his heart on his sleeve.”

“I know…it’s one of the things I love most about him, but it also terrifies me because it leaves him open to more hurt” Sebastian gushes as he kneels down next to his boyfriend,   
love clear in his eyes. Sam knows the taller boy didn’t necessarily mean to admit that out loud. He knows he’s privileged to get such an insight into their relationship and knows it’s because of how comfortable they both are around him through – it’s something he’ll never take for granted. It’s also why he knows he’s the one with the emergency key as he’d never ever repeat anything he sees or hears to the others, even if on occasion he winds Blaine by making him think he’ll let slip.

“Bastian?” Blaine asks as he opens his eyes, it’s so ridiculously cute it makes Sam feel as though he’s in a basket of begging puppies.

“Hey beautiful…let me help you up okay? Don’t want to damage your wings, my angel” Sebastian gently teases, though he obviously means his words.

“Are they still wet?” Blaine asks

“No they should be dry dude…you’ve been out of it for a while” Sam smiles, “In fact I had a pretty awesome nap myself” he stretches, “Hey your longer curls really suit them”

Sebastian gently places a kiss on Blaine’s forehead, “He’s right…they do” and uses his fingers to sort the curls out that had been slept on, “Tea?”

“Please” Blaine nods

“Hey what about me?” Sam goads

“Black with lemon…trust me…I know Sam” Sebastian says as if exasperated, “Anyway don’t you need to start cooking?”

“You’re making us dinner?” Blaine asks wide eyed

“I’m making you your spaghetti” Sam answers proudly, he and Sebastian share a quick glance when Blaine beams with his truly happy smile. Sam starts the pasta sauce off while Sebastian makes the tea and Blaine uses the bathroom. Once the pasta is on to cook, Sebastian grabs his camera and the big flash unit to help with lighting.

“What kind of images do you need Sam?”

“Ones that show the wings off in different ways…you said it looked like they were moving when he was breathing…Is there a way we can try and show that off?”  
Sebastian thinks for a moment, “We could do a series of five images at different angles with him in slightly different positions so it would show that off, particularly if you presented them in sequence.”

“That sounds perfect” Sam grins

Sebastian makes Blaine pose in front of the window and moves a few things around so it looks like he, the ‘angel’ is looking at over the city from his place of solitude and begins directing him. Once he’s happy he’s got the shots he needs, he loads them onto his laptop and shows them to Sam after adjusting some of the shadows.

“Man these are awesome!” Sam exclaims, “Thank you so much…both of you!”

“You’re welcome” Blaine laughs as he wraps his arms around Sebastian’s shoulders where he’s stood behind his boyfriend, who’s sat at the table. “They really do look incredible”

“Though I can see there are a few extra pictures” Sam waggles his eyebrows jokingly as Sebastian rolls his eyes before pulling up a couple of pictures he took for his own. They were more of a profile shot, though you could still see the wings, the focus was more on the side of Blaine’s face as he looks thoughtfully out of the window, one of his hands resting on the glass just above his head.

“I love it…which is shocking because it’s a picture of me” Blaine pokes fun at himself, making the other two laugh. 

“Let’s eat!” Sam announces and grabs some plates, while Blaine quickly throws a simple salad together and puts his hoodie on now he knows they aren’t going to have to take any further shots.

After they eat Sam leaves the couple to it for the evening, having really enjoyed spending some quality time with his best friend. 

“Do you have much to do Bastian?” 

“No…Thad, Hunter and I are meeting in the library tomorrow before class to blitz it together so I’m all yours.”

“Are you sure” Blaine narrows his eyes

“Absolutely”

“So you can help me wash the paint off then?”

“Oh I planned on it…but there’s something else I want to do first” Sebastian’s gaze turns heated

“And what’s that?” Blaine smoulders back

“This” Sebastian picks Blaine up and takes him to their bedroom and strips him so he’s naked, stood in front of their full length mirror

“Bas?”

“Trust me” Sebastian replies, also now naked, as he moves their chair in front of the mirror before sitting on it and pulling Blaine down so he’s straddling him. Sebastian immediately captures Blaine in a heated kiss and starts preparing him with the lube he’d also grabbed. It’s not long before he’s pushing into the heat of his boyfriend and when Blaine is fully seated, Sebastian settles his hands on his hips and helps Blaine move up and down in a steady rhythm. “Look B” Sebastian gasps breathlessly as he looks at the   
mirror.

Blaine turns his head to see himself moving up and down on his boyfriend’s large cock with the painted wings looking as though they really are a part of him. He turns back to face Sebastian and captures his lips once more as he starts to move quicker, chasing after his release.

“Bas…Bas…I need to…please”

“I got you” Sebastian tells him against Blaine’s lips as he starts to stroke his boyfriend’s length. It doesn’t take long for Blaine to unload over both their stomachs a moment before Sebastian fills him full of come. “Now we can have a shower” Sebastian says after a moment

After a long shower spent with loving touches, a further orgasm and quite a lot of effort to get all the paint off Blaine, the couple get back into bed.

“Are you still going to the girls after school on Thursday?” Sebastian asks Blaine

“I am”

“You’re not going to tell me anything are you?”

“No…you know it’s something to do with your birthday and apart from that you aren’t going to find out anything else” Blaine kisses Sebastian before he can protest further

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do you remember me saying this first year at college will be a bit of a rollercoaster? Well things may be about to come crashing down. Please don't hate me...it won't be forever!


	94. The start of the darkest hour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And so it begins...

Monday’s are still Blaine’s latest finish, but he doesn’t finish as late as he did the previous semester. He uses this to his advantage to head over to the girls where they have been hiding the material he’d bought for the Superman cape-style blanket he’s going to make as part of Sebastian’s birthday present. Blaine had sourced thick cotton, of course in Superman red, and some fleece fabric in the same colour. He was planning on creating and sewing the yellow crest onto the red cotton material, which he will then line with the fleece to make the blanket warmer. It would be finished by shaping the top and gathering the fabric slightly so it would hang like a cape when thrown around shoulders, but at the same time could be spread out and cuddled up in like a good blanket should.

Rachel is of course performing that night so is at the theatre but when Blaine arrives Santana and Brittany are both home and have made dinner for the three of them.

“So has Berry told you?” Santana asks Blaine

“Told me what?”

“She obviously hasn’t then” Brittany sighs

“Despite everything…she’s decided to pursue this random, too good to be true so clearly is, opportunity to be a star of a new TV show.”

“Really? I thought she’d decided against it…at least until she gets to the end of her contract with Funny Girl. She could screw up her career and she’s just got back with Jesse.” Blaine replies.

“Yeah well she’s not telling him yet…I thought she would have told you though…she flies out tonight and figures she’ll be back in time to perform tomorrow evening because of the time difference.”

“Well I guess all we can do is support her”

“And that’s why I don’t understand why she didn’t tell you” Santana tells him

“Yeah Santana spent about an hour ranting at her after she found the plane ticket” Brittany adds

“Wait she didn’t even tell you guys?” Blaine asks wide eyed

“Nope so she clearly knows it’s a dumbass move, though she claims she’s following her heart” the Latina rolls her eyes

Blaine helps the girls with the dishes before getting to work, sat on the living room floor while the couple cuddle on the sofa, the three talking while he cuts the fabric and starts on the yellow emblem.

“He’s going to love it” Brittany beams as she watches Blaine work, who’s now wearing his glasses

“I hope so”

“You know he will” Santana chastises him lovingly, “Glasses really do suit you Frodo”

“Thank you Tana…I’m pretty sure you could give them your own spin”

“Oh totally sexy secretary” she winks, making the other two laugh

“Do you think you’ll finish it tonight?” Brittany asks

“Probably, unless you two want to kick me out? It shouldn’t actually take long”

“No I like spending time with you like this again…it reminds me of last year”

“Me too Britt” Blaine smiles warmly as he continues to work. “So I know Sam has now submitted his application…what about you two?”

“They’re in…after you, Sebastian and Wes had given us your thoughts we tidied them up and sent them off” Santana replies

“Well we all know Britt’s scores will get her in” Blaine says proudly

“Well who wouldn’t want me? I am a math and dance genius”

“And you are born for PR Santana, you’ll be looking after all the big stars” he continues

“Well I thought I might as well use my powers for good. Plus this way when you make it big we can come along too” she only half jokes

“Let’s keep with if”

“Hey it’s up to you Blainers…the world is yours for the taking if you want it.”

“He’ll never see that Santana, you know he’s too modest and cute” Brittany says sincerely, “But I get to come with you on tour too” she adds

They continue to talk while Blaine works on the cape-blanket, “Annnnnd I think it’s done” he beams as he casts off the sewing machine one last time and holds up the finished product.

“Okay that does look really cool” Santana smiles

“Hey after Bas’s birthday I can make you too your own ones if you want…well not Superman ones obviously but you know what I mean”

“That would be amazing” Brittany beams

“Are you sure you’re okay keeping it here?” Blaine asks as he folds it up and places it in the bag the material came in originally 

“Of course…and we promise not to get it out or use it” Brittany tells him earnestly, which Santana agrees to before they hide the blanket in their closet so Rachel won’t come across it and potentially ruin the surprise – it’s not that she would mean to, but Rachel can still let her mouth run when she’s excited or nervous about something so this just reduces the possibility.

“I’ll see you two soon, and thank you again for tonight and dinner and well…everything” Blaine says as he gives them both a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

“Anytime Narwhal”

“Let us know when you get home Blainers” Santana ruffles his hair after he takes off his glasses and puts them in his bag as he steps out and heads down the stairs.

Blaine messages Sebastian to let him know he is on his way before he leaves the building. It’s drizzling slightly but doesn’t look like it’s going to get any heavier so he doesn’t rush to the subway station like he might have done if it was about to downpour. 

Blaine rounds the corner when he hears his voice being called out, he really really doesn’t want to be hearing it in that voice so he keeps his head down and picks his pace up slightly, but not too obviously. He should have known better than to be naïve enough to think the person might give up and before he knows it his arm is being pulled, forcing him to spin round.

“I was calling for you” Kurt tells him

“Did you maybe think that I didn’t want to talk?” Blaine goes to walk away but Kurt pulls him back again

“We need to talk Blaine”

“Maybe we do, but not now, not like this. You’re going to have to wait for me to be ready for once Kurt. I’m not going to bend to your demands, not anymore.”

“Do you know how embarrassing it was when I saw you with my dad?”

“It wouldn’t have been embarrassing if you hadn’t told him all those lies Kurt…it’s nobody else’s fault other than your own.”

“I want to try and be friends again”

“I don’t want that…not now…not after everything”

“You’ve always been the one…it’s still you and always will be”

“Don’t say that…I don’t want any of whatever you’re spinning. Just leave it Kurt.”

“If you would stop being so stubborn and talk to me we could work it out”

“Enough!” Blaine raises his voice and starts walking again but is once more spun around when Kurt forcefully pulls at his arm, “Stop it! You have no right to touch me!”

“I wouldn’t have to if you stopped running off…I still love you!”

“Bull!”

“I do!”  
“Then we must have very different definitions of love. Go back to which ever guy you’re dating now and leave me and Sebastian alone.”

“I can’t! I love you too much to let you go”

A sinister voice comes towards them, “Aww what do we have here…a lovers tiff?” 

Blaine takes in his surroundings and quickly notices they’re in a vulnerable spot as four men approach, fanning out and forcing them into the entry of the alleyway they are currently next to.

“It’s none of your business” Kurt spits at them

“Don’t” Blaine tells him

“You should listen to him.” Another of the men says

“You’re all disgusting” Another adds

“Need to be taught a lesson” The third tells them

“Need to be got rid of” The first who spoke corrects his friend

Blaine knows where this is going so slips his bag off slowly, not to draw attention to it and ends up passing it back to Kurt as he stands in front.

“I just really want to go home…we didn’t mean any offence, so if you could just let us pass then we’ll be out of your way.” Blaine tries politely.

“Nah see…that’s not how this is going to work”

One of the men lunges for Blaine but he dodges him and lands a cracking punch and pushes him into one of the others, sending them both to the ground and momentarily causing a break in their formation. Kurt uses the opportunity to make a run for it, still holding Blaine’s bag and taking it with him as he flees down the street as fast as his legs will take him. When he knows he’s not being followed, he quickly makes his way home and locks the door behind him.

“That wasn’t a good idea” The leader tells Blaine, “Get him” With that all four of the men go at him together.

Blaine uses his fighting skills to cause as much damage as possible to them while keeping himself up, knowing if he gets knocked to the ground it will be over. Keeping four people at bay though isn’t possible for long, even if you were once a fight club legend. Fighting one on one is very different from fighting on all sides, particularly as he’s making sure he isn’t losing ground and being forced into the alley. His only hope is that someone will walk past or hear and call the police.

That doesn’t happen though, one of the men manages to get a disabling punch in on Blaine’s temple with a knuckle duster that completely incapacitates him for a few precious seconds. The men drag him into the alley way where they’ll be out of the way of passers-by and go unnoticed. They kick and spit at Blaine’s vulnerable body as he curls himself up into as protective position has possible.

“None of that” One of them men spits and forces Blaine to unfurl, stamping on his hand as another kicks as hard as he can at Blaine’s abdomen.

When Blaine’s body goes limp them pick him up to throw him in one of the dumpsters in the alley.

A door to the back of a takeaway opens as a man steps out with a garbage bag, “Hey what are you doing?” he shouts.

The group dump Blaine in the already open dumpster and run from the crime scene. 

“Genaro!” The man shouts back into the building.

“What is it Tony?” 

“Call an ambulance and the police! Quickly!” 

Tony drops his bag of garbage and runs to the dumpster where he saw the men dump what he knew was a body and feels for a pulse on Blaine’s neck. 

“Come on kid…come on…”

“Shit” Genaro appears with his cell pressed against his ear, “Yes ambulance quickly…and the police” Genaro goes on to tell the operators their address. “I don’t know, hang on, Tony is he breathing?” Genaro puts the phone on speaker so they don’t waste time relaying the information more than they have to.

“He has a pulse, though it doesn’t feel great and he’s breathing, but sounds like he’s struggling a lot, really wheezing and crackling”

“Can you put him flat on his back and tilt his head back?” The operator asks

“No, they threw him in the dumpster…we’d have to lift him out”

“It’s best not to move him until the paramedics arrive, they should be there soon, they are only a couple of blocks away and the police should be pulling up now. Can one of you go to the end of the alley so they can see you?” The operator says

Genaro sprints to the entrance of the alley and flags the police down, “He’s down there…my brother Tony is with him” the ambulance then also appears, “This way!” He shouts at the paramedics before taking back off. 

The police officers have moved Tony to the side, one asking him questions while the other searches Blaine for a form of identification. He finds his wallet in his back pocket and hands it over to one of the paramedics. “His driver’s licence says his name is Blaine Anderson”

“Blaine, Blaine can you hear me?” Blaine is unresponsive

They quickly get to work, securing him to a board and putting a brace around his neck after carefully lifting him out of the dumpster, everyone working together to reduce the amount he is moved.

Blaine’s breathing worsens, “Give me light” The head paramedic instructs the police who quickly shine their torches on Blaine’s torso where she is cutting open his shirt, “I need a chest drain now!” she orders her colleague after listening to his lungs, “He has one punctured lung and fluid is building in the chest cavity, putting pressure on both of them.” She quickly makes an incision between two of Blaine’s ribs and efficiently inserts the chest drain successfully before giving him a shot of adrenalin. They then get him into the ambulance and head to the New York-Presbyterian University Hospital of Columbia and Cornell.

Sebastian’s sat at home with Thad and Hunter, the trio having finished some work together.

“Quit watching the time Smythe” Hunter tells him

Sebastian shakes his head, “He should be home by now, something isn’t right” he tries calling Blaine’s cell but there’s no answer.

“Sebastian I’m sure he’s fine” Thad tries to reassure his friend, seeing that he’s working himself up.

Just then Sebastian’s phone rings with an unknown number, “Hello? Yes this is Sebastian Smythe” Thad and Hunter watch all colour drain from Sebastian’s face and both know something is terribly wrong. Thad grabs the waste paper bin when it looks like Sebastian is about to throw up when he hangs up but he pushes it away, stands abruptly as he rushes, grabbing his coat, phone and wallet, and looks to Hunter, who’d driven there that evening, “I need you to drive me to the Presbyterian now, Blaine’s been taken in to the ED department”.


	95. The start of the damage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So this is coming to you in sections, unlike the Thanksgiving chapter, or else you could be waiting a very long time! There's clearly much more to come. Let me know what you think so far. :)

Hunter springs into action, “Thad go home and get Sam, Jeff and Nick then meet us at the hospital. I’ll message you where to go when I know.”

Hunter and Thad then quickly grab their things and the three race downstairs, Hunter and Sebastian running to Hunter’s car as Thad runs home.

“Dude where’s the fire?” Sam asks jokingly as Thad bursts through the door

“Grab your keys, wallets, phones…Blaine’s been taken to hospital…I don’t know anything else at this point but he’s in the ED and I’ve never seen someone go as pale as Sebastian did.” Before Thad has even finished speaking they are all up and moving. It only takes them moments before they’re locking up and running down before jumping in Thad’s car.

Hunter and Sebastian make good time to the hospital thanks to Hunter’s driving and traffic being lighter than normal. Sebastian jumps out the car before it’s stopped moving, leaving Hunter to park the car and runs to the reception desk.

“I’m Sebastian Smythe…I’m here to see Blaine Anderson” he says a little breathlessly

“Are you related?” The trainee behind the desk asks

“He’s my partner and I’m his emergency contact”

“Only family are allowed to see the patients”

“I’m his emergency contact” Sebastian emphasises, not having any patience to deal with incompetence, “So tell me where he is”

“I can’t do that sir. Only family members can see patients or be told details.”

“I was called to come in because I’m his emergency contact!” he practically shouts as Hunter appears next to him.

“What’s the problem?” Hunter asks

“She won’t let me see Blaine because I’m not related to him”

“But you’re his emergency contact” Hunter turns to the girl, “Where’s your manager?” he demands loudly

A senior nurse comes down the corridor having heard the commotion, “I’m Sian…What’s going on here?” she asks calmly.

“I’m Sebastian Smythe…I’m the emergency contact of Blaine Anderson and received a phone call telling me he’s here and to come in, but now I’m being told I can’t see him or be told anything because we’re not blood related which is bull and against policy.”

“I’m so sorry Mr Smythe, if you could follow me I’ll explain what we know about Mr Anderson at the moment.” She then turns to the girl on reception, “Chloe, we will be discussing this.”

Sian walks towards the relatives room and that immediately tells Sebastian and Hunter it’s serious. Before Sian talks she looks to Hunter.

“You can speak in front of him…this is Hunter, a close friend.” Sebastian tells her as Hunter fires off a message to tell the other’s to wait in the waiting room of the ED for now when they arrive.

“Mr Smythe”

“Sebastian” Sebastian tells her

“Okay Sebastian” she smiles, “Am I correct in thinking you are Blaine’s partner?”

“You are…we live together…what’s happened…where is he?”

“He’s in surgery. He’s been the victim of an attack for which the police are involved, as a word of warning expect them here soon, I know the officers were taking statements of the men who found him according to the paramedics. They will be able to explain more of what happened to you, but I’ll let you know what I do in terms of Blaine’s condition for now...Blaine is currently in surgery and we will no more then. As soon as the ward he’ll be taken to is confirmed I will take you there where a doctor will be able to fill in any gaps.”

“Why’s he in surgery?” Sebastian’s eyes are at this point streaming with tears he has no control over so Hunter places a hand on his friend’s shoulder though he knows that it will be offering little comfort.

“Blaine has a punctured lung. The paramedics inserted a chest drain to help him breathe but when they arrived it was apparent it would need operating on as his breathing once again was becoming increasingly laboured. His right shoulder is also dislocated, which they will reset while he is under and re-align the fingers that are broken on his right hand. There was also clearly a significant impact to his left temple. I should also tell you that there were clear signs of some internal bleeding in his abdomen, which is why he was rushed to surgery as quickly as he was as it’s clear it wasn’t an insignificant bleed. I’m very sorry but I don’t have any further details for you at this point. The rest of the injuries were going to be investigated as much as possible while the surgeons worked so there’s no delay. Do you have any questions?”

“When can I see him?” Sebastian whispers, his voice cracking as he struggles to take the detail in.

“Hopefully it won’t be too much longer” she smiles kindly. There’s a gently knock at the door so Sian stands to answer.

“I’m sorry to disturb you Sian but Chloe said you’re in with Mr Anderson’s emergency contact so I thought you’d like to know he should be out of surgery shortly and is set to be moved to room 14 in the ICU. I’ve called and there’s nobody in relatives room two up there, so you could take Mr Smythe up now if you’d like.” Another nurse says.

“Thank you Jennifer” Sian then closes the door, “Sebastian, Blaine should be out of surgery shortly. They are going to transfer him to the ICU and there’s a relatives room you can wait in there if you’d like to follow me.” 

Sebastian stands and follows, almost like a zombie. Hunter flags down the others and gestures for them to follow as they make their way to ICU. Sian lets the whole group into the relatives room, “You won’t all be able to stay in here if the room is needed, you will have to wait in the waiting area we just passed” she tells them kindly but firmly.

“What’s going on dude?” Sam asks through his tears, they all know it’s bad or else they wouldn’t be in ICU.

“Shall I tell them?” Hunter asks Sebastian who barely nods, so he repeats exactly what Sian had told him and Sebastian downstairs. Hunter stops anyone from asking questions they don’t know the answers to yet with one look.

They sit in silence for a few minutes before Sebastian speaks, “I…I need to call Cooper. Sam can you call Wes please?”

Sam nods then dials Wes’ number, “Hi Sam what can I do for you?” Wes answers brightly but Sam can only sob so Jeff takes the phone. “Blaine’s in hospital Wes, he was attacked and now he’s in surgery and we’re waiting in ICU where they’re going to transfer him when he comes out.” The blonde just about manages to briefly list Blaine’s injuries.

Wes is of course going through his own internal turmoil but manages to keep himself together, “Okay Jeff I need you to help look after Sebastian and Sam. I’ll get there as soon as I can and I am going to call my dad too okay? I will message you when I know when I can get there and let you know what my dad says so keep your phone to hand.”

“Okay Wes” 

As soon as Wes has disconnected the call he phones his Dad’s mobile, “Hi Wes, what can I do for you? I didn’t expect your call this evening.”

“Is mum there?” 

“Why?” 

“Put her on speaker” Wes instructs as he starts throwing some things into a bag.

“You’re on speaker…what’s going on?” Patrick asks, hearing the turmoil in his son’s voice

“I don’t know detail but Blaine has been attacked, he’s at the NYP and is in theatre at the moment but they are transferring him to ICU, he’s got a punctured lung, an internal bleed, dislocated shoulder, broken bones in his hand and an impact injury to his temple….I’m packing now…I need to be there.”

“So do I” Patrick stands and picks up the phone, promise me you won’t drive.

“I promise, I’m going to catch a cab to the train station and get the first train I can”

Patrick looks to his wife who has already started pulling up flights, “If I’m quick I should be able to get a plane in an hour…I’ll see you there Wes…you know he’s a fighter” Mrs Montgomery books Patrick a place on the flight and runs upstairs to pack a bag for him, only taking minutes before she reappears just as Patrick hangs up the phone.

“Get in the car” she orders as she pushes him out the door, “I’m driving you to the airport…you know I can’t cancel my appointments for tomorrow but I’ll see if I can reschedule Wednesday’s” she tells him as they speed down the road. “You better tell me how our boy is doing when you know more. I can’t believe it’s happened again…it was so hard for him to come back from last time Patrick and you know second incidences are harder to pull someone back from.”

“Don’t think that…I know you’re speaking professionally but you know as well as I do, if anyone can beat the odds and defy the rules, it’s Blaine.” They drive in silence the rest of the way.

Sebastian meanwhile finally manages to get through to Cooper, “You need to come back to New York Coop” he cries while Sam hugs him, the blonde still crying himself.

“Sebastian what’s going on?”

“Blaine’s in hospital, the NYP, we’re waiting for them to transfer him from surgery to the ICU. He’s got a punctured lung, and internal bleeding and broken bones, it’s like before Cooper” he sobs.

“I’m coming…I’m coming…I’ll be there as soon as I can…keep me updated…you’re not on your own are you?” Cooper asks with panic setting in as he runs the rest of the way off   
set, having just finished shooting for the day, and flags down a cab.

“No…the guys are here” Sebastian sniffs

“Stay strong for my baby brother Sebastian” Cooper says

“I promise”. The call then disconnects and the waiting game continues.


	96. First sight

Jeff receives a message from Wes letting him know that he and Patrick would be there in a few hours.

“Sebastian…Wes and Patrick will be here in a few hours”. The only response Jeff gets is a nod.

“We should tell the girls” Sam speaks up and gets out his phone

Hunter speaks up before Sam can dial, “Tell them to get a cab if they’re coming here. For all we know at this point Blaine could have been attacked not far from their apartment.” 

Sam nods as he waits for Santana to pick up, “Trouty, what do I owe this pleasure”

“It’s Blaine” Sam’s voice shakes

“Sam…what is it?” Santana asks immediately concerned, which grabs Brittany’s attention. “He’s been attacked…we’re waiting for them to transfer him from surgery to   
ICU…he’s…he’s not in a good way Santana.”

“Which hospital are you at?”

“NYP”

“We’re on our way”

“There’s nothing you can do if you come here…stay at home…we’ll keep you updated.”

“Like hell we’re not coming” she throws back

“Then get a cab. We don’t know where he was attacked and we don’t want anything to happen to you.”

“Okay…okay…we’ll be there soon” the Latina disconnects the call and fills Brittany in on the parts of the conversation she missed while she orders a cab.

Meanwhile Sebastian finally snaps at Sarah’s, albeit spaced out, attempts to get hold of him and answers his phone, “Unless this is important, stop calling, you’re blocking my line when someone important could be getting through.”

Immediately Sarah knows something is wrong, unlike her husband she maintains semi-regular contact with her step-son and recognises the tone from when Xavier is deeply troubled. “Sebastian what’s wrong?”

“What’s wrong is I’m waiting for my boyfriend to come out of emergency surgery because some assholes have decided to beat him to a pulp for god knows what reason and I don’t have time to hear whatever bullshit you’re spinning for my dad this time or small talk so don’t call back. Cooper could be trying to get through.” He ends the call before she can say anything. Nobody tries to speak to him, knowing he needs to calm down and that any attempts to help would only make it worse.

“Xavier!” Sarah shouts and her husband immediately appears to find his wife pulling a suitcase out and apparently packing for the both of them, “We need to go to New York now!”

He marches forward and grabs her hands to still her, “What’s going on?” he asks urgently

“Blaine’s in the hospital”

“And?” he asks

“Your son needs you” Sarah shoots back, her eyes burning

“Sebastian has made it quite clear as to how he values our relationship.”

“You are both at fault for your relationship…you more so. When he was moved back here you were the adult in the situation and never showed him the care and understanding he needed.”

“Don’t” he warns

“No…it’s the truth and you know it. All Sebastian did wrong was rebel like any teenager would when his life was turned upside down against his will and remind you of his mother and yourself in some ways. You either come with me…or we’re done…and I mean that.”

“You’d throw away what we have over Sebastian?”

Sarah’s demeanour calms for a moment, “He is an amazing young man Xavier…as is Blaine. I love you but if you can throw your own son aside because of your pride then you sure as hell can do it to me and I won’t wait for that day. Think about this…it could be Sebastian fighting for his life after being savagely attacked.”

“He won’t want me there”

“But you can make him grateful that you are...be his father”

Sebastian lets her words sink in for a moment before making eye contact once more, “I’ll book tickets on the first available flight”. Sarah smiles and continues packing, she knows   
part of the problem is that neither father nor son are ones to back down and are both very proud. 

At NYP a doctor enters the relatives’ room the group are still sat in, “Sebastian Smythe?” he asks when he’s greeted with so many pairs of eyes.

“That’s me” Sebastian stands automatically

The doctor addresses the rest of the group, “If you could excuse us, I need to talk to Mr Smythe”

Sam goes to protest but Hunter’s look tells him not to while Jeff wraps an arm around him and walks him from the room, knowing that if Sebastian had wanted them there he would have already said.

“Hunt” Sebastian grabs Hunter before he leaves the room and passes him his phone, “Can you handle everything...Cooper may call.”

“Of course man…just concentrate on you and Blaine.”

When the room is clear the doctor takes a seat and gestures for Sebastian to do the same once more, “Apologies for the delay Mr Smythe, we had to take Mr Anderson for a full body scan to make sure nothing was missed, which I am pleased to say it was not.”

“Sebastian please, and Blaine would hate it if he heard you calling him Mr Anderson.”

“Sebastian” the doctor smiles, “I’m Dr Rupert Fitzpatrick and I will be overseeing Blaine’s care while he’s here at NYP.”

“Can I see him?”

“In a moment. I wanted to discuss his injuries with you first. I know Sian has already given you an overview but I’m going to fill in some of the blanks.” Dr Fitzpatrick takes a deep breath. “There were two sources of internal bleeding due to significant impact to Blaine’s abdomen. One was minor and easily fixed, the other was a result of damage to his spleen. The spleen was unrepairable so we have had to remove it. Blaine lost a lot of blood, so we are currently giving him a blood transfusion to replace what he lost. The surgery was a success though and many people have normal lives without their spleen, it only means that he’ll have to take a low dose of antibiotics daily to help replace the role of the spleen in the immune system.”

Dr Fitzpatrick pauses for a moment to give Sebastian a chance to ask any questions, but the tall boy gestures for him to continue so he does, “Blaine’s punctured lung required some stitches, these are special ones designed for use on the lung. With time and rest he can make a full recovery from this, but for now to aid his breathing we have placed a tube into his mouth attached to a ventilator due to the additional strain that was caused when the chest cavity was filled with liquid. So be prepared for this when you see him. The broken rib that punctured the lung has been realigned with the assistance of some wire so it cannot cause further damage and will fix properly and not at an angle. Blaine’s shoulder has been put back into its socket with no complications and we aligned the three broken fingers properly, which luckily given the circumstances had clean breaks so we did not have to operate on them. They should heal with no problems. We have put a cast on his hand and a sling on his arm to aid the recovery of his hand and shoulder.

“We also discovered that Blaine has a fracture in his left ankle, which again we have put a cast on for. As for the impact Blaine received to the temple, considering what impact can do in this area he is very lucky. Blaine has a hair line fracture here and we have had to insert stitches where the skin was broken, both of these things look and sound much worse than they are but they are of no worry. The scan showed there is no other damage to his head, including his previous injury. There are other cuts and bruises but these are all superficial and are nothing to worry about…which I know given the circumstances is of no great comfort. Finally before you see him, we have also given Blaine a catheter, which is standard practise for patients in his condition to ensure there is no build up in his bladder. He is also on a drip which is a mixture of fluids and antibiotics to protect him from infection. Do you have any questions?”

“Is…is he awake?”

“No…he hasn’t gained consciousness yet. We are not keeping him sedated but it could take a few days for him to wake given his injuries. His body is doing what it needs to by concentrating on healing. We will keep him under very close observation and do everything we can to make sure he makes a full recovery.”

“What can I do?”

“Talk to him…help him find his way back. Ultimately when he wakes up is up to him, but you can help by letting him know he is in a safe place, that he is loved. I truly believe in the evidence that suggests being spoken to by a familiar, comforting voice has a positive impact on such patients…you need to prepare yourself for how he will look. Are you   
ready?”

“I’m ready” Sebastian stands and follows Dr Fitzpatrick, not even glancing at his friends.

Dr Fitzpatrick shows Sebastian into the room and gestures to the nurse discreetly sat in the corner, “This is Jenny…she’s keeping constant observation on Blaine and will do so for   
the next few hours. I’ll give you a few minutes. Call me if you need anything or have any further question.”

After a few moments of standing frozen on the spot Sebastian’s voice croaks, “I don’t know what to say”

“Anything…everything” Jenny encourages gently

Sebastian wonders over to where his beaten and bruised boyfriend is hooked up to various machines, all beeping differently, the various tubes providing valuable oxygen, blood and fluids. The casts and sling covering a proportion of his body while it’s clear some of his hair had to be cut to fully stitch the cut on his temple. Sebastian takes a few moments to take in the sight of his beautiful boyfriend looking so delicate before he places a kiss ever so gently on his forehead and takes hold of the fingers on his non-damaged hand, not wanting to disrupt the cannula where precious fluids where making their way into his body. 

“Hey killer…it’s me” Sebastian slowly sits on the chair close to Blaine’s head at the side of his bed. “How about if I stop being an asshole you can stop being so dramatic and show me your big beautiful Bambi eyes I love so much. I mean you need to really see what they’ve done to your hair” he tries to but his voice betrays him.  
Finally tears flow once more, “I’m so sorry B, I should have been there. I love you so frigging much. Don’t leave me…you can’t” Sebastian sobs as he presses his face into Blaine’s uninjured shoulder, desperate to be as close as possible to his boyfriend, his love. The turmoil Sebastian is feeling finally has a physical effect but Jenny is right there with a bed pan, ready for Sebastian to throw up in before passing him some water after his stomach is empty and he can wretch no more.

“Will you be staying the night?” she asks him gently when his hands have stopped shaking

“Yes…I can’t go anywhere.” 

“I understand…I’ll make sure the bed is made up” she nods to the cabinet where there is fold out bed, something each room in the ICU has so relatives can stay with their loved ones while they are so ill. “Have you called any of his family or would you like me to?”

Sebastian shakes his head, his eyes never leaving Blaine as he continues to hold his hand however he can, “I’ve already done it.” Jenny sits back down so as not to intrude now Sebastian has some more colour in his face.

Sebastian gently leans to kiss Blaine’s cheek before pressing his face into his neck ever so gently, “Fight for me B…fight as hard as I know you can.”


	97. The gathering

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Please forgive any mistakes, I haven't proofed this chapter as I've only just finished writing it and am in urgent need of sleep!
> 
> Cooper will appear in the next chapter don't you worry, but traveling from LA is of course a longer journey than from Ohio, otherwise he would have been there already.

“Don’t you dare say anything derogatory about Blaine when we get there” Sarah tells her husband when they are settled on their flight

“I won’t”

“Or push back at Sebastian if he presses your buttons”

“I’m not a child”

“Yet when it comes to your son you act like one” Sarah sighs, “Keeping an eye on his grades and money doesn’t show you care. That just gives the appearance that as long as he is towing the family line by achieving results and not throwing the money away on fanciful things you’ll be happy.”

“I’m no good at things like this and Sebastian is…well he’s difficult. We clash in so many ways.” Xavier admits

“Because you are both incredibly intelligent and passionate about what you believe in…and I know he reminds you of his mother and I know you find that difficult, but it’s not his fault if he resembles her.”

“I know” Xavier rubs his hands over his face, “In part I didn’t want him to make the same mistakes with Blaine that I did with his mother.”

“Well one thing is for sure…they can’t get pregnant” Sarah jokes and manages to get a smile from her husband who had clearly started facing some of his demons. She just hoped it wasn’t too late.

“You know I maintain contact with Sebastian…well I’ve gotten to know Blaine too and he is truly an incredible young man and immensely talented. You should see some of the videos of his assessments and the showcase. Freshman year and in the NYU showcase, that never happens. And whether or not you deem them real subjects, holding down two majors and a minor is a real achievement.”

“What? I didn’t know that”

“That’s because you never tried to find out. He’s majoring in musicology and theatre studies and minoring in languages. Plus Sebastian was right…when you’d done your little bit of research on Blaine it clearly wasn’t that thorough or you wouldn’t have essentially accused him of being a gold digger. His grandmother is Camille Santos.”

“The interior designer?”

“The interior designer”

“I know I’ve messed up. With all the success, with everything I’ve achieved I have to admit that I’ve failed as a father.”

“Admitting it is the first step” Sarah comforts, truly believing that this will be the turning point for father and son.

“How do we know which hospital to go to?”

“The NYP…I messaged Sebastian’s phone and Hunter replied.”

“It’s times like this I remember why I married you” he confesses

“Well now is your chance to build a relationship with your son and stop pushing me away.”

“I know”

At NYP Dr Fitzpatrick steps back into the room a little while later, “Sebastian, my colleagues and I need to do some checks, it’ll be much easier and quicker if you step out of the room. If you go to the front desk at the entrance of ICU they will get you a sandwich and something to drink okay?”

“I can’t leave him”

“You’re not…you’re looking after yourself so that when he wakes up and really needs you, you can be there for him.”

Sebastian nods before standing up and bending so he can gently place a kiss on Blaine’s forehead, “I love you B”

“Oh and Sebastian…I know you are eager to find out what happened. The police will be here in a matter of minutes. I’ll give them my report of how I think injuries were caused and then they will talk you through everything. Does that make sense?”

“So you will report to them how the bastards managed to rupture his spleen and cause so much damage?”

“Basically…I can’t say anything else at this time, but I’ll make sure they speak to you as soon as possible.”

“Thank you” Sebastian’s voice croaks

Just before Sebastian leaves Dr Fitzpatrick speaks one last time, “It may be worth bringing some of Blaine’s things in. When he wakes up he won’t be able to go home straight away. Think of anything that might help get through to him.”

While Sebastian was in in with Blaine, Santana and Brittany had arrived to which the guys had witnessed the fiery side of the Latina when she threatened Rachel if she didn’t jump straight back on a plane and come and support her friend, just like he would if it was the other way around. Once Rachel had been told as much information as the group could give her she, needless to say, didn’t need convincing so got back on the first plane from LA she could.

When the door to Blaine’s room opens and Sebastian comes out, everybody stands before sitting again when he comes over to them.

“What can you tell us dude?” Sam asks tentatively

“It’s bad” Sebastian goes on to recount the full extent of Blaine’s injuries as Dr Fitzpatrick had originally explained to him, making fresh tears appear in everyone’s eyes as they can only imagine the horror their hyperactive, bubbly friend had experienced, for the second time. “The police will be here soon…if they aren’t already…the doctor is going to present his findings to them. It’s obvious they used more than their bare hands.”

“So they really don’t know when he will wake up?” Brittany asks

“No…but…but they did say I could help, that we could help bring him back…help him find his way back. He’s going to be here a while so Jeff can you drive Sam back to ours and pick up some things for me if I make a list?”

“Of course” Jeff agrees

“I don’t know if I can leave man” Sam wipes his eyes

“Please Sam I Am…you might think of other things I forget and I know he’s comfortable with you going through our stuff.”

“I’ll come with you to help…if that’s okay Sebastian?” Brittany offers

“Thanks Britt” Sebastian smiles as much as he can manage

Jeff’s phone goes off, “Patrick and Wes will both be here in about forty minutes…so what do you want us to get?”

“His Yoshi with the dream catcher…both of our laptops and chargers, my phone charger and his red and blue iPod, one of my zip-up hoodies so he can have it on him like a   
blanket and a change of clothes for me would be good.”

“I’ll grab a couple of DVDs too…maybe hearing Iron Man will help him” Sam adds hopefully

“Sounds perfect”

Jeff stands, “Great…give us your keys”

“Don’t need them…I’ve got mine” Sam tells him

“Sam’s our emergency key holder” Sebastian clarifies

Thirty minutes later and Sebastian has managed to hold down a sandwich and some coffee but he’s getting angsty as the police are in Blaine’s room with Dr Fitzpatrick, taking pictures for evidence.

Patrick comes running down the corridor to them and immediately engulfs Sebastian into a hug, “How are you doing?” he asks calmly

“Been better” Sebastian replies

“How is he?”

“Not good. The police are in there taking pictures. They should be almost done…can you come in to talk to them with me? They’re going to tell me what happened.”

“Of course…who’s leading his treatment?”

“Dr Fitzpatrick” Sebastian nods towards the doctor who was just walking down the corridor having been bleeped to check on another patient.

“Rupert” Patrick greets him

“Long time no see Patrick…how are you?”

“I’ll be better if you tell me what is happening with Blaine”

Dr Fitzpatrick shakes his head, “I can’t believe I didn’t make the connection” he then looks to Sebastian, “Sebastian…is that okay?”

“Yes…I’ve asked Patrick to come in when I talk to the police”

“Then come into my office…they should be done in a moment.”

The three go into Dr Fitzpatrick’s office where he tells Patrick all he can at the moment. “Well I’m glad Blaine is in your hands” Patrick says seriously before looking to Sebastian, 

“You know this is a start of a long road. When he wakes up Blaine will have to come to terms with another horrific attack.”

“I know…I may not have been there to see what he went through before but he told me. He’s told me things even you and Wes don’t know so believe me, I’m not naïve enough to think that him regaining consciousness and his bones mending will be the end of this.”

“I know you’re not.”

“I just want to go and check on how the photographs are going” Dr Fitzpatrick says and Patrick guides Sebastian back out of his office where Sebastian sees the last person he was expecting.

“What are you doing here?” Sebastian challenges his dad

“I’m here to help Sebastian and to see how you are”

“How did you even know where we were?”

Hunter steps into it, “I told Sarah when she messaged you asking which hospital.”

Sebastian turns to face the group, “Let’s get one thing straight, I appreciate others not in the city need to know, and you can tell them what you know after I have spoken to the police and given you details, but they are not under any circumstances to come here. Blaine would hate more people seeing him like this than necessary and would definitely hate people dropping their lives just to come and stare…Wes, Cooper and Patrick are obviously excluded from that list.”

Sam stands up, “I know man…I know. You’re right…he hated us seeing him after the Breadstix incident…well apart from you.” Sam then turns to everyone else, “Now do you believe what I said was the right thing to do?” Everyone who had been questioning him agrees immediately.

Dr Fitzgerald approaches Sebastian and Patrick once more, “The police are ready for you and are in my office”

“Sebastian” Xavier starts, “Even if you don’t want me here as a father…let me be here as a lawyer”

Sebastian nods so Xavier follows them into the room and immediately steps into lawyer mode, “I’m Xavier Smythe…I’ll be representing Blaine Anderson.”

“I’m Sebastian Smythe…Blaine’s partner and emergency contact”

“And I’m Dr Patrick Montgomery. I’m here on the request of Sebastian and as a guardian of Blaine.”

“Well I’m Inspector Timpson and this is my colleague Detective Brown…Dr Fitzpatrick has informed me you are aware of the extent of Mr Anderson’s”

“Blaine” Sebastian cuts in, not being able to stop himself, “He hates being called Mr Anderson”

The Inspector smiles in understanding, “Blaine’s injuries. We believe Blaine was victim of a hate attack due to his sexuality. We are linking it to another attack as we believe it was the same group from what evidence we have. Evidence strongly suggests that steel-toed boots and knuckle dusters were used during the attack, leading to the severity of Blaine’s injuries. We are appealing for information and our forensics team is working on clearing up the images from the security camera we’ve been able to obtain.”

“What charges are you looking to bring against the attackers?” Xavier asks

“Attempted murder due to a hate crime” Timpson replies, “They put Blaine’s body in a dumpster. He was only found so quickly due to a takeaway owner entering the alley to take out the trash. If he hadn’t seen and Blaine hadn’t been found as quickly, the doctors are confident he would not have survived.”  
Sebastian’s breath hitches at this admission so Xavier and Patrick both place a hand on his shoulders. 

Timpson continues, “He and his brother, who was also there when the paramedics arrived have both given statements and provided the footage. We have of course reviewed the film and I have to ask you do the same Sebastian. When the attackers approached it appears Blaine it appears he was having a heated discussion with an individual, based on the body language. The male in question, who we are also trying to identify also ran off with Blaine’s bag once the attack started. We also believe Blaine knew this man”

“I thought you had his bag…as evidence”

“No…do you feel able to watch the film?”

“Yes”

The inspector turns his laptop around to face Sebastian and presses play. Of course despite the slightly grainy quality of the streetlight lit images, Sebastian immediately recognises Kurt Hummel and starts seething. Xavier uses his techniques he’d use with clients to keep his son in check without having to say a word. The inspector goes to stop the footage just after Kurt runs away with Blaine’s bag, even though it’s clear Blaine didn’t actually give it to him directly, more went to place it behind him, but Kurt stepped forward as Blaine had just lowered it to the ground and took it.

“Don’t stop it” Sebastian orders and the inspector lets the footage fun after receiving a nod from Xavier. The camera could only track what happened in the entry of the alley so when Blaine is dragged down into the alley where the rest of the beating took place the inspector stops the film.

“From the camera we know they left the area around fifteen minutes later, when they were disturbed.” The inspector informs the three gentlemen. “Did you recognise the man in question?”

Sebastian’s voice has a darker tone, “His name is Kurt Hummel. He is Blaine’s ex-boyfriend. They split up a year and a half ago. Since he has proved a nuisance, he’s tried following our friends to find out where we live, he’s followed Blaine after performances at school, he’s turned up at NYU repeatedly until he saw Blaine and has stolen his number from a then-mutual friend’s phone after Blaine originally changed it, causing him to change it again. Blaine wants nothing to do with him but Hummel can’t accept that, and has no problem with getting physical, as the footage shows. He has hit Blaine on multiple occasions, while they were together and since they broke up. Approaching him on the street is exactly what he’d do. I want him charged for theft and I want a restraining order against him. I take it as you didn’t know who he was he hasn’t reported the attack?”

“Nobody else has reported the attack other than our two witnesses” the detective confirms

“If you need any other confirmation of identification, everyone in that waiting area who is here for Blaine will be able to give to you. Santana Lopez will also be able to give you his address as she used to live with him.”

The detective leaves the room to go and speak with Santana to get the information from her. The Inspector stands, “Thank you Sebastian. We will keep you informed as the case progresses” he leaves after shaking all their hands. 

“Neither of you ever said it was that bad” Patrick says when the three of them are left alone

“We were dealing with it” Sebastian replies defensively

“Let me gather all the evidence I can from anyone who has witnessed these events and I will get a restraining order to cover the time Blaine is vulnerable. After that, if he wants it to continue he will have to instruct me to request for its extension. The judge will not allow it to be extended without his instruction after this point.”

“Talk to whoever you need to…Sam will be able to give you most of the information you need to contact all the witnesses. Campus security was also called when Hummel went to NYU” Sebastian then stands, finding the room stifling where he saw the beginning of Blaine’s attack and goes to join his friends again, finding Jeff, Brittany and Sam have returned.

“What is going on? Why did they ask me for Kurt’s address?” Santana questions immediately

“I’m going to fucking destroy Kurt Hummel” Sebastian growls, “He was there…he stopped Blaine for walking home. I’ve seen the footage…they were arguing, B kept trying to leave and Kurt kept pulling him back, he ran as soon as the attack started, taking B’s bag with him. He ran and didn’t get help or report it to the police.”  
Everyone in the room immediately sees red and a silent vow is made between Sebastian, Hunter and Santana to find a way to make Kurt’s life hell.

“You know…there is a morality clause in Kurt’s contract with Vogue” Hunter casually drops in after the group stand in a few moments of silent contemplation.


	98. Protective

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just to warn you, there won't be an update tomorrow as I won't be home to post it. More to come over the weekend!

After Xavier has managed to convince the group to allow him to handle Kurt Hummel and not get involved in anyway shape or form, so they don’t end up damaging the case him, Sebastian looks to Sam after noticing the two holdalls of stuff.

“Did you get my message?” Sebastian asks

“About the eye drops?” Sam questions to which Sebastian nods in response, “Yeah I did and I found them in the cabinet just like you said” Sam then takes them out of his pocket and passes him to Sebastian.

Sebastian looks at the bottle for a moment before turning to Patrick, “He’ll need these when he wakes up, do I need to give them to Dr Fitzpatrick?”

Patrick smiles gently at him, “Give them to me and I’ll sort everything out”

After handing the bottle over Sebastian walks over to Sam and picks up the bags before turning and heading to Blaine’s room but Sam can’t hold on any longer, “Dude…can I…?”  
Sebastian stops still for a moment, clearly having a small internal battle as to whether he can have anyone else in the room for a moment but thinks about what Blaine would say about him stopping Sam from coming in. Sam the only person who has truly seen them in delicate situations, so he nods in permission for Sam to come with him as Wes starts to question his dad for details.

In silence Sebastian and Sam unpack the belongings into the cupboard and bedside cabinet in Blaine’s room. Sebastian takes the zip out hoodie out of the bag and he immediately smiles when he realises Sam had picked up the one of his that his boyfriend liked to steal most, unzips it and delicately covers Blaine with it. They also place the small portable speakers and Yoshi, complete with dream catcher, on the bedside cabinet too.

“That’s better” Sam comments after they’re happy with their efforts

“Yeah…they said to try and help him find his way”

“This will help” Sam says determinedly, not letting himself believe otherwise, “I didn’t think you were going to let me in for a minute” 

“Neither did I” Sebastian answers honestly as they both sit close to the curly haired boy, “But then I thought about what he’d say”

Sam lets out a small laugh, “He’s going to be okay right? I mean he’s got to be”

“It’s going to take time Sam, him waking up will only be the beginning”

“I know…but he’s got us…and Cooper this time, plus Wes and Patrick and everyone else…that’s more than he had last time…and he’s got something really worth fighting to get better for…you.”

“You two are ridiculously sappy...no wonder you're in an epic bromance”

“Yeah but that’s why you love us both…just in different ways of course”

Sebastian rolls his eyes “Of course” before leaning forward and stroking Blaine’s cheek, “You’ve got to wake up killer…I’m not sure I know how to properly look after Sam full time yet”

“Yeah right it would totally be me looking after you” Sam looks back to the window of the room that looks out into the corridor, “Hey do you mind if I open the blinds? I mean I get why you haven’t let anyone else in here yet…but maybe if they could at least see in it would help a bit…let them in a bit more if you know what I mean?”

“You know B would hate too many people seeing him like this”

“Yeah but what he doesn’t know can’t hurt him” Sam tries to joke, “Or he’ll get so pissed he’ll just have to wake up…either way it’s win win.”

“Fine…just stop nervous talking so much” Sebastian nudges Sam who then stands and opens the blinds, gesturing to everyone to let them know they can come look but that they shouldn’t come in just yet.

“I’m surprised he’s let Sam in with him” Xavier comments as he watches the two boys talking to each other and Blaine 

“Sam was always going to be the first one in there with him” Jeff replies, “He’s Blaine’s best friend”

“And Sebastian’s in some ways…then Hunter is in the other ways” Brittany adds

“Yeah that about sums it up” Thad says and everyone agrees 

Hunter looks at Sebastian’s phone that has just received a new message, the taller still not having taken it back, “Cooper shouldn’t be too long”

“I’ll let them know” Patrick declares then steps forward and enters the room, “Hey…Cooper shouldn’t be too much longer. It looks nicer in here now, more comforting and less hospital like”

“That was the idea…he hates hospitals” Sebastian replies, eyes never leaving Blaine

“That he does” Patrick agrees before gesturing to the notes at the end of the bed, “Do you mind if I take a look?”

“Actually I’d like you to…if there isn’t anything I don’t know”

“I’ll be sure you tell you” Patrick cuts in, “But I know Rupert from our med school days and he wouldn’t keep anything from you.” Patrick flicks through the notes, “Everything is just as he said…he’s going to be okay because everyone here and those who have yet to make it will make sure he is…have you called his grandparents?”

“Not yet…the time difference and I thought Cooper might want to”

“That’s fair, are you okay to let the others come in for a moment, a couple at a time?” Patrick looks to nurse Jenny who nods her head that she’s happy with that, “It’d be good for   
them to see him.”

“Just let them in…they won’t get in the way and they can be easily kicked out if needs be…if that’s okay?” Sebastian asks Jenny, just wanting the initial reactions to be over with already

“As long as it’s not for long” she replies kindly

Patrick goes to the door and gently calls to everyone, to let them know they can come in. When Brittany goes in she carefully sits sideways on Sebastian’s lap so she’s not blocking his or anyone else’s view and leans her head against his.

“Hey narwhal…you need to open your eyes so you can sparkle with them…plus pretty bird is sad”

“Pretty bird?” Xavier asks quietly from the back of the room but due to the quiet everyone can hear

“Yes…he changed his feathers” Brittany answers seriously

Xavier still isn’t following, “And Blaine is Narwhal?”

“Well of course…he’s half unicorn and half dolphin”

“Why half unicorn?” Sarah asks

“Because he’s magic” Brittany smiles softly

“And why half dolphin?” Xavier asks

The whole group choruses, “Because everyone knows dolphins are gay sharks” and share a small collected laugh

“He actually looks small” Santana comments, “I mean I know he is…but he never looks or feels it”

“Hey don’t let him hear you say that” Sebastian tells her, “What do you think he’d like to listen to Britt?”

“Oh definitely some vintage rock!” Sam interrupts, “You know it’s his thing at the moment”

Soon after that some low volume Guns N Roses starts coming through the small portable speakers.

“Now that is an excellent idea” Jenny says, “If he’s motivated by music”

“He practically breathes it” Sebastian replies

The group continue to talk quietly, being sure not to get in the way before they find themselves being pushed out the way, “Move…move…move” Cooper says mindlessly until he reaches Sebastian. Brittany stands and moves back so Sebastian can stand up next to Cooper, Sam flanking the other side of the older Anderson. “Fucking hell…what did those bastards do to you squirt?” Some tears escape which he quickly wipes away, “Tell me everything.” Sebastian looks to Patrick who goes through all the medical details before Xavier takes over to explain the evidence, Kurt’s involvement and how he expects things to progress from there.

“I’m going to kill that piece of shit…if he hasn’t put my brother through enough? He’s let them do this to him? He’s a fucking coward and deserves what’s coming to him.”

“Which will be a restraining order, possibly a charge of theft given that he has yet to hand Blaine’s belongings yet and depending what evidence I can pull together, he could be pulled in front of a judge for being an accessory for this attack and lose his job due to the morality clause in his contract at Vogue.”

“Good” Cooper says bitterly

“I haven’t called your grandparents yet Coop…I just…I…the time difference and….” 

Cooper pulls Sebastian into a tight hug, much like he would to his younger brother, “It’s okay…I was going to once I knew everything...I didn’t expect you to…I expected you to look after my baby brother like you have” when Cooper pulls back they both have tears in their eyes which they quickly wipe away.

“I’m sorry but visiting hours will be over soon, you should all go home, we’ll look after this cutie overnight, right Sebastian?” Jenny addresses the group

“I’m staying too…I only just got here and I can’t leave my brother yet” Cooper tells her firmly 

“Let me see what arrangements I can make” Jenny says. All staff in the ICU unit of course appreciate that the patients here are incredibly sick so are more lenient with family members, as long as they follow instruction and don’t get in the way, as ultimately for some patients, it’s where they’ll spend the last hours of their lives, and where other patients will be going through something life changing. Jenny soon arranges that Cooper can sleep on one of the sofas in the relatives room nearest Blaine’s room and provides him with a pillow and blanket. 

After everyone leaves Cooper stays in the room with Blaine and Sebastian and makes the hardest phone call he’s ever had to.

When Cooper hangs up his phone he looks to Sebastian, “They’re packing bags then will be on their way to the airport.”

“I never doubted it” Sebastian replies before letting out a big yawn, the exhaustion finally catching up with him.

“I’ll let you sleep…I’m only next door though so…”

“To be honest Cooper I’m so tired you can stay in here and it won’t make a difference to my sleep. It’s not as if it’s going to be solid anyway” Sebastian tells him as he looks over to Blaine before moving across to his boyfriend, “I’ll be right here killer…I love you” And gently presses a kiss on his forehead before climbing into bed.

Cooper smiles, “Thank you” then moves the chairs around so he can have his feet up.

If when Jenny goes to do Blaine’s first set of night time observations she leaves Cooper to sleep after throwing a blanket over him, instead of moving him to the relatives room, nobody comments on it.


	99. How much more?

“When do you think he’ll wake up?” Sebastian asks Dr Fitzpatrick in the morning

“There’s no timescale here unfortunately Sebastian…he’s doing well though. His vital signs are good and there aren’t any signs of infections. Everything is the best we can hope it to be for now given what his body has been through.”

There’s a small knock on the door and Xavier steps in with two coffees, handing one to his son. Sebastian frowns a little but accepts the drink before gesturing to his dad to give the other to Cooper.

Cooper is also a little sceptical given what he’s witnessed at Thanksgiving but accepts the drink.

“We’re going to take him down to X-ray today to ensure the breaks are still looking how we’d like them to. It’s nothing to worry about, it’s just something we like to do for breaks that have had to be pinned. I’m going to request for his ankle to be re-scanned too. Although it’s only a fracture and should heal fine I’m taking the precaution given the damage and reconstruction work that was done to it last time.”

“Okay…thank you” Sebastian nods before Dr Fitzpatrick leaves

After a few moments of contemplative silence Xavier speaks up, “Last time?”

“You mean you didn’t find out when you looked into him before?” Sebastian challenges

“What?” Cooper asks

“It seems my dad felt it necessary to look into Blaine’s school record”

Cooper looks angry for a moment before just looking crestfallen so rolls his eyes, “Whatever”

“So now you can add another piece to your puzzle…B was hospitalised after going to a Sadie Hawkins dance with another boy in his freshman year of high school. He had to have various bones pinned back together and a metal plate inserted into his head. He almost died and now he’s had to go through it all over again.”

Xavier thinks for a moment, “I have some recollection of that. I remember seeing the case files. Charges weren’t pressed.”

“No his parents thought it’d wake him up and snap him out of his gay-phase” Sebastian spits out before looking slightly apologetic at Cooper, who returns a reassuring look. “Plus there wasn’t any concrete evidence as witness statements contradicted B’s own on who the attackers could be.”

Xavier frowns but doesn’t say anything – he’ll need to request the files as they would have been archived, but as state attorney he has that power, as from his memory there was evidence in the files. Perhaps the police didn’t do all they could at the time, but with a good lawyer that should have been sorted out and charges should have stuck against the perpetrators. Maybe he could help Blaine get closure on that part of his life too, it would obviously mean a lot to his son and would be the right thing to do, if that’s what the shorter boy wanted at least. 

Sam knocks on the door, “I’ve got you some clothes Cooper…hopefully they’ll fit”

“Thanks Sam…I didn’t want to waste any time packing…all I could do was think about getting here.”

Dr Fitzpatrick and some other team members enter the room, “We’re going to take him to X-ray now, I suggest you go and get breakfast.”

“That sounds like a plan” Cooper agrees before leading Sebastian out of the room where he meets Patrick and Wes in the waiting area.

“Hunter is taking notes and recordings of your lectures today and will explain the situation to your professors and arrange any extensions on work you may receive…and dad’s just got off the phone with NYU.” Wes fills in.

“Who did you speak to?” Sebastian enquires

“Michael and Dr Green…needless to say their thoughts are with him and they have asked to be kept updated. They’ll do everything they can to ensure Blaine can complete this year of studies and progress with his friends, particularly given his marks so far and considering the extra work that has been thrown his way that he’s completed like a duck to water.”

“So breakfast?” Wes asks

“Breakfast” Sebastian agrees making everyone in the room a little relieved as it had been some time since he’d eaten anything of worth.

They all head down to the cafeteria and get something substantial to eat, even Sebastian managing to eat a reasonable meal. Of course in his mind meant he could miss lunch and spend some more time with Blaine. By the time they get back upstairs Blaine is back in his room and Dr Fitzpatrick is talking to his team.

“What’s going on?” Sebastian asks immediately

“Everything is going well Sebastian…he won’t need any further procedures. We were actually just discussing the potential benefits and giving him some medication to help him wake up”

“I was going to speak to you about that” Patrick tells his old friend and colleague

“What are the benefits of this?” Sebastian asks

“Well Blaine’s lungs should be able to function on their own as long as he rests and uses an oxygen mask. We would be able to remove the catheter, thus eliminating the risk of infection if brings and if he wakes we can start doing some small muscle exercises, which will help with his overall healing. It’s quite shocking how quickly muscles deteriorate when people are in Blaine’s condition, even if we do some exercises for our patients.”

“Okay…that makes sense…but…you should remove the catheter before trying to wake him up. There’s no way he’ll want to be conscious should he wake and then it has to be removed.”

“Knowing Blaine I agree” Patrick adds, “In this case, it will be better for the patient’s well-being to have it removed and risk needing to replace it.”

“Noted” Dr Fitzpatrick replies, “We need you to leave the room…this will be delicate”

“As his emergency contact I want to stay…I’ll stand in the corner so I’m not in the way.”

“Fine…however if at any time I instruct you to leave, you must do so without question or hesitation” Dr Fitzpatrick agrees so Sebastian positions himself in the corner farthest away from his boyfriend, being reassured he’s at least in the room. Sebastian watches as they remove the ventilator and tube from Blaine’s throat and can’t describe the feeling of relief that washes through him when Blaine’s chest continues to rise and fall steadily, his stats staying stable and good. The team then remove the catheter and then they start to administrate the drugs that could wake him up.

“Have you heard from your grandparents Cooper?” Patrick asks 

“No…I was expecting them to message or call once they got on a plane but I guess they forgot” he answers, I’ll try them. The call goes straight to voicemail.

“They’re probably in the air” Sam comforts before turning to Patrick, “How long will waking him up take?”

“It can take a few hours, other times less than one…it’s a bit of a waiting game at the moment I’m afraid.”

The small group settle into broken conversation until Cooper gets to fidgety to stay sitting and starts pacing. “Blaine can never sit still for too long either” Wes smiles

“Unless he’s playing an instrument” Sam comments, “But then I guess he isn’t exactly still either”

“No…he moves with the music” Patrick adds

Sarah then arrives, “Sorry I couldn’t be here earlier…my conference call went on longer than I thought it would…or that it really needed to.” Her husband catches her up on what is going on when Cooper’s phone finally rings, though it’s not who he was expecting.

“Hey dad” he answers nervously, Not having told his parents about what happened yet as he wanted his baby brother to be in a stronger position, not knowing how they will react, if they do at all. Sam, Wes and Patrick see the colour drain from his face and jump forward to stop him from hitting the ground when his knees give way after the call disconnects. Cooper starts to have a small panic attack but Patrick uses his medical training and experience to prevent that from happening.

Just then Sebastian appears to give them an update, happy tears in his eyes, “It’s working…he’s starting to show signs of waking up” then he takes in the scene before him and immesiately knows something horrific has happened. “What’s happened?” 

“Nona and grandpa are dead…they were killed in a fatal car accident on their way to the airport.” Cooper cries

“No” Sebastian whispers brokenly, “No…this cannot be happening” Sam goes to comfort him but Sebastian shrugs him off aggresively before turning abruptly back to Blaine’s room, wondering what else could possibly happen. He knows Blaine will blame himself for their deaths as if he hadn’t been hurt, they wouldn’t have been driving, and he knows it will take a lot to convince him otherwise and bring his boyfriend back from this, if he can be brought back from this, afterall how much can one person take? 

All of a sudden, a small, croaky voice breaks all his thoughts, “Bastian?”


	100. Coming to

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this isn't longer but I was anxious not to keep you waiting! More will obviously follow, but hopefully this moves things a long a bit!
> 
> Wow...100 chapters, I can't believe it. Thank you so much to all of you who have kept with me for so long. As always do keep letting me know what you think about how it progresses and if there's anything in particular you'd like to see!

All Blaine can feel is pain, there’s a bright light in his eyes affecting his vision and he can hear different voices and beeps around him. As if all of a sudden images and words of bitterness and anger flood his mind. He’s groggy though and disorientated and there’s only one person he wants at the moment but he can’t find him through the haze.

“Bastian?” Blaine tries only more gloved hands touch him and try to stop him from moving, “Sebastian?” Blaine tries again, panic clear in his voice.

“Let me see him” Sebastian practically forces the nurse next to his boyfriend’s head away, who tries to refuse until Dr Fitzpatrick steps in.

“Let him through, our current concern is the welfare of our patient and that will be improved greatly from seeing his partner, it’s clear he’s in distress.”

The nurse steps aside and Sebastian is immediately by his boyfriend, “I’m here killer B…shhhh I’m here”

“Hurts”

“I know”

“The light” Blaine cries slightly so Sebastian tilts the light away from his face

“He has light sensitive eyes” Sebastian explains to the doctors and nurses in the room, “It’s okay now B”

“I’m sorry”

“What are you sorry for? None of this is your fault”

“I tried” Blaine hiccups

“I know you did…I…I saw the footage…a security camera caught the incident…I’m pretty sure you broke one of their noses…now have some water.” Blaine tries to sit up but Sebastian gently stops him, “Sorry killer, lie back and I’ll adjust your pillows a little” Sebastian moves Blaine’s pillow with the help of Dr Fitzpatrick so his head is titled up and puts a straw to Blaine’s lips to sip the water in the cup through. “You’ve got some busted ribs there B…best not to sit up with them.”

“Hi Blaine, I’m Dr Fitzpatrick…what do you remember?”

“I’m not sure…bits and pieces, flashes of images and…and…I’m sorry” Blaine whimpers and grasps his head with his hand and arm that’s not been damaged.

“That’s okay…you’re doing really well. You’ve been unconscious for 24 hours Blaine…it’s perfectly normal to be feeling some confusion and distress, particularly following a traumatic incident. Now I’m going to have to ask Sebastian to step out of the room so we can complete some assessments, he can come back in afterwards.”

“No Bas!”

“Hey hey…it’s okay…he’s one of the good ones…Patrick knows him and you know Patrick would never let anyone in a room with you unless he trusted them completely. I’ll be   
right outside and back as soon as I can…okay? Be brave B…I promise you I’m not going anywhere.”

Blaine reluctantly agrees so Sebastian steps outside and finds the group sat in a tight circle, “What are you all talking about?” he asks them.

“Whether or not to tell Blaine about his grandparents” Xavier answers as Patrick is sat rubbing Cooper’s back, a cup of sugary coffee clutched in his trembling hands.

“There’s no question…we have to tell him”

“I agree Sebastian” Wes speaks up

“But…to come round from this and be told…” Thad comments

“It’ll be worse if he’s told in a week’s time and then finds out…trust me…I’ve been there” Sebastian bites back and throws a dark glare at his father, “And anyway…this is not a group decision!” 

“Sebastian” Patrick soothes, “They’re just concerned”

“Coop…you know we’ve got to tell him right?” Sebastian asks 

Cooper closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, “I know…it’s just going to break him even more”

“But he hates being kept in the dark” Sam adds in reassurance, “And he has the right to know….How’s it going in there anyway?”

Sebastian smiles softly, “He’s awake…I actually came to tell you while they do some examinations.”

“He’s awake?” Cooper’s eyes light up as much as they can considering

“He’s in pain, scared and kinda pissed off, but…he’s awake” Sebastian confirms as a few tears fall down his cheeks.

Cooper turns solemn, “I guess it’s sooner rather than later then”

“You should do it before the police want to talk to him…I’ll hold them off” Xavier stands to make a few phone calls.

Just then Dr Fitzpatrick steps out, “You can go back in now Sebastian, but expect him to get drowsy quickly” 

Cooper and Sebastian share a look before walking towards Blaine’s room.


	101. Breaking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another short one - let me know if you're happy to get these more regularly for now or would rather wait longer to get a bigger one :)

“Hey champ” Cooper greets a still slightly propped up Blaine softly as he and Sebastian enter the room.

“Hey” Blaine croaks

 

“What did they tell you killer?”

“Not much…he said he’d tell me when my head feels less foggy…but let’s face it…I know I’m fucked up” Blaine looks down

“It’s nothing you won’t recover from” Cooper tries to reassure

“It’s not as easy as that Cooper…trust me…this isn’t the first time I’ve been in this situation” Blaine bites back aggressively, but both take it in their stride as the doctors had warned all of them while Blaine was unconscious that he could be up and down emotionally for a while – something Patrick had reinforced.

Blaine rests his eyes, “Hey no going back to sleep yet B” Sebastian squeezes Blaine’s shoulder so he opens his eyes

“Why?” Blaine pouts

“Maybe we should just let him…” Cooper considers but Sebastian pointedly shakes his head

Cooper and Sebastian each perch on either side of Blaine’s bed and Sebastian starts carding a hand gently through Blaine’s curls. Despite the soothing action and Blaine’s foggy state he knows something is wrong so his anxieties that are already running rampant kick up another notch.

“What’s going on?” Blaine panics and tries to sit back up again, only being stopped by a wave of pain and hands pressing up back down.

“You need to know they were so so proud of you baby brother…so am I…and none of this is your fault…none of it…” Cooper sniffs and has to compose himself for a moment.

“Bastian?” Blaine looks to his boyfriend who also has tears in his eyes, but he shakes his head and looks at Cooper, “Coop…tell me please…who?” Blaine’s voice tremors

Cooper takes a deep breath, “Nona and grandpa are dead” Cooper pauses but gets no reaction from his brother for a moment.

“That’s impossible” Blaine finally whispers

“I’m so sorry Blaine…Dad called…asking me to go home but I can’t leave you…not now…not when you need me…and I need you to…I need to see you get better….they were   
killed in a car crash on their way to the airport” Cooper gushes, unable to stop himself just like his tears from streaming down his face.

Blaine says nothing and avoids eye contact with his brother and boyfriend, staring with glassy eyes at the ceiling. The three stay frozen like statues for several minutes.

“Killer B….Blaine” Sebastian tries but gets no response on any level. As he starts carding his hand through Blaine’s curls again, all that happens is that Blaine closes his eyes, clearly blocking himself off from the outside world. After Blaine had shut himself off for a short while at Thanksgiving, this is what Sebastian feared most as this time, his beloved boyfriend was suffering from so much more.


	102. Breaking walls

Cooper and Sebastian stay by Blaine’s side but no matter what they do or say, the shorter boy continues to be in his state of lock down. It gets too much for Cooper to take so he steps out of the room where Patrick quickly engulfs him into a hug as he breaks down.

“What did he say?” Sam asks tentatively after Cooper’s sobs have calmed down

“Not much…and now he’s not saying anything, or looking at anyone” Wes and Patrick exchange a look, “And I don’t know what to do” Cooper admits

Wes walks to Blaine’s room and lets himself in, finding Sebastian sat on a chair pulled up next to Blaine’s bed, face resting on his hands as he stares at his boyfriend. “Hey” Wes greets gently

“No need to whisper…he’s not asleep” Sebastian mutters

“Hi Blaire” Wes directs at Blaine, the first thing he said to the boy that got a reaction out of him, albeit a small one of a young Blaine very politely telling him that’s not his name   
before scurrying off. Blaine stays in his shut down state, not flinching or reacting in any way. Wes sits down opposite from Sebastian, “How are you doing?” Wes asks the taller boy. 

Sebastian shrugs, “I have no idea” Not once taking his eyes off Blaine, “How’s Cooper?” 

Wes looks at Blaine then decides to answer honestly, “Not good, he’s lost his grandparents and now feels like he’s failing his brother because he can’t get through to him in anyway. He wants to be there to support Blaine but at the same time they could support each other through their loss. Yet he’s here in New York without any of his own friends and doesn’t know what to do.”

Sebastian notices some tears fall down Blaine’s cheeks so nods at Wes, happy there is some sort of reaction and decides to continue the conversation having decided that forcing Blaine to breakdown to free him from his locked-in state would be better than him becoming completely unreachable. “Maybe you could use Cooper’s phone to get hold of Ian?   
He’s still in the city and they’re friends.” Sebastian suggests.

“That’s a good idea…once upon a time I never thought I’d know Cooper, or that I’d have respect for him or like him, but now he’s really shown himself to be a good big brother. I can’t imagine what Blaine must be feeling, but I also can’t imagine what Cooper must be feeling…being scared stiff that you could really lose your brother, grandparents dying, being in the middle of everything with his parents and facing it all pretty much alone, or at least without the support of those he really knows and who know him…You can’t help but feel sorry for the guy.”

“Me neither considering I don’t even know how I really feel at the moment…I think what makes it harder in some ways is he knows B and his grandparents had a special bond…and that B will be blaming himself for their death”

“Because it is my fault” Blaine sobs all of a sudden, “They wouldn’t have been in the car if it wasn’t for me so it is my fault” he shouts through his tears, “It all is…if it wasn’t for me Cooper wouldn’t be in the middle of me and my parents…it’s my fault I’m here…that I wasn’t strong enough or good enough to stop them…it’s all my fault!”

Sebastian immediately sits on the side of Blaine’s bed and pulls his boyfriend into him in such a way to offer comfort, but not hurt is beat body any more. Blaine tries to resist at first, trying to push his boyfriend away but Sebastian doesn’t let him. “Don’t Blaine…don’t” Sebastian tells him as he continues to hold onto him.

“Just leave me! I’m disgusting...you won’t even want me when you see what I look like now.”

At this point Wes decides it’s best to leave the couple to it, not wanting to intrude on a personal and delicate conversation.

“Don’t say that” Sebastian bites back

“Why not? It’s true” Blaine argues back defiantly

“You know it’s not” Sebastian growls, finding it difficult to contain his emotions despite the fact he knows his boyfriend isn’t in the right state of mind

“Not for now” Blaine mutters but Sebastian hears him

“I didn’t realise you thought so little of me” Sebastian spits then leaves the room before anything else can be said. When he goes storming out Hunter jumps up and follows him while Patrick and Dr Fitzpatrick rush into Blaine’s room not wanting the shorter the make his injuries any worse. Blaine is on the verge of being hysterical so the two sedate him to stop him from doing any further damage.

“You know he didn’t mean it like that” Hunter tells Sebastian firmly after the taller has told him what happened. “You and Wes pushed him to break so he did…and it’s not you he thinks little of…it’s himself…he will be disgusted with himself Sebastian.”

Sebastian stops pacing and looks to Hunter, “Yeah I know really”

“I’m not sure you do” Hunter challenges, but doesn’t give Sebastian chance to retaliate, “Just listen to me…You know I got fucked up after my sister died. I was in the car with her when it happened. I blamed myself for her dying instead of me. I hated myself so much…that’s what started up the steroids, that’s why I became a complete and utter dick head…it was easier to push people away so I could destroy myself like I felt I deserved than face up to it.”

“I’m sorry”

“Don’t be…I didn’t want pity or for people to be sorry for me…and I’m sure Blaine wouldn’t either from how he’s reacted to other things. So you have a choice…stick it out no matter how hard it is…or take the easy way out and let him push you away…I know which one you’ll regret most.”

Sebastian nods, “Me too…thanks”

“Any time…I probably get it more than anyone else so I’m here for both of you”

Just then Xavier approaches, “I have an update from the police”

“What?”

“They haven’t been able to find Kurt…he’s not been home and they haven’t been able to find him at NYADA either…they want to put out an appeal on the news for him and the men, but they need Blaine to provide descriptions so they can create e-fits in conjunction with what they can tell from the surveillance footage.”

“I need to talk to B” 

“That will have to wait…Dr Fitzpatrick and Patrick sedated him”

That sends Sebastian storming back down the corridor, “What the fuck did you to that to him for?” he demands when he comes face to face with Patrick.

“Sebastian, Blaine was on the verge of hysterics and was in real danger of hurting himself further. The best thing you can do now is be there for when he wakes up once more. Prove to him you really aren’t going anywhere…after all he’s just lost the two people who were always a constant in his life…subconsciously at least it will be making him doubt everything.”

Just then Rachel comes running down the corridor, “What the hell took you so long?” Santana asks, standing up from where she and Brittany had been cuddled up on one of the chairs, wanting to be at the hospital to be there for Sebastian and Blaine.

“Well I had to get back from LA”

“Berry if you’d got the first plane you could have you would have been back ages ago…don’t try and bullshit me…you went to that dumb audition”

“It’s not dumb…I could be on TV!”

“Nice to know that means more to you than Blaine…after everything he’s done for you”

“At least he supports me…unlike you” 

“You asked if I thought you should go for it and I said no…it’s dumb…you’re putting your whole Broadway career at risk for the small ass chance you might get a fleeting moment on TV…and you haven’t even asked how Blaine is”

“Well how is he?” Rachel demands

“Finally woke up”

“So he’s fine then”

“He’s in the freaking ICU…of course he’s not fine! He woke up to be told his grandparents died…I think he’s as far from okay as you can get”

“What?” Rachel asks shocked

“If you’d been here before…you’d have known” Santana turns her back on Rachel

“Blaine’s the best friend anyone can have…I guess you’re not” Brittany frowns at her

“But what could I have done?” Rachel asks, completely shaken by everything

Sebastian steps forward needing to let his built-up emotions out and it just so happens Rachel is the one who has annoyed him to most so gets the brunt of it, “You could have been here like a real friend instead of chasing some stupid dream of being a TV star…let’s face it Barbara…with a nose like that, your roles would be seriously limited. I do find it interesting though that you wouldn’t move to LA with Finn because you were destined to be a Broadway star, yet now you’re ready to jump ship and chase after fame rather than what you supposedly love. I guess his dreams didn’t matter to you either. Face it…you’re just showing everyone what a fake Rachel Berry really is.” He says coldly and calmly. 

Xavier can’t help but notice how much his son reminds him of himself in that moment, he half expected the girl, Rachel, to turn and run but is impressed when she defiantly lifts her chin then sits down.

Sebastian’s demeanour changes immediately, “That’s more like it”, making Rachel smiles slightly. “Enough fighting Satan…Do you really think that’s what B would want?”  
Santana’s shoulders slump, “No” and enters a truce with Rachel, as does Brittany

“What do we do now?” Cooper looks to Sebastian, “I mean your dad said about the appeal”

“We talk to Blaine when he wakes up, and make sure he gets justice this time and those scumbags aren’t left to do this again.” Sebastian turns to Santana, “Better fill Berry in on   
Kurt’s involvement…he’s not been home to have a chat to our friends in blue.”

“I told you he’s an amazing young man” Sarah tells her husband after Sebastian has gone back into Blaine’s room to be there for when he wakes up.

“Yeah…you did”


	103. Progress starts somewhere

A short while later Xavier steps into Blaine’s room to find him and his son cuddled up as much as they possibly can given Blaine’s injuries.

“Sebastian” Xavier says gently to get his attention

Sebastian looks over his shoulder at his dad and uses his head to indicate that his dad should take the seat on the opposite side so he doesn’t have to keep turning, “What is it?” he asks softly given that Blaine’s asleep again.

“How are you both doing?” Xavier asks cautiously to which Sebastian just raises his eyebrows, “Don’t be like that…believe it or not…I do actually care about you…I might not have always shown it…but I do”

Sebastian shakes his head, “You never showed it…all you’ve ever cared about is me getting the grades that meet your expectations and no matter what they're not good enough”

“No they were…they were more than good enough…better than I achieved at your age”

“Then what’s the deal?”

“This might have been a wake-up call for me…it could have been you in that bed”

“I wish it was” Sebastian replies immediately, “Nobody should have to go through anything like this…let alone twice”

“You’re right, nobody should…so he was close to his grandparents then?”

“They were more like his parents than the two people who disowned him”

“What about the rest of his family?”

Sebastian scoffs, “They all turned their backs on him too…Cooper’s the only one who’s still in the picture.”

“Well you both have me now too”

“I can’t promise anything” Sebastian replies flatly

“I know and I understand that”

“So what did you really come in here for?”

“To find out how you are…Blaine will need to speak to the police sooner..” Xavier is interrupted by Sebastian’s phone ringing. Sebastian fishes his phone out of his pocket without disturbing Blaine and looks at the screen with disgust before tossing it on the bed. It lands so Xavier can see who’s calling, “Do you…do you want to talk to her? I can go if you do” he says awkwardly

“Trust me…she’s the last person I want to talk to…you really have no fucking clue do you? The only time my own mother calls me is to ask for money…when we were in Paris in the summer she pretended she didn’t know who I was because she was with some guy…how fucked up is that? If neither of you wanted a kid, you shouldn’t have had one.”

Xavier is taken aback by this information, “I…I had no idea…truly…if I had I…”

“What? You’d have what?”

“I’d never have left you in Paris like that…I’d have done more”

“Too late now…and you might have known if you’d listened”

“That I can’t deny…but I’m here now and rehashing the past won’t help anything…just tell me what to do”

“Do what you can for B…do what you’re good at and make sure those scumbags are not allowed to roam free to do this again”

“You have my word that I will do everything in my power” Xavier tells his son seriously and holds eye contact. They’re silent for a while, Xavier letting his wife’s words rattle around his mind, telling him to tell his son why he’d left him like he had. “You know…you remind me of me in quite a few ways…but you also remind me of her…and I couldn’t deal with that when you were younger...when I was younger" The admission shocks Sebastian who simply looks at his dad impassively, forcing him to continue, “I didn’t want you making the mistakes I did…yet when I looked at you, look at you, I can see her…she broke my heart more than you know so it was easier to keep you at an arm’s length and try to stop you from making my mistakes by control than anything else.”

Sebastian takes a few moments to think, finding this information difficult to process so he settles for, “That’s kind of pathetic” with the Smythe trademark smirk, something he definitely got from his dad. Blaine starts to come to, mumbling some words in Tagalog, “Stay” Sebastian tells his dad when he goes to leave.

“What language is he speaking?”

“Tagalog, he’s basically fluent, his grandparents taught him”

“Does Cooper speak it too then?”

“No” Sebastian laughs, “He’s useless…not my words” At that moment Blaine wakes up with a panicked start, “Shhh it’s okay”

“I want to go home” Blaine confesses, not realising they’re not alone

“Soon B…but not today…you ready to talk to the police now?”

“I want to see the footage”

Sebastian looks to his dad, “You will need to speak to the police first Blaine…then if you still want to see it you can” Xavier tells him kindly yet without compromise

“I will”

“Are you sure?” Sebastian asks

“I need to” Blaine confirms

“Can I tell the police you’re ready to give your statement?” Xavier asks

“I want Bas with me”

“I’m sorry Blaine but in this case that won’t be possible considering Sebastian has seen the footage and your ex is involved. If he goes to court it could give his lawyer grounds to try and say Sebastian was influencing you. If would be a flaky claim, but best not give them the chance to make it”

“Oh….okay” Blaine agrees reluctantly along with his boyfriend

“And the appeal killer” Sebastian reminds him, “It could make a real difference…right dad?”

“It could…it’s your decision but I recommend it”

Blaine thinks for a few moments before speaking, “Let’s get it done then”

Xavier leaves the room to make the arrangements, knowing that at this point it’s better it over and done with, particularly while Blaine is on side.  
When the police arrive the only other person in the room with Blaine is Xavier, who cannot help but be impressed with the decorum, this young man who has been through so much, conducts himself with.

By the time the police leave Blaine has tears rolling down his cheeks and Xavier has to do everything he can to suppress his own given everything but quickly gets his son to come and support the fragile boy.

“You’ve done it killer…you’ve done it…I’m so proud of you…I love you”

“I love you too” Blaine replies easily, the first time since the attack. “Bas…my knee doesn’t feel right” Blaine admits after a while of cuddling

“What…what do you mean?”

“The pain killers are wearing off”

“I’ll get them to give you more”

“Wait…my knee wasn’t hurt this time round though…but it’s not right…it’s really not right” Blaine closes his eyes so Sebastian knows it must truly be uncomfortable

“I’ll get Patrick” Sebastian rushes out, “Patrick!”

Patrick is in Blaine’s room like a light as Wes goes and finds Dr Fitzpatrick who also quickly joins them.

“My knee doesn’t feel right”

“In what way Blaine”

“It hurts and tingles and something's just wrong”

Patrick and Dr Fitzpatrick examine the knee, “There was nothing to make us suspect the knee was injured”

“I know…nobody is questioning that…not after everything you’ve done” Patrick reassures his colleague, as a doctor he knows how it feels when you miss something, even though it’s just simply not possible to pick up on everything all the time, particularly in such traumatic cases. “This was his knee that was essentially smashed during the last attack.”

“Blaine…we’re taking you to MRI…I think we’re going to have to perform surgery to realign your knee cap” Dr Fitzpatrick says after moving Blaine’s leg, the result of which was significant pain and visual evidence the patella wasn’t tracking correctly.

A medical team appear and move Blaine to MRI where he’ll go straight to surgery after the scan has been assessed. Patrick explains to everyone what’s happening and how it is possible for such things to go undetected at first.

“It does mean that Blaine won’t be back up here for a few hours, everyone should take this time to go home, shower and get changed in fresh clothes and maybe do some school work. You know Blaine will feel guilty if you get behind.” Patrick looks to each member of the group who all agree to go, apart from Sebastian.

Xavier steps towards his son, “Do you have a copy of Kurt’s contract?”

“Why?”

“I’m not going to ask how you got it, but I could do with seeing any information you have on him that could let me move things forward”

“Okay…they’re at home” Though of course Sebastian only leaves once the hospital has reassured him they will call him with any developments.


	104. Coming out of the woodwork

Sebastian almost can’t believe he’s opening the door to his and Blaine’s home with his dad and Sarah in tow, everyone else having gone home or to the hotel they’re staying at in Patrick and Wes’ case, who’d been booked in with his mum and dad. Then again the past couple of days had all felt surreal since he had the worst phone call of his life.

“You have a beautiful home Sebastian” Sarah comments

“Thanks” Sebastian answers non-committedly, “I’ll go get the files you need”

Sarah and Xavier both take in their surroundings and start looking at the many pictures covering the side board in the living room, lots of the couple and with their friends and family and some scenery shots.

Sebastian comes back just as Xavier has picked up an action shot of Blaine playing polo, “I err didn’t know he played” Xavier says gesturing at the photo in his hand before putting it down.

“Well you wouldn’t…he’s very good”

“Who took the photo…it’s fantastic” Sarah comments

“I did” Sebastian shrugs and places the file on the coffee table, “Do um either of you want a drink or something to eat?”

“I’d love a tea if you have any” Sarah replies

“I could do with a coffee and a sandwich or something” Xavier adds, “I’ll come help…it’s about time I saw this place after all” The father and son duo don’t exchange many words other than what they’d like in their sandwiches but it is still progress. 

When they return to the living room Sarah is in the music area, “Sebastian....these can’t all be Blaine’s” she says gazing at them

“Well they are…apart from that guitar, that one’s mine” he points to the acoustic Blaine had chosen for him

“You’re learning to play?” Xavier asks

“Yeah…B’s teaching me…I’m also lucky to be able to get to play on such a beautiful piano…his grandparents gave it to him…” Sebastian trails off with a frown as it all hits him again.

“You’ve been very thorough” Xavier comments as he looks through the folder which includes a log of any incidences involving Kurt and his Vogue contract; he stops at the sealed envelope, “What’s in here?”

“Evidence of him cheating on B…it’s not family friendly”

Xavier opens the envelope and flicks through the pictures, “Have these people been identified?”

“Mostly…why?”

“Because if any of them are also employees at Vogue he’s out of there”

“Is it enough to get a restraining order?”

“It’s a good start if I can say contact would be poor for Blaine’s mental health at this delicate time”

“Well it would be truthful” Sebastian mumbles before finishing his sandwich. “I’m going to go for a shower…feel free to put the TV on or something”

Sebastian leaves the room but Xavier and Sarah sit talking about everything, not daring to push the fragile boundaries by looking around. 

Sam enters the apartment while Sebastian is still in the shower, “Oh hey…where’s Sebastian?”

“He’s in the shower”

“Thanks” Sam walks through to the bedroom and calls through to the ensuite, “I’m here dude” 

When Sebastian steps out the shower he towels off before wrapping it around his waist before stepping out into his bedroom, “You okay?” he greets Sam

“Are you?”

“Yeah it was a dumb question” Sebastian then gets dressed in some fresh clothes after slipping his boxers on underneath his towel.

“Should we do some washing or something?” Sam asks

“He does hate it when it builds up” Sebastian smiles, “And it won’t be long before he’s home if he has his way”

“I don’t blame him for hating hospitals though”

“Me neither…considering that experience after the first time”

“Come on…I’ll help so you don’t shrink anything”

“Hey I haven’t done that for ages”

“You mean since he figured out you were shrinking his pants on purpose?” Sam waggles his eyebrows

“What can I say, I thought they looked better that way”

“They’re tight enough already man!”

“We have very different opinions on this…I don’t suppose you’d make some of his spaghetti for when we go back?”

“If it’ll get him to eat more it’s more than worth it”

The two head back through with Sam going to the kitchen and Sebastian the laundry cupboard to put a load on.

“That’s a really good idea having the machines out the way there” Sarah comments

“Yeah it works well” Sebastian agrees lightly

“Is there anything I can do to help?” she asks

Sebastian looks around, “Help clean? B’s kinda OCD about it, though he’s better than he used to be so when he comes home I want it to be just right”

“Of course” Sarah smiles, just show me where your cleaning things are

Sebastian’s dad continues to work as he and Sarah clean and Sam makes Blaine’s spaghetti. The need to feel closer to his boyfriend grows so Sebastian puts on his playlist that is   
a recording of all of Blaine’s performances plus the CD he made for him.

“I’ve not heard this before” Sam comments when ‘Human’ comes on

“Nobody else has…don’t tell anyone”

“You know I won’t”

“This isn’t a song I know either” Sarah agrees

“You wouldn’t have…the ones you don’t know are Blaine Anderson originals, including the piano pieces on here too”

That gets Xavier’s attention, “He really wrote these?”

“Yes…I told you he was crazy talented”

“I have to agree”

When Sam has finished cooking the spaghetti and put it in a container Sebastian is anxious to get back to the hospital so the four head on their way. When they arrive the door to Blaine’s room is closed. Sebastian cannot believe what he is seeing but before he or Sam can react Xavier and Sarah pull them back and down the corridor.

“I’m assuming that is Kurt Hummel?” Xavier asks

“Yes…so now can I go and kill him?” Sebastian goes to storm forward but once again the two boys are stopped.

“No…this is the perfect opportunity for the police to catch-up with him. If anything it’d be best for him to stay right where he is” With that Sebastian moves away to phone the inspector, who informs him they’ll be there right away.

“He’s sick” Sebastian spits

“I’m with you on that one dude…he needs help…like I mean he seriously needs help…what the hell was he doing?” Sam questions

“Trying to make Blaine like he was when they were dating”

“Wait what do you mean?” Sarah asks, “Xavier” she calls over as she see him ending the call

“What?”

“Tell him” Sarah encourages knowing this could make a difference

“Hummel is trying to make Blaine like he was when they were dating” Sebastian says

“Explain”

“B used to wear a lot of hair gel to keep his curls flat”

“They were literally stuck to his head” Sam adds and shows them a picture on his phone

“It was a result of being bullied and because gay face insisted it looked better that way. He didn’t do his hair like that though before they were dating and stopped quickly   
after…and now Hummel is in there plastering his hair down with gel when he’s got fucking stitches!”

“The police are on their way…you cannot react in anyway if he sees you, if neither of you can guarantee that then move now. However if he reacts and you don’t, it all helps build up the case…and we’ll get Dr Fitzpatrick in there straight after he’s gone”. 

Sebastian smirks darkly, “Not reacting only helps wind him up more”

“You know I still find you scary sometimes” Sam tells him seriously

“It’s best that way” Sebastian winks at him

When the inspector and detective arrive Xavier nods at them having already informed the staff of what was happening while they were waiting.

“Kurt Hummel?” Inspector Timpson asks

“Yes” Kurt stands

“I’m inspector Timpson and this is my colleague detective Brown…we need you to come down to the station with us”

“What?! On what grounds?”

“We have footage of you, which you have been positively identified in, arguing with Mr Anderson before taking his bag and running away without reporting the attack you witnessed the start of…and which you only got away from because of Mr Anderson.”

“He gave me his bag” Kurt defends

“From what we saw he passed it back to place it on the ground, from which you picked it up and unless he gave you permission to keep the bag and its contents you have stolen it as you have not yet returned it. You are also in danger of perverting the course of justice. So Mr Hummel, we need you to come down to the station” The inspector and detective step forward to guide Kurt out of Blaine’s room where he sees Sebastian and Sam waiting with two people he doesn’t recognise.

“This is all your fault!” Kurt shouts at Sebastian, “You can’t keep me from him forever…I’m going to be there when he wakes up and look after him and you can’t stop me!” he practically screams with tears streaming down his face but Sebastian just looks impassive until the police take Kurt away.

“And there we have the restraining order” Xavier announces when it’s safe to do so and the nurses and Dr Fitzpatrick are washing and unconscious Blaine’s hair who is still recovering from the sedative, anaesthetic and pain killers, “I’ll make sure the court summons are sent to Vogue.com”

Sam leans into Sebastian, “You know you might not like it, but you are quite a lot like your dad”

“It’s something I’ve come to accept” Sebastian acknowledges, “Come on” he pulls Sam with him into Blaine’s room as the staff have finished with his hair and checking the stitches, which were luckily not damaged.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm guessing you can see where the next chapter is going!


	105. Initial disappointment is only the beginning

“I get a phone call right?” Kurt asks when they arrive at the police station

“You aren’t under arrest Mr Hummel, but if you’d like representation then it is within your right to do so” Inspector Timpson replies

“Then I’d like to make a phone call”

“Very well” Detective Brown shows Kurt to the phone, you have five minutes

“Hello?”

“Dad it’s me”

“Oh hey Kurt, how are” But Burt is quickly cut off

“Look I don’t have time…I’m at the police station and I need a lawyer or something. Do you know someone?”

“Woah woah back up there kiddo. Why are you in a police station?”

“They’ve asked me to make a statement after I witnessed an attack”

“And rightly so, if you can make a difference and help them catch the attackers then it’s the right thing to do.”

“Yes but they’re saying I could be charged with theft”

“Why? On what grounds?”

“Because I’ve got Blaine’s bag but I swear he gave it to me”

“Blaine? Wait…Blaine was attacked?”

“Well we both were but I got away”

“So why do they think you’ve stolen his bag?”

“Because I still have it…I’m looking after it for him”

“Kurt how come you were even with Blaine?”

“We were just talking…you know, trying to sort things out”

“Kurt I wasn’t born yesterday. I don’t believe it was that simple and you need to give him back his things. Call for legal aid, I don’t know anyone in New York. But…if it’s to make a statement you should be able to arrange an appointment for you to do so to give you time to sort out representation. If you miss that appointment though they can and will make a point of taking you back to the station and you won’t have a choice.”

“Okay…thanks dad”

With that bit of advice Kurt does exactly that before heading home, after calling Isabel and asking for the afternoon, his usual shift, off. He’d told her that he was nearly a victim of a hate crime but as far as she was concerned nobody else was involved and he’d managed to run away, and was therefore being more lenient with him than usual.

“What’s the matter?” Carole asks Burt

“That was Kurt….I think he’s got himself into some big trouble”

“Are you going to go see him then?”

“Yes…I’ve just got a bad feeling. Do me a favour though…if you speak to him, don’t let him know I’m going”

“Okay…if you need anything”

“I know…all I have to do is ask” Burt smiles at his wife but can’t shake the nagging feeling at the back of his mind. After the incident at Christmas and what Cooper said, he really did now stop to consider what Kurt was saying rather than believing him for face value, well at least when it came to matters involving one Blaine Anderson.

At the hospital everyone is once again congregated when Cooper arrives and immediately goes into his brother’s room.

“Hey…where did you disappear to? I thought you’d have come back to the apartment” Sebastian asks Cooper

“I had to go clear my head for a bit…I saw Ian and bought some clothes…but I’ll be back there tonight”

“Good” Sebastian smiles then notices Blaine shifting, “Hey killer B…time to open those big beautiful eyes of yours…Coop’s back and I think he could do with a hug”

Blaine lets out a small moan, “Don’t let them knock me out again…I don’t like how it makes me feel”

“Not unless you really need it” Sebastian agrees and places a gentle kiss on Blaine’s lips

“Hey squirt” Cooper greats him softly, “Are you just trying to aim for the most expensive medical insurance ever?” he tries to joke then moves close to the bed and hugs his baby brother gently. Blaine clings to Cooper’s shoulder as much as he can from the angle he’s at and with his injuries. “You know how much I love you right?”

“I love you too Coop” Blaine sniffs, “Please don't leave me” he admits, the fogginess of the drugs allowing thoughts that would be internalised out.

Cooper pulls back so he can look into Blaine’s eyes, “I am not going anywhere okay? Even when we’re on opposite sides of the country I am always here for you no matter what. You got that?”

“I think so”

“I mean it Blaine…I promise with everything I am and have”

“Thank you”

With a final hug Cooper lets go of his brother and lets Sebastian take his place, though takes a seat next to Blaine’s feet with Sam perching on the other side of the bed.

“How are you doing killer?”

“I don’t know”

“Well why you were dozing away there’s been some progress” Sam tries lightly

“What’s happened?”

“Yeah…what happened?” Cooper asks

“Kurt was in here…before you woke up…my dad called the police and they came and took him to the station. On his way out though he was shouting about how he’s going to be here to look after you and that no one can stop him…so my dad says that’s more than enough given everything else to get a restraining order.”

The look Sebastian gives Sam tells him not to mention the hair at this point. Of course Sebastian will tell his boyfriend, but not while he is feeling so vulnerable and helpless. With everything else he doesn’t want to risk tipping him over. 

Nobody is quite sure how Blaine will react but they don’t have to wait too long for an answer as after a few moments of silence he says very clearly yet softly, “Good"

Just then there is a gentle knock on the door, “Hey baby” Natasha greets him, “I’m sorry I couldn’t be here sooner” she walks over and gives him a kiss to the top of his head

“You didn’t need to worry or come out here”

“Tsk…of course I did. You know better than that…you know I treat you all the same just as well as you know if it was Wes and Tabatha here nothing could keep me from them”

“That’s different” Blaine dismisses

“Not to me it’s not…You know I see you just as much as mine, as you know Patrick does and that Wes and Tabatha both see you as their baby brother. See…you still have a big family around you even if it’s not a conventional one and made up of bits and pieces…but you have to accept then that it’s a family held together by love and not because of blood and what’s expected.” Natasha tells him kindly but firmly, channelling her inner teenager psychologist.

Dr Fitzpatrick then enters the room, “How are you doing?”

“Isn’t that for you to tell me” Blaine frowns sleepily, making the doctor laugh

“Well as far as I’m concerned surgery was textbook…with rest and then some physio you’ll be back to normal in no time”

“Do you think they’ll be anything else?” Blaine asks, worry clear in his eyes

Dr Fitzpatrick smiles softly, “No I don’t…and I am truly sorry you had to go through more surgery and that we didn’t pick up on it first time round.”

“Don’t be…you saved my life” Blaine says sincerely, “When can I go home?”

“Why don’t you have something to eat and then we’ll talk? I’ll organise for some food to be sent up considering you missed lunch”

“No need! Already got it covered!” Sam beams as he produces a thermos food container with Blaine’s comfort spaghetti, still warm

Xavier pokes his head around the door just in time to hear the exchange between best friends, “I love you Sammy”

“I love you too BD” Sam tells him warmly before passing him the spaghetti and giving him a kiss on the cheek which Blaine replicates. “Aww don’t get jealous Sebastian…you know I love you too”

“Touch me with those lips and you’re dead” Sebastian mock threatens

Sam sighs dramatically, “One day I know you’ll say it back…just once that’s all I need”

“Fine I love you too” Sebastian says as he rolls his eyes, making Sam smile widely, “But only because you thought to cut up the pasta so he can feed himself” Blaine is having to concentrate too hard to raise forkfulls of pasta to his mouth so doesn't catch that exchange between them.

“Good enough for me…I’m taking that!”

Xavier quickly retreats from the room once more, having gone unnoticed. “Are you okay?” Wes asks him.

“I erm…I didn’t realise Sam was…Blaine…Sebastian…I feel like I’m missing something somewhere” Xavier runs a hand through his hair

Wes laughs, “I take it you’ve just seen your first Blam moment”

That gets everyone else’s attention, “What’s a Blam moment?” Xavier asks

“What’s a Blam?” Sarah adds making the group laugh hard, the first time in too long

“Blaine and Sam” Brittany answers, “No other friends are like Blam”

“So there are just friends” Xavier confirms

“Utterly and completely…nothing but platonic feelings there what so ever” Jeff explains, “They lived together last year and are both very tactile people. They helped each other through some really difficult and dark times”

“Which is why they’re so close” Sarah smiles

“Exactly” Hunter replies, “And that’s also why Sebastian and Sam are how they are too…there’s no three way relationship going on if that’s what you thought. It’s kind of like Sam is Blaine’s twin, being two weeks apart, and Sebastian is his brother in law.”

“Okay…I understand. I just didn’t want to put my foot in it in any way” Xavier explains

“Well at least your trying now” Santana responds

Natasha reappears and goes to Patrick who immediately asks how Blaine’s doing, “He’s clearly putting on a brave face because of having so many people around…and he’s incredibly anxious to get out of here, though considering how he was treated after the first attack I doubt he will ever be okay with hospitals. Did you manage to secure that time off?”

“I did…why?”

“Because I think we should put a case forward to Rupert for him to go home, on the condition that you will be able to monitor him. Being here will stop him from facing the reality of what’s happened fully. The longer it takes for him to be able to go home, the longer it will take for the true extent of his injuries and his grandparent’s deaths to hit him. I don’t want him to have the chance to revert as much as he did last time. Wes told me he started and how he and Sebastian forced him not to. The stark truth is Blaine is an incredibly good actor so while on the outside it may appear he’s starting to deal, it won’t be long before he closes off again. Unless we can get him home and facing the real world again.”

“I think before we talk to Rupert we need to talk to Sebastian…and Cooper. This is going to be difficult on them both, but particularly Sebastian as Blaine’s partner he’ll naturally take up the role of carer, plus he’s the only one Blaine is actually letting in.”

“I thought as much” 

“As such, I’ll talk to him first”, Patrick goes to Blaine’s room, “Hey Sebastian can I pick your brains for a moment”

Sebastian frowns, “Yeah sure” but feels Blaine’s hand on him to stop him from going anywhere, “Shhh beautiful…I’ll be right back…and Sam and Cooper are here okay?”

“Okay” Blaine replies reluctantly

When Sebastian has moved from his spot on the bed next to Blaine, Cooper takes it over and wraps an arm around his baby brother.

“What are you doing?” Blaine asks, groggy from drugs and having eaten a reasonable amount of food.

“I know I’m not Sebastian but I hope I’m not a terrible substitute. Plus I could kinda do with a hug myself…and being able to spread out. Sleeping on those chairs didn’t do me any favours”

“It’s your age” Sam supplies before Blaine can apologise

It’s not long before Blaine goes to sleep. Seeing that he’s dead to the world, Patrick and Natasha have the same conversation with Cooper as they just did with Sebastian, the taller boy agreeing immediately that Blaine should be allowed home as soon as possible, knowing what a damaging effect they can have on his boyfriend. When everything is fully explained to Cooper he of course agrees too. That leaves Natasha and Patrick to talk to Dr Fitzpatrick, who after going through all the details agrees to discharge his patient into his old friend’s care given that Patrick could stay with the young couple for a week and what would be the most important initial stages of healing.


	106. Home

“So I can go home as long as Patrick stays with us for the next week?” Blaine asks as he looks at Dr Fitzpatrick, Sebastian, Cooper and Patrick also in the room with him.

“Yes” Dr Fitzpatrick smiles but Blaine looks down at his lap

“Can you all give us a moment?” Sebastian asks but his tone of voice shows it’s not really a question. When the couple are on their own Sebastian gently tilts Blaine’s face so he has eye contact. “What’s going through that head of yours?”

“I either have to stay here, where despite how nice Dr Fitzpatrick or the nurses seem I hate, or be uncomfortable in my own home.” Tears roll down Blaine’s cheeks.

“But at least it’s Patrick, who you know well. It wouldn’t be some stranger keeping an eye out for you.”

“I know it’s just…I hate this…I hate everything about it…” Blaine presses his face into Sebastian

“Come home with me” Sebastian requests, “Come and sleep in our bed with me”

“I can’t even wash myself Bas” Blaine cries, “I hate being helpless”

“You’re not helpless…not if you don’t want to be…you have your mind…you have two uninjured limbs...you have your life if you keep hold of it…and I can wash you…I’ve done it before when you’ve been so tired you could barely keep your eyes open and I can do it again…just like you have me.”

“I don’t want you to see more than you have to”

“If that’s how you really feel then Sam can help you damn it…but…you need to really listen now and believe what I’m saying…you are still beautiful to me Blaine…now amount of bruises, scars, cuts or whatever is going to change that…if you’d lost all your hair and had all your limbs chopped off I’d still love you simply because you are you. Now you can accept that and let me help you or you can shut me out along with everyone else and become a shell of the person I know you are…of what you can be. But that would seem like a rubbish way to honour your grandparents B. Do you really think they’d want you to give up on life? I saw a hint at what fighters they were and I thought that’s where you got it from…please don’t prove me wrong.”

“I don’t know if I can do it without them” Blaine admits

“What do you mean?” Sebastian frowns

“They used to secretly call me when they knew it would be safe when I was shut in my room after Sadie Hawkins.”

Realisation dawns on Sebastian, “You never told me that before”

“It never seemed important” Blaine pushes back and Sebastian knows not to force him to talk about it anymore at this moment. He knows his boyfriend well enough to know when to push and when to let him be and he knows that in this moment pushing would be more damaging. He also knows that by going home Blaine would be having to face his grandparents deaths due to their input on the apartment.

“Please come home with me” Sebastian asks quietly again

“Okay” Blaine agrees

Sebastian kisses Blaine’s curls, “I love you” before going and telling Dr Fitzpatrick and Patrick Blaine’s decision.

Activity then starts to organise Blaine’s discharge into Patrick’s care when Xavier approaches Sebastian, “It’s going to be hard”

“You want to say something so say it”

“It’s going to be hard for a while…it’s going to take a long time for him to recover”

“And you don’t think I know that?”

“I just mean that it would be tough on any relationship”

“Yes but here’s the thing…neither of us quit on the other when things get hard” Sebastian then turns around to address Britt, Santana, Sam, Jeff, Thad and Nick, “You lot need to   
clear out”

“And why would we do that?” Santana challenges

Before Sebastian can reply Sam stands up, “Because Blaine won’t be walking out of here and he doesn’t need an audience, Sebastian is right we should go. Imagine how you’d feel if you were in his place.”

“They’re right” Jeff agrees, “As much as we all want to see him home, it’d be selfish of us to force him to be the centre of attention at the moment.”

With that everyone agrees so the group gather their things to go, “Sam wait” Sebastian pulls the blonde into the side. “I know you will be anyway but I’ve got to go back to school tomorrow and play some catch-up so I need you to be there for him when I can. I know he’s going to have Coop and Patrick and Natasha around, but obviously Cooper and Wes have got to leave soon, in fact I think Wes has got to go early tomorrow morning and he’s going to need someone there who won’t be pushed away…and who he feels really comfortable with.”

“Oooookaaay….what else?”

“Just think about it Sam…he’s not even in a position to be able to wash himself at the moment…he can’t get his casts wet and yeah Coop may be his brother and Patrick and Natasha may be like actual parents but…”

“I get it” Sam quickly agrees, “I wouldn’t want my parents or Stacey or Stevie doing some things for me…I guess I’ll just have to come and use your amazing shower in the morning while the others hog ours.”

“Thanks Sam” Sebastian gives him a hug, slightly shocking the blonde as Sebastian didn’t initiate hugs with anyone other than Blaine.

When Santana and Brittany get home they find Rachel cuddled on her bed with tissues around her and red eyes, “What’s going on?” Brittany asks

“Why aren’t you at the theatre? Santana questions

“I’ve been told to never go back”

“What?” Brittany and Santana sit down on the bed with her

“They found out that I went to the audition…so not only have I been a terrible terrible friend but I’ve ruined my career as it was only beginning.”

“Can they do that…just fire you?” 

“According to my contract they can…plus I was warned that I’d be fired if I went to the audition, but I didn’t think they’d ever find out.”

“Okay but you can audition for other parts right?” Brittany asks and Rachel starts crying again

“No! Do you know how connected they are?! They said I’d never find work again…I’ve lost everything!”

Brittany tries to comfort Rachel but it doesn’t work, “Do you want Jesse?” 

“I doubt he’d even talk to me now…not after what I said when he told me he didn’t think I should go for TV.”

“Something along the lines of being jealous?” Santana raises an eyebrow

“Maybe” Rachel whimpers

“Then put it right. Stand on your own two feet and call him and apologise…that’s probably all he’s waiting for…that guy is head over heels for you.”

“No he’s not”

“He really is! He may be a slimeball but he’s loved you since high school Rachel” Santana tells her firmly and Brittany nods in agreement, “And you know what else you can do? Go   
back to school…call Madame Tibideaux and ask to go back”

“She won’t want to talk to me” Rachel dismisses

“Do you think Blaine should give up?” Brittany asks

“No of course not”

“Then you shouldn’t either…be the determined Rachel Berry we all know and go and fight for it Rachel…make Blainers proud…show him that it can be done, because he’s going to need it” Santana replies

“How is he?” Rachel asks

“Going home…but don’t go and see him yet” Brittany says, “They’re only letting him go home because Patrick is there for the next week. When Sebastian says he’s ready to see us, then we can see him.”

“I guess we should follow Sebastian’s lead on this” Rachel agrees

“We should…Sam agreed” Brittany tells her, “We’ll leave you to call Jesse” the blond smiles before leading her girlfriend out

It’s not long until Jesse is at their door with a bag full of ice cream containers, chocolate sauce and sprinkles.

At the hospital Blaine has finally admitted defeat and got into a wheel chair after initially being adamant about wanting to walk, albeit with a crutch. Dr Fitzpatrick had finally put that argument to an end when he told Blaine that without keeping weight completely off his knee for the next few weeks that he’d find himself back in surgery, and with only one arm free to use a crutch, it simply wasn’t possible without using a chair. So Blaine leaves hospital, his recently operated leg resting on the retractable board from the chair.

“Good to see you again Blaine” Malcom greets him lightly, Sebastian having spoken to him when he was home, “I’ve got a parcel here for you” and carefully passes it to Blaine who holds onto it with his good arm, Sebastian’s glare stopping Cooper from taking it. “Thank you…it’s good to see you too”

When they get upstairs Blaine opens to box and finds some DVDs inside along with some macarons and a couple of fresh cronuts inside, in the paper wrap of the bakery down the road from their apartment plus some popcorn and a few cans of soda. There’s also a note, ‘We thought you might like these films and guessed they’d be ones you haven’t seen yet. The other bits are to help enhance your viewing. Love JB and Artie.’

“Do you want a cronut now?” Sebastian asks

“Only if you have the other one”

“Only if we have them with coffee”

“Duh” Blaine almost smiles when Sebastian disappears into the kitchen Blaine manages to wheel himself to the music area and after looking at his piano, closes the glass door before staring out the window. 

Patrick and Cooper come back from where they’d been putting their things in the rooms they’d be staying in and find Natasha standing back and gazing at Blaine with Wes, she turns and goes to her husband, “I think I’ll leave with Wes in the morning”

“Are you sure?” Cooper asks

“I don’t think having too many people around will help and you know that if you need me I’ll be on the next plane out.

“Okay” Patrick agrees, “When do you need to go Cooper?”

“Day after next…I don’t want to but they’ve already changed the filming schedule as much as possible”

“He’d never forgive himself if you lost the part”

“I know…it’s the only reason why I’m going…otherwise I’d stay here with him” Cooper agrees

“Here we go killer” Sebastian says as he places their coffees on the coffee table next to their cronuts, now on a plate and manoeuvres Blaine when he stays staring out the window. 

He chooses not to mention the closed glass door at this time. “Good cronuts”

“Better than hospital food” Blaine agrees, his voice betraying no emotion so they finish their drinks and cronuts in silence

“What do you want to do now?”

“To be honest I’d love a shower but I know that’s not possible”

“A shower isn’t but a wash is…then how about we order some takeout? And don’t just say you’re not hungry”

“Takeout sounds good” Blaine agrees then lets Sebastian push him to their room and into their ensuite, “Bas can you just…?”

“What?” Sebastian asks when Blaine squirms awkwardly

“I need to use the toilet”

As Blaine’s only wearing sweats Sebastian is sure he’ll be able to shimmy them down with one hand so carefully lifts him from the wheelchair to the toilet and steps back into their room, only going back into the ensuite after the toilet has flushed and Blaine’s called for him.

“So how do you want to do this killer?” Sebastian asks

“It’s probably easier if I just say sat here” Blaine gestures to where he’s still perched on the toilet

“Well I am an expert at stripping you so that’s fine by me” Sebastian winks then takes Blaine’s clothes off before filling the sink with warm water and grabbing a soft fluffy washcloth which he runs all over his boyfriend’s body. “I would offer to shave for you but I’m enjoying the face hair”

Blaine manages a small laugh at that. When Sebastian’s finished and has washed his hair Blaine smiles, “Thanks Bas…I feel better for that. Can I have some clean clothes that don’t smell like hospital?”

“I think I can manage that” Sebastian passes Blaine a towel then goes and picks out loose pair of sweats and his superman lounge top from the set Blaine had got him, he then changes into the bottoms and puts his oversized superman sweater on so they’re kind of matching and helps Blaine get dressed.

“So what would everyone like for dinner?” Natasha asks when they reappear

“We were just going to order some takeout” Sebastian replies

“I’m happy to make something” she offers

“No we decided on takeout” Blaine replies, shortly but not unkindly

“I’m happy with that, but what do you fancy?” Cooper asks brightly

“What about pizza?” Sebastian suggests knowing Blaine will be able to eat it no problem, “Before you have to go back to LA and can only get the skinny kind” he teases Cooper

“New York pizza does sound good” The older Anderson gazes longingly making Wes and Sebastian laugh so that’s what they order.

By the time Blaine has eaten pizza he is exhausted, having done the most he has since the attack. When Sebastian sees him drifting off he carefully scoops him up and carries him bridal style into their bedroom before returning to get a glass of water for himself.

“Hey Sebastian” Patrick catches him carefully on his way back to Blaine, “These are the pills he’ll need when he wakes up and this is for if he needs to go to the bathroom in the night” Patrick passes him a tablet and a disposable male urinal to place on the bedside table.

“Okay…thanks” After brushing his teeth Sebastian slips into bed next to Blaine and is happy to at least have his boyfriend in his arms, in their bed, once more.

At the girls apartment Jess has found himself sandwiched in Rachel’s bed with all three of them, having a ‘sleepover night’, after Brittany had convinced him by saying Blaine used to do it with her and Sam then disappeared momentarily to change into her unicorn pyjamas. Another Romcom was playing on Rachel’s laptop when her phone started ringing, 

“It’s Burt” she frowns at the screen.

Santana pauses the film, “You could answer it Rach…just don’t give too much away if he asks about Blainers.”

“None of you are here” Rachel tells them sternly before putting her phone on speaker, “Hi Burt”

“Hi Rachel…I’m sorry for calling so late”

“Why are you calling Burt?”

“Kurt isn’t home and yours is the only number I have for someone living in New York”

“You’re in the city?”

“Yes…Kurt has got himself in some trouble so I’ve come to help him out”

“I see…well I have no idea where he might be. We don’t talk anymore Burt…I thought you knew that”

“I didn’t realise you had absolutely no contact with him”

“None at all and to be honest…as harsh as it sounds…it’s better that way. I’m sorry I can’t help but if there’s nothing else…”

“Can you pass on my wishes to Blaine?”

“I’m sorry?”

“I err heard he was attacked”

“No thanks to Kurt”

Rachel’s abruptness catches Burt by surprise, “Was he hurt badly?”

“I’m sorry Burt but I am not at liberty to discuss any of that with you”

“It’s okay…I understand” Burt sighs, “Thank you for your time Rachel” with that he disconnects the call and sees his son approach

“Dad what are you doing here?”

“I thought I’d come and see you bud…sounds like you’re having a rough time and I thought you could do with a visit”

“Well it’s good to see you” Kurt says stiffly as he opens the door

“So where were you?”

“Work…today was my afternoon at Vogue remember?”

“Oh yeah…I wasn’t sure if you would have felt up to going in”

“I figured it was best to keep busy” Kurt lies

“Sensible” Burt agrees, “How about we order some takeout since I just dropped in like this?”

“Fine…but salad and grilled meats…nothing fatty or fried”

“Still looking after your old man huh”

“Sit down, I’ll get a menu”

Burt sits down and turns on the TV, ‘We are appealing for witnesses for anyone who saw this horrific attack or who thinks they may know who the attackers are. If the victim hadn’t been discovered as quickly as he was the doctors are under no doubt that he would have died. These men had no care for their victim and even threw his body in a dumpster when they were finished. Any information could be invaluable so please do not hesitate to call’. 

Burt notices Kurt hovering behind him, “I take it that appeal was about Blaine?” Kurt nods. “Then tomorrow you have got to tell them everything you know, and for the love of god give them Blaine’s bag so his belongings can be returned to him.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm travelling with work over the next few days so please don't expect an update before the second half of the week!


	107. Blam

When Sebastian wakes up the next morning he heads into the kitchen to start the coffee machine and finds it already done with Patrick in the kitchen, “You’re up early” he comments.

“It’s called being a doctor, I swear no matter what time I fall to sleep I wake up if I have six solid hours…over the years you get used to having a small amount of sleep.”

“I guess you have to” Sebastian replies

“How did you sleep?”

Sebastian raises an eyebrow, “It’s not really me you want to ask about”

“I want to know about the both you of” Patrick tells him kindly yet without room for doubt

“Both of us slept better than we did at the hospital. He didn’t wake up so much and didn’t seem to have any nightmares, well not like the Sadie Hawkins ones.” Patrick hums thoughtfully and Sebastian excuses himself so he can go and jump in the shower before he has to leave for college. The idea of going to school was not a welcome one as the last thing he wants to do at this moment is leave Blaine. Before Sebastian gets in the shower he texts Sam to let him know he’s safe to come over whenever he’s ready, and gives his boyfriend a gentle kiss on his forehead where he is still dozing in their bed. 

It’s a matter of minutes before Sam arrives, having been up already following his conversation with Sebastian yesterday. He’d already given the guys a heads up so they knew not to expect him around during the day, even though they’d all be at college anyway. Sam takes his trainers off at the door out of habit and makes his way straight to Blaine and Sebastian’s room so doesn’t see Patrick in the kitchen. When Sam sees Blaine sleeping somewhat peacefully though obviously uncomfortably he smiles a little before removing his zip-up hoodie, leaving him in sweats and a long sleeve Henley – he’d purposefully dressed so casually – then slips into bed next to Blaine and puts his arm around his best friend as much as he dared, knowing that Blaine normally loved to cuddle onto something and be cuddled in return, something his injuries made very difficult.

“Hey Sam” Sebastian greets him softly when he comes out of the shower

“Hey man”

“I see you made yourself comfortable” Sebastian smirks

“Well it’s still early so I thought I might as well”

“Thanks for being here for him”

“You don’t need to thank me…I’ll always be here for him…and you. I know you’re both used to people leaving you but I won’t….and it’s not my place, but for what it’s worth I think your dad is actually really trying…I think the realisation that it could have been you who…who…who nearly died” Sam gulps, “Really hit home and scared him.”

“I wish it was me…nobody should go through this…let alone twice…not after what happened at Thanksgiving, and now his grandparents.”

“I know dude…I feel the same way”

They both finish that line of conversation as Blaine stirs, “Bastian?” He asks softly

“I’m here B”

Blaine turns his face, eyes still closed, and presses into Sam’s shoulder, immediately his brow furrows, “Sammy?” he asks as he opens his eyes

“Hi BD”

“What?” Blaine asks a little dazed

“Sam snuck over and jumped in my side when I was in the shower” Sebastian rolls his eyes

“Well the other guys were hogging our bathrooms and some bro cuddles sounded amazing…so you’re stuck with me today dude…this bed is too comfy to leave”

“I’m sorry I can’t be here today killer” Sebastian tells him as he cards a hand through his curls

“I don’t want you getting behind because of me”

“Exactly, so I’m going to go and make you proud” Sebastian winks

“You always do” Blaine says softly before yawning

“Go back to sleep if you’re still tired” Sam says, “I’ll join you”

“I need the bathroom” Blaine says dejectedly

“Well that’s easy enough” Sebastian picks him up before he protests and takes him to the toilet before giving him some privacy, Sam taking note for later. When Blaine is ready Sebastian takes him back to bed and hands him the glass of water and tablets before tucking him back in once the tablets are swallowed. “I’ve got to go but if you need anything, anything at all just call me B”

“We will” Sam answers as Blaine nods softly

Sebastian gives his boyfriend one last kiss before he reluctantly has to leave him.

“You don’t have to be here Sammy”

“Nowhere else I’d rather be”

“Yeah right”

“I’m here for you…no matter what so get used to it…I’m not going to be scared off…I know I’m not Sebastian but I’m not leaving you either and I will always love you…maybe even more now I know what it feels like to be scared of losing you. It felt as painful as when Stacy got really sick that time…that’s how much you mean to me.”

“But she’s your sister”

“And I mean it when I say you’re like my brother…no…my twin brother…so like it or not dude you and Sebastian are both stuck with me forever”

“Forever sounds good” Blaine whispers as his eyes close and Sam knows that admittance probably wouldn’t have been said if Blaine had been more with it. Despite the curly haired boy wearing his heart on his sleeve, at times of distress he really would internalise everything.

Patrick goes to check on Blaine shortly after Sebastian leaves and smiles when he finds not one but two boys in bed, both fast asleep with Sam having pulled Blaine against him as   
much as possible to provide the best cuddle he can without hurting him.

Cooper and Wes are the next out of their room with Natasha joining a meeting about a patient online meaning she was shut in hers and Patrick’s.

“How’d you sleep?” Patrick asks them both as he pours them some freshly made coffee

“Pretty well” Wes replies, “Cooper fidgets a lot less than Blaine”

“Oh man he used to kick something rotten when he was little”

“Well Sam seems to have no problems sharing a bed with him” Patrick replies

“Sam?” Cooper frowns

Patrick nods, “He obviously came round early this morning, not that I heard him come in, he’s in there with Blaine now…they’re both asleep”

Cooper, Wes, and Natasha when she joins them, all look in on Blaine and Sam and smile. After they’ve finally closed the door again Sam mutters, “They’re gone…you can stop pretending to be asleep now”

“How did you know?”

“You went all tense and your breathing changed…so what do you want to do?”

“Shower”

“Me too”

“Well lucky for you”

“Come on…we can do it together”

“Sam…I can’t get my casts wet”

“No but I can shower while you have a strip wash…and if you need some help I can do that too” Sam waggles his eyebrows to try and make Blaine laugh, “So come on dude” 

Without giving Blaine a chance to protest Sam picks him up and sits him on the toilet before running a sink of nice warm water and getting a clean flannel and Blaine’s shower gel. 

“I’ll do your hair for you after”

With that Sam starts stripping and after some encouragement, Blaine does the same. Sam wastes no time stepping into the shower and turning the water on as Blaine starts to wash himself. “Hey Blaine”

Blaine looks up to see Sam’s ass pressed against the glass of the shower, “Sam!” he almost laughs, “You better clean that off when you’re done”

“But then you won’t have a print of my ass to look at”

“Sorry but I prefer Bas’s”

“I’m just about done dude” Sam says a little while later before shutting off the shower and stepping out

“You could have given me more warning” Blaine chastises as he tries to cover himself up

“Nothing I haven’t seen before”

“Not like this” Blaine grumbles

Sam pulls the towel away from Blaine, “Look…as far as I’m concerned you’re still the same Blaine, and I know that’s how Sebastian feels. You’re the only one who’s seeing yourself differently and I guess I can get that, but hiding yourself isn’t going to make it better…remember when I thought I was disgusting and you made me see I wasn’t? That I’m not?   
Well if me and Sebastian are going to have to make you see then we will, in different ways, so finish washing and I’ll do your hair for you.”

Blaine sits and thinks for a few moments before finally uncovering himself and finishing up, accepting some help for his back and then leans over the sink when Sam has run some clean water and lets his friend wash his hair.

“Thanks” Blaine says shyly once they’re both dressed again

“No problem…so what do you want to do?”

Blaine shrugs, “Not much I can do…and I’m feeling pretty tired again”

Sam frowns, “You better eat something first…breakfast and ultimate blanket fort? We can watch some movies and it doesn’t matter if you just drift in and out then…so only question is…turn your bed into it or make it in the living room…we could pull the couch out and make a canopy and…I’ve just answered my own question” Sam declares then helps Blaine into his chair

“Sounds good” Blaine agrees and Sam takes him to the kitchen where everyone was still gathered

“Hey squirt” Cooper greets him

“Hey Coop”

“So when did you sneak in Sammy boy?”

“I didn’t sneak…and when Sebastian was in the shower…we’re going to have a Blam day!”

“I’m jealous I can’t stay for it” Wes says and Blaine looks at him, “I have to get back to school, but I can come back at weekends and I’m always on Skype or my phone if you need   
me”

“Okay” Blaine agrees and accepts the hug Wes gives him

“And I’ve got to get back to clinic” Natasha adds

“I understand” Blaine acknowledges

“I’m not sure you do” Natasha says

“I think he might” Sam smiles

“Coop?” Blaine asks with wide eyes

“I’m here until tomorrow…then I’ve got to go back to set but I’ll be back okay? And I’ll be calling to see what a terrible patient you’re being”

“Will you join us?” Blaine asks so quietly as if he’s afraid of the answer

“For Blam day?” Cooper smiles and Blaine nods in such a shy way Cooper has a flash back to when his brother was little

“Of course Blainey”

Natasha and Wes both go and get their things ready while Cooper creates a mix of cereal for Blaine as Sam helps himself to some yoghurt, fruit and toast. After eating Blaine picks out films while Sam gets Cooper to help him turn the sofa-bed into the ultimate blanket fort so they will still be able to watch the TV and collects snacks and drinks. Patrick settles on the arm chair with his laptop so he’s nearby but can make use of his time by catching up on some paperwork.

Cooper, Blaine and Sam settle with Blaine nestled between the other two and it’s not long before his eyes are growing heavy again, “Have you heard anything else Coop?”

“About what buddy?”

“Nona and Grandpa”

“Not yet, but we will soon…I’ll get an update for you okay?”

“Okay” with that Blaine goes to sleep leaving everyone else in the room unsure of what to say or how to progress so Patrick calls Xavier to see if he has any idea of how things will unfold given Blaine’s grandparents’ nationality and living arrangements

When Sebastian gets home he finds Blaine asleep on the sofa bed with Cooper and Sam either side of them and Patrick in the kitchen cooking something for dinner.

“How’s he been doing?” Sebastian asks Sam and Cooper softly

“Sleeping a lot and clearly missing you” Sam replies, “And reluctantly accepting help”

“Not that you’ve been giving him a choice” Cooper comments

“You’ve seen that it’s the only way dude”

Patrick comes through from the kitchen, “I hope spaghetti bolognaise is okay for everyone”

“Good for me…did Natasha and Wes get away okay?” Sebastian answers

“They did…you can tell neither wanted to leave yet obviously Wes didn’t really have a choice and I agree with Natasha that it’s the best thing for him. I spoke to your dad today.”

“And?”

“He’s looking into how things might proceed given that Camille and Joseph lived in Italy but were Filipino."

“Okay…that makes sense”

“He and Sarah should actually be here soon…they’re joining us for dinner”

“Did you think to ask before inviting them over?” Sebastian asks annoyed

“He said he has an update for Blaine”

“So B knows they’re coming?” Patrick’s face answers Sebastian’s question, “Look you don’t know how grateful I am to you for everything you’re doing, but don’t meddle in things you don’t understand. Ever think that my dad’s presence isn’t exactly fun for me or Blaine? Not every family is as happy as yours Patrick so don’t try and force them to be” Sebastian storms to his bedroom.

Sam looks to Patrick, “I know you’re only doing what you think is best, but stuff like that just doesn’t work with Sebastian, plus a lot more has happened between him and his dad than any of us know, apart from sleeping beauty here” he gestures to Blaine, “And he doesn’t take surprises well…plus this is his home dude” Sam tries to explain, “You know how hard Blaine can push back to keep the world away…well Sebastian does it twice as hard…as far as I can tell, before Blaine, nobody could really reach him”

Patrick walks to Sebastian and Blaine’s room and knocks gently on the door, only entering after he’s been told to, “I’m sorry I overstepped.” Sebastian doesn’t say anything but continues putting some clean washing away Sam had done earlier that day. “I don’t know enough about what’s happened between you and your dad, but I do know he’s trying, that he’s sincere in his attempts to try and build a relationship with you…and Blaine. Most of all, I know that if my dad ever tried to do that with me, I’d be wary like you but I’d also want to give it a go…but that’s now I have the perspective of being a father myself. Before Tabatha and Wes…and Blaine honestly I can’t say that I would have.”

“What do you mean your dad?” Sebastian frowns and takes a seat on the bed, Patrick sitting down on the chair in the bedroom, just across from Sebastian.

“My biological father” Patrick clarifies, “My mom died due to complications during my birth, then when I was very young, two going on three, my dad gave me up for adoption”

“I didn’t know”

“I didn’t expect you to” Patrick smiles

“Do you know why?”

“My biological parents had me young and ultimately he couldn’t cope being a young single father, so he gave me up. I was very lucky though, I was adopted by two amazing people who truly made me feel as their own and gave me a fantastic childhood. I can remember glimmers of my biological dad though. When I was your age if he’d come back around I wouldn’t have wanted anything to do with him, but honestly becoming a dad myself changed that opinion. It’s the most terrifying thing in the world becoming responsible for another life on such an intense level, and I’m a doctor! So I guess it gave me perspective that I didn’t have before…and that’s why I guess I was pushing for you to give your dad a chance…but I shouldn’t have as it’s your decision and I respect that.”

Sebastian nods, taking everything in and processing this information, “B’s right…you’re much better than a shrink” he tries to joke.

“Don’t let Natasha hear you say that!” Patrick laughs

“But you helped Blaine a lot before…I know he never saw a therapist…I know it was Wes and you who really got through to him.”

“As much as my reaction is to say Blaine should go and see a therapist, I know he’d close up and not let that person in at all so they wouldn’t be able to help him no matter what…and I have a feeling you’d do the same…so if you do ever want to talk, I’m more than happy to listen.”

“You’re right about B and therapists…and me…got proof of that” Sebastian has no idea why he’s just admitted that. The only other people who have ever known was his grandmother and Blaine.

“You went to see someone once?”

“I tried for my grandmother…I pushed back harder”

“Therapists are amazing…they do amazing things every day, and as a naïve new doctor you think they can help everyone, but that’s not true, some people just need support around them and time to work it out themselves.”

Sebastian stands, “Thanks Patrick…and I’ll…I’ll think about what you’ve said”

“Good…the only other thing I’m going to say about it is, I’ve never heard a person on their death bed talk about something they did and regretted, the regrets are always for the things they never did.”

“You’ve used that line on Blaine before”

“So I take it you’ve already heard it?”

“Afraid so”

“Damn I need some new material” Patrick claps Sebastian on the shoulder then the duo head into the living room where Sebastian finds Blaine coming to

“Hey beautiful”

“Hey gorgeous” Blaine smiles sleepily and yawns before reaching up at Sebastian, “Bathroom”

Sebastian scoops Blaine up and carries him to the ensuite. It’s not long before they both reappear. “So I hear we’ve got a couple more guests tonight” Blaine comments

“That we do” Patrick confirms, “And they should be here soon so I’m going to start the pasta”

Sebastian sits down in the arm chair with Blaine draped across his lap so Cooper and Sam both pack away the blanket fort and fold the sofa back so there are enough seats for everyone.

While all this had been happening, Kurt had been at the police station with his dad and lawyer. Burt’s waiting in the reception area when Kurt finally reappears.

“So how did it go?”

“Well since I’ve given them Blaine’s belongings to pass back to him they can’t charge me for theft, though it’s not as if I was planning on keeping them forever, I would have given them back when I see him.”

“If you see him” Burt reminds his son before turning to the lawyer, “Thank you for your time today”

“No problem…you need to take note of what the detective and inspector said Mr Hummel. You did the right thing today by providing a statement, but your actions beforehand could have brought consequences upon yourself. I also suggest you don’t try and reach out to Mr Anderson personally”

“You should listen to him Kurt…let Blaine come to you if he wants to…so what do you want to do now?”

“I actually have to go to work…I can’t miss another day. Isabelle has been so understanding I can’t let her down again.”

“I’m sure she wouldn’t see it like that but I respect you for that attitude. I’ll see you back at the loft later.”

“You still have the spare key right?”

“I do” Burt taps his pocket before heading off

A short time later Kurt enters to Vogue.com office, “Kurt you’re not due in today!” Isabelle greets him

“No but I had some free time this afternoon so thought I could make some of the time back to you” 

“There’s no need”

“It’d be good to be busy”

“They be busy” she flourishes her arms towards his desk.

In truth Kurt just couldn’t cope with being with his dad all afternoon and seeing the disappointment in his gaze. He’s just glad his dad didn’t see him slip the letter into Blaine’s bag or he knows there would have been even more lectures, but he knew what he was doing. He got to say what he needed to say for now and Blaine would surely reach out once he read it. 

Time passes by quickly when Kurt gets stuck into work so is shocked when he is disturbed and asked to sign for a brown packet. Of course he doesn’t recognise the official stationery of Xavier’s law firm that he owns and manages as well as being State Attorney so quickly starts reading the contents intrigued. 

“Oh my god” he gasps, “No…he can’t do this!” Kurt quickly calls his lawyer

“I’m sorry Mr Hummel but Mr Davies is in a meeting right now that cannot be disturbed. I can take a message for you” the secretary says

“Please can you ask him to call me back as soon as possible. It’s urgent and in relation to Mr Hummel”

After speaking with his lawyer Kurt sits at his desk dumbstruck. 

“What’s wrong Kurt?” Isabelle asks

“Nothing” he quickly stuffs the paperwork back into the packet it came in

“Is that something you need to talk to me about?”

“No no it’s all fine”

“Kurt…I don’t want to have to remind you that it’s stated in your contract that you have to report any proceedings”

“You saw didn’t you?”

Isabelle nods, “I think you need to come into my office” There Kurt has no choice but to tell her everything, including the just received and very much valid restraining order. “I’m sorry Kurt, but given everything you’ve just told me I have no choice but to suspend you for two weeks.”

“What?!”

“If you’d been honest from the beginning we might have been able to avoid this, I suggest you go home and take the time to get yourself back into a better place."

Kurt collects his things and heads home, not having anywhere else to go that afternoon.

“What’s wrong Kurt?” Burt asks as soon as he sees his son

“Nothing” Kurt drops his bag and as he hadn’t done the fastenings up properly the contents flies out so Burt jumps up to help and that’s when he sees and quickly picks up the thick brown envelope. “Dad don’t”

But it’s too late, Burt opens the envelope that contains the restraining order and a document of all the incidences that have allowed it to be put in place, “I can’t believe how much you’ve been keeping from me Kurt”

“Yeah well I’m not your little boy anymore”

“No you’re not…because the boy I raised wouldn’t have done these things, and don’t even try to justify them” Burt cuts his son off when he opens his mouth, “Keep away from Blaine Anderson Kurt, no good can come of it…it’s over…accept that you won’t be in his life again…in any way”

Back at the Seblaine apartment Xavier and Sarah have just arrived, “I believe this belongs to you” Xavier passes Blaine his bag that had been given to him by the detective and inspector earlier that day, shortly after Kurt had given them his statement and handed it over.

Blaine starts going through his bag, “Is everything in there killer?” Sebastian asks, not putting it past Kurt to hold on to some things.

“It looks like it” Blaine replies as he pulls out his ipad, notebook, wallet and other items and then the letter, Blaine looks up, “Bas” and hands him the letter 

“Is this what I think it is?”

“It’s his hand writing”

Sebastian turns to his dad, “When was the restraining order delivered?”

“Today…but he would have received it after placing that in the bag so we can’t get him on this one”

“What do you want to do killer?”

“I don’t want to know details, can you just tell me what he wants?”

“I think that’s pretty obvious but okay” Sebastian opens the envelope and everyone can see his face change from annoyance to anger. After he’s finished he screws the paper up and throws it.

“Bastian?” Blaine looks up at him so Sebastian sits down

Sebastian takes a deep breath, “He wants you to know that he’s sorry and that he hopes you aren’t badly hurt. He still wants to talk to you and he wants you to know how much he loves you”

Patrick ushers everyone into the kitchen, Sam picking the screwed up letter on his way.

“If he loved me he wouldn’t have left me how he did and if he saw me in the ICU how can he hope I wasn’t badly hurt. He’s sick” 

“Not going to argue there”

“I love you” Blaine emphasises

“And I love you” Sebastian dares to lean forward and kiss Blaine, really kiss him. Something they haven’t done since the attack. Sebastian knows Blaine’s having difficulties with looking at himself due to his injuries and that has been affecting them on the level they are able to be intimate at given injuries, so he is overwhelmed with relief when Blaine kisses back. After a while they pull apart and rest their foreheads together, “I needed that” Sebastian breathes

“Me too” Blaine whispers so Sebastian cups his cheek gently and kisses him again 

“I’ll let them know dinner is ready” Sarah says when the pasta is done and Patrick has placed the pans on the table

“Don’t” Sam stops her then shouts through, “Dinner’s ready dudes!” When the couple appear with kiss swollen lips everyone understands and don’t say anything.

“Will you tell the police he hid that letter in my bag?” Blaine asks as he twirls spaghetti onto his fork with his free hand

“It’s best if I do” Xavier answers

“I think so too” Blaine replies flatly

Cooper is relieved but can’t quite get a hold on his baby brother’s moods at the moment. His thought process is stopped though when Sebastian’s phone starts ringing and he curses in French.

“She not giving up this time?” Blaine asks

“Doesn’t look like it” Sebastian drops his phone onto the table

Xavier sees who’s calling, “Can I answer?”

Sebastian raises and eyebrow and smirks, his dark yet amused smirk so Blaine and Sam share a look, “Go ahead” Sebastian gestures to his phone so his dad answers the call and moves to the living room.

Everyone hears Xavier speaking French, Sebastian and Blaine clearly understanding him and Sarah picking up bits of the conversation.

“Who is that?” Sam dares to ask

“My darling mother” Sebastian drawls, his tone leaving no doubt that he clearly feels a great amount of hostility towards her

“She won’t be bothering you again” Xavier tells his son seriously, in business mode, as he sits back down, leaving Sebastian looking amused as he’d heard his dad turn into legal mode with his mum in regards to his grandparents’ will and the clause that stopped her touching the money left to him.

They finish eating then get comfy in the living room, Blaine draped across Sebastian’s lap on the chair once again. “Patrick said you’d have an update”

“I do…they have a few very promising leads”

“Wait seriously?” Blaine asks clearly shocked

“Yes…they’re going to keep me up-to-date as things unfold and I’ll make sure you know what’s happening”

“I didn’t think anything would happen”

“It’s progress…promising progress” Xavier encourages

Cooper’s phone rings so he excuses himself to answer.

“What else?” Sebastian asks his dad as it's clear to him there's more 

“Come on Sam…you can help me clean up and show me where some things go” Patrick pulls Sam into the kitchen, Sarah joining them.

“Sebastian…it might be best if you give us a few minutes.”

“Bas stays” Blaine says immediately and feels his boyfriend’s arms tighten around him

“Okay…it’s in relation to your first attack…there is enough evidence to get the case reopened if you wish”

Blaine’s Earth drops from beneath him, “What do you mean?”

“There is evidence in the files that could be used to make those responsible face the consequences they always should have done.”

“But there wasn’t any evidence…my parents said any statements put those who I identified in the hall at the time when it happened and because of my injuries it was questionable, even though I remember everything…not that they wanted to press charges anyway, but it made it pointless.”

“Some statements did…but others didn’t, and there is some surveillance footage. The quality isn’t great but it’s good enough to be used.”

Blaine starts crying and turns his face to bury it in Sebastian’s neck as the taller does what he can to try and bring some comfort to his boyfriend, though he is obviously incredibly angry at hearing this.

“What’s going on?” Cooper asks as he re-enters the living room

Xavier is of course bound by confidentiality but when Sebastian feels Blaine shake his head he knows not to say anything either

“Another time Cooper” Sebastian says firmly

“Tell me what’s going on”

“It’s not up to us to tell you” Xavier says placatingly 

“Blaine”

Blaine keeps his face buried but again shakes his head

“Just leave it for now Cooper” Sebastian tells him with such a look he doesn’t push again though he desperately wants to but doesn’t move

Sebastian stands with Blaine and looks to his dad, “Come on” signalling for him to follow to finish the necessary conversation

“What’s going on?” Sam asks Cooper

“No idea…nobody would tell me…I’m his big brother…I have a right to know!” he exclaims obviously annoyed

“My mum always says nobody has a right to anything that’s not a basic need” Sam replies calmingly so Cooper just flops back onto the sofa in a grump

In the bedroom Blaine has calmed down and stopped crying.

“I can only imagine what you are feeling, but you had a right to know, you should be able to get justice if you want to” Xavier says matter of factly

“What’s the point?” Blaine replies blankly

This is what Sebastian truly feared most, more signs that Blaine was giving up.

“What do you mean?” Sebastian prods 

“What’s the point? It happened ages ago…and my parents…I can’t…nothing should shock me after Thanksgiving but yet…”

“The point is that these guys are still out there, unless they’ve been locked up for something else, and could still be making lives hell for people like us. Putting them away could make some people safer, who’s to say they stopped at you?”

“I’m tired of fighting for everyone…each time I think that’s it…that everything is on the table there’s always more”

“Then fight for yourself”

“I’m not sure I’m worth it” Blaine dismisses easily

That last confession breaks Sebastian, particularly as he’s the one who has seen Blaine retreat and wallow how nobody else has, and he can’t keep himself checked anymore as every day he’s felt like the person he loves has started slowly slipping away from him, “Then fight for me and fight for your grandparents and Kitty and everyone else that has drawn strength from you. Fight because it’s the fucking right thing to do and because that’s what you do…because you’re Blaine god damn Anderson and you don’t know another way. All of the people you look up to fought…granted probably not as much but you won’t be anything if you give up now and then your parents would have won and you’d have let them”

“Don’t” Blaine warns back

“Or what?” Sebastian shouts, Xavier at this point is doing what he can to fade into the corner

“I said don’t” Blaine threatens again

“What you going to do about it?” Sebastian stands challengingly over his boyfriend “It’s not as if you’re going to fight back anymore is it?”

“Fuck you” Blaine spits and Sebastian knows he’s now winning, that Blaine is finally starting to fight back when he’s being such an asshole

“Seriously?” Sebastian laughs darkly, “That’s it?! What happened to Red Leader? Does any of the stuff you say you stand for count anymore? Is that it? You’re going to let the assholes of the world walk all over you…again! Maybe you should give Hummel a call after all” he sneers

“Shut up!” Blaine shouts back and manages to stand on his uninjured leg, pulling himself as tall as he can, “Or I’ll make you and don’t think I won’t”

Sebastian immediately changes and smiles a genuine smile, “Welcome back killer”

The sudden change snaps Blaine out of it, “You’re a fucking asshole, you know that right?” and he grans fistfuls of Sebastian's jumper

“But you wouldn’t have me any other way” Sebastian smirks

“You might want to wait a while before asking me that…that last one was a low blow”

“But it worked” This time Sebastian doesn’t hesitate and kisses Blaine fiercely, the two only breaking apart when Xavier clears his throat.

“So erm…how would you like me to proceed?”

“Get the case reopened and do what you can” Blaine says with such determination the older Smythe can’t help but be impressed at Blaine or his son for getting through to his partner like that, showing great wisdom and emotional maturity. 

“Is everything okay?” Cooper asks when the three return to the living room

“You can tell them” Blaine instructs Xavier, so he does, Cooper can’t believe what he’s hearing, but is happy his brother may be getting justice after all, after everything

After starting at his best bro Sam declares, “You look more like you…you haven’t really looked like you yet”

“You can thank Bas” Blaine replies

“Well duh!” Is Sam’s response, “Well your phone should be charged so you might want to turn it on”

“I’m not sure”

“I think you should”

“Why?” Blaine frowns

“Because Kitty will hurt me if you don’t”

Blaine rolls his eyes, “Pass it here then”


	108. Unicorn pyjamas

Blaine spent a good amount of time returning missed messages from Kitty, Marley and Ryder who’d all been worried when he’d not replied to them like normal and from the fact that Sam or anyone else they’d tried hadn’t told them anything either, including Hunter, who Blaine made a note to thank.

Blaine sends messages to Ryder and Marely that should placate them while not giving anything away, not feeling ready to deal with that yet. Kitty was another matter though as he was aware he’d be putting Hunter in a difficult position otherwise, so has a difficult conversation with her, relaying the outline of what had happened, but no more than he needed to. Afterwards he goes to bed and Sebastian joins him, completing schoolwork sat against the headboard so he could be with Blaine.

Sam messages when he’s got home okay, Blaine having been clearly concerned about him walking by himself in the dark, something everyone understood considering. Cooper also gets an early night, needing to think things through in regards to his parents and having a relatively early flight the next day so he can get back to set on time, which leaves Patrick to get to know Xavier and Sarah more, the three quickly clicking and making plans to have dinner when back in Ohio with Natasha too.

Xavier goes to say goodbye to Sebastian considering there’s still clearly a light on in the bedroom and smiles at what he sees. Sebastian is still propped against the headboard with his glasses on but he’s drifted to sleep with his laptop on his lap and Blaine pillowed against him, one of Sebastian’s arms keeping him safely pressed into his side. Carefully Xavier moves the laptop, placing it on the chest of drawers and turns the light off before making a hasty exit, not wanting to overstep boundaries. 

The next morning Sam comes around just as before and helps Blaine wash when he wakes up, Sebastian having another packed day at school. The boys have just settled in the living room after eating breakfast when there is a knock at the door, which Patrick answers as he was heading down to collect the post.

“Don’t worry, we’re prepared to leave if he’s not ready to see us, but Britt couldn’t wait with no news any longer” Santana tells him

“Okay...did you travel here like that?”

“We got car service” Rachel answers and he nods before continuing on his way.

The three see Blaine being cuddled as much as he can by Sam while looking at his laptop screen, trying to go through his emails.

“Blainey?” Brittany asks cautiously

“What…what are you three doing here?” Blaine questions clearly shocked to see them and a little uncomfortable

“We can go if you want by we wanted to see how you were doing…I couldn’t wait any longer” The blonde replies shyly

“Maybe one more day off wouldn’t be a bad thing…then when Michael comes around tomorrow you’ll know what you’re facing and he can catch you up without you having to read everything” Sam tells his best friend reassuringly while gesturing to the laptop screen

“Okay” Blaine agrees after a few moments and Patrick takes his laptop and notices Blaine’s eyes looking sore

“You’re eyes hurting?”

“A little” Blaine replies as he rubs them after taking off his glasses

Patrick fetches Blaine’s eye drops, “Use these as often as you feel you need to for a few days, then if it doesn’t get better, let me know” he tells Blaine as he administers the drops before giving Blaine the medication he needs to take.

Sam looks at the three girls, “You came wearing unicorn pyjamas?”

“We brought you both some too” Brittany smiles and passes Sam a bag

“I’m not going to be good company” Blaine yawns

Brittany looks at him thoughtfully, “Because you’re tired?”

“Mostly” Blaine agrees, fighting the urge to hide away 

“So in that case get into your new pyjamas, which we already washed with lavender softener, and we can pull the couch out and have lots of blankets and cushions and ice cream and watch some movies and sleep and I’ll paint your nails for you again if you want?” Brittany is smiling so hopefully and the effort the three have obviously gone to when Blaine takes in the bags of groceries and pyjamas, he can’t say no.

“What colours have you got with you?” Blaine asks after a few moments

“All of them an I brought my varnish pens and have been practising bowties and different shapes” she beams

“Sam...it looks like we should get changed”

Sam ruffles Blaine’s hair before wheeling him to the bedroom after taking the bag of pyjamas from Santana. It’s obvious who’s pyjamas are who’s from the size and the style. All the girls’ and both the boys’ pyjamas are pants with a matching button up long sleeve top. Blaine’s are a pale blue version of Brittany’s, with an all over print of small unicorns and rainbows, with neon pink piping on the edges, in contrast to her pale pink and bright blue edging. Rachel is wearing a yellow pair with a larger, unicorn only print. Santana was wearing a brink pink pair with a large rainbow on the back with a unicorn underneath stood on a cloud. Sam’s pair are a rich red version of Blaine and Brittany’s with royal blue piping.

Sam and Blaine join the girls, who with Patrick’s help have created a ridiculously comfy looking bed with lots of cushions for them to be propped up against and blankets they can cuddle in. 

“So we’re thinking first DVD is Bring it On?” Rachel smiles

“Hey that’s a chick flick I like” Sam smiles

“Oh come on Sam you actually like most of them” Blaine replies as Sam helps him settle on the bed before getting in next to him, Brittany, Rachel and Santana squeezing on the other side of Blaine.

Cooper comes out of his room with his suitcase in hand, “Well what have we here then?” he smiles at the group, “Sam move” he jabs at the blonde boy playfully  
Sam moves without question knowing Cooper only has so much time before he has to leave, “Come on…you three can help get drinks and snacks” the girls follow to leave the brothers in private

“Looking snazzy” Cooper teases Blaine as he settles next to him, his brother automatically cuddling into him

“When do you have to go?” 

“Soon…I wish I didn’t have to”

“I wish you didn’t have to either”

“I’ll be back soon" 

"…I know…but you need to go and be awesome”

“Well that I can guarantee” Cooper teases, “I love you squirt”

“I love you too”

“I need you to promise me something…promise me you’ll keep letting people in like I know you’ve been forcing yourself too.”

“What?”

“I know how much you wanted to hide away when the girls arrived Blaine…but you did the right thing letting them stay…let your friends in, it can only help both you and Sebastian. He was so broken when I first got to the hospital…I can only imagine how he felt before he knew if you were going to live or not, and you both need the support of everyone around you so don’t shut them out…and don’t shut Nona and Grandpa out. They may not be here anymore but shutting them out will only make the pain worse.”

“What?” Blaine repeats

“Open the music area back up”

“I can’t”

“You can…you can do far more than you give yourself credit for Blainey…always have. I’m not going to force you here and now but please, don’t shut out your music, what you have…it’s a gift and they helped you find and nurture that gift. Honour them by soaring with it as high as we all know you can.” With that Cooper kisses the top of Blaine’s head and squeezes him as much as he dares. “Now I’ve got to go…but I’ll message you and call you as much as I can”

Patrick, who’d been hovering near the front door gives Cooper a hug goodbye before going and comforting Blaine, how he used to on evenings he’d hear the young boy wake up screaming from the dreams that’d haunt him. Blaine seems so young again to him as he lets Patrick pull him into his side. Once Patrick hears Blaine’s breathing calm down and knows that his tears, though silent, are slowing he speaks, “Cooper spoke a lot of sense”

“I guess”

“I’m sure when the shell shock wears off you’ll know it for sure” Patrick gently pushes Blaine’s hair so he can look at the stitches on his temple, “You’ve always been a speedy healer and this is no exception” at that moment Sam sticks his head out of the kitchen and quickly retreats when Patrick shakes his head at him. “Can I take a look?” Patrick gestures to Blaine’s abdomen, when the curly haired boy nods Patrick undoes some of the buttons on Blaine’s pyjamas and carefully lifts the dressing. “Be careful when you wash but I want to keep the dressing off now…these are looking really good too…so physically we couldn’t hope for better…but I’m more worried about what’s going on in here” he pokes Blaine’s forehead. “Though it does seem like Sebastian had a break through with you” he smiles

“You could say that”

“In his own unique way?”

“Well you know he has a way with words” Blaine smiles

“Xavier told me…he was very proud of Sebastian in that moment…and you. Said he’s seen people sink after far less…as have I”

“Hmm”

“So when Sebastian comes back…I really think you should open that door…you don’t have to do anything else yet…just acknowledge what you’ve shut behind that glass door because it can’t stay shut forever…don’t lose a part of yourself…It must seem like your life has turned into some sort of dreadful drama that’s tragedy after tragedy, but it’s up to you how it plays out.”

“What do you mean?”

“You can fight…like all of us who love you know you can or you can roll over and take what is hurled at you, because I think you need to be prepared that if Camile and Joseph have done what I think they have…your parents are going to try and fight you for it”

“For what?”

“I’m very sure your grandparents have left everything to you and Cooper…I’m not sure it’s going to go down very well”

“I don’t want to think about that…I’d give everything to have them back”

“I know you would, but now you can do is honour their memory everyday by living your life and honouring their wishes, whatever they may be.”

“I used to wish I lived with them…and I used to wish you’d been my dad”

“Don’t be an idiot…that’s exactly what I am”

“Bas said you told him about your family…it really helped him so thank you”

“No need to thank me…it’s nothing I’m ashamed of and even if it was, if it helped him it was more than worth it…wow it looks like you guys have more than snacks there!” Patrick comments when he sees the others coming back from the kitchen

“Well we figured we might as well have an early lunch” Rachel smiles and passes Blaine a plate that’s full of lots of different bits and pieces the girls knew were some of his favourites, all finger foods. When they finish eating Santana puts the DVD on and Brittany starts painting Blaine’s nails as Rachel rests her head on his lap.

“What’s wrong Rach?” Blaine asks drowsily

“Nothing”

“Don’t lie”

“I shouldn’t be unloading my problems on you” Rachel replies

“But I’m your friend…I want to be there for you” 

Rachel sits up and faces him, “I went to that audition in LA…the theatre found out and well…let’s say I’m probably going to be going back to the diner sooner or later as I doubt anyone else will hire me”

Blaine nods, “Go back to school” he urges after a moment

“What? I couldn’t! NYADA wouldn’t let me back”

“They might if you apologise and prove yourself to be Rachel Berry…or go somewhere else! NYADA isn’t the be all and end all”

“I missed you” Rachel confesses and kisses his cheek

“I missed you all too…but I also really need to sleep”

“Do you want me to stop?” Brittany asks

“No…the finished thing can be a surprise for when I wake up” Blaine smiles at her before closing his eyes and drifting off.

Sebastian gets home earlier than he thought he would having had a very productive morning. When he walks into the apartment at 15.00 he doesn't expect to see Sam, Blaine and the girls cuddled in themed pyjamas, but it makes him happy.

Sebastian leans over the back of the couch “Looking good B”

“Bastian” Blaine smiles sleepily having only recently woken, “Britt did my nails” he holds up his hands to let his boyfriend see

“And each one has its own bowtie…very good” Sebastian bends down and kisses his boyfriend

“We’re making you dinner tonight” Rachel tells Sebastian

“I’ve been made redundant” Patrick adds dryly 

“Come talk to me while I change” Sebastian picks Blaine up before he can protest and carries him to their room, sitting him down on their bed.

“What is it Bastian?”

“We need to call my dad”

“Why? What’s wrong?” Blaine panics

“Nothing…nothing…shh…but I picked up the post and this was in it” Sebastian pulls out an official brown letter that’s cardboard backed, stopping it from bending, with an Italian post mark out of his bag.

“I think you’re right…do you think the girls would mind going to the guys for a bit”

“I think they’ll do whatever you ask of them”

When Sebastian’s finished changing and has called his dad the couple head back into the living room, “Hey Sam…I think you should take the girls back to yours for a while”

“What’s going on?” Santana asks

“My dad’s on his way over…we need to talk to him” Sebastian explains

The girls and Sam don’t question any further and simply make their way back to the bachelor pad, still in their pyjamas.

“What the?” Nick asks when they arrive, so the foursome explain.

Patrick lets Xavier in, who finds the couple sat on the couch, now folded back, but with Blaine still in his pyjamas.

“The girls were here today” Blaine explains when Xavier looks puzzles

“Okaaaay…so what do you need to speak to me about?”

“This” Sebastian says and he passes the still sealed envelope to his dad.


	109. Love doesn't die

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I haven't proofed this but hopefully it doesn't have as many mistakes as the last chapter! Though I did go back and amend, I am so sorry the quality was poor when it first went up.
> 
> A quick reminder ahead of reading this: Remember at the beginning I said that I was twisting timelines and moving when songs were performed with in the show. It's very important as in my story the girls haven't heard the song included in this chapter before...
> 
> Enjoy!

Xavier opens the envelope and pulls out an official letter in English drafted by the Santos’ lawyer and reads the key information outload, “In this envelope you will find a letter drafted by Mr and Mrs Santos for their grandson Blaine and a copy of their will that details the division of their estate between Blaine and Cooper. A similar pack has also been sent to Cooper with the letter the Mr and Mrs Santos had drafted to be given to him upon their death. A third and final pack has been sent to Mrs Anderson, their daughter.  
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. I would also like to offer you my services as the laws in Italy are quite different to those in America. You should also be aware that your grandparents completed the sale of their property in the Philippines that I believe you were aware of. I’d be more than happy to work with you directly, through your own lawyer, or both.

"Finally, I would like to offer you my condolences. I knew your grandparents for many years and was their friend as well as their lawyer. The pride they felt for you shone through when they spoke of you, and they did so often.

"With my deepest sympathies,

Ben (Benito) Scaletta”

Xavier then pulls out the will and what is clearly the letter to Blaine from his grandparents, being in its own smaller cream envelope and addressed to ‘Our bumblebee’ and has a ‘read me first’ note on. “Your grandparents clearly want you to read this first, ahead of the Will. I’ll give you some privacy.” Xavier stands and goes to the kitchen where Patrick is waiting.

Blaine looks to Sebastian who then moves so he’s sat behind his boyfriend, his long legs wrapping either side of Blaine while his arms wrap around the shorter’s waist. With a deep, shaky breath Blaine opens the envelope and unfolds the letter, which has been written in Italian, the language he and his grandparents would often joke as their own as they were the only three in the whole Anderson who understood the language, whereas Blaine’s mother also knows Tagalog.

Blaine takes another deep breath then with tears starting to form in his eyes, quietly reads the letter out loud in English.

“Our dearest bumble bee,

"If you are reading this letter then that can only mean we have left this world. Please do not mourn us to long but celebrate our life and the memories we all shared together, and think of us having fun being reunited with the friends we have lost over the years and maybe doing a little haunting of our own. Know, that wherever we may now be, we will always be watching over you and loving you with all our hearts. You made us so incredibly proud, more than we can ever put into words.

"Now, we hope we didn’t die boringly in our beds but perhaps having an adventure, whether that be travelling or perhaps racing around in the extravagance that is our Land Rover, it would suit us far more that way and what a story it would be to tell.

"Neither of us fear death, as Peter Pan said, to die would be an awful big adventure, what we do fear is the impact our passing could have on you. You have witnessed some of the evil and bad in this world and been its victim too many times, but you never gave up the fight, you never backed down and you always came back stronger each and every time. This truly was our greatest inspiration. If there is one thing that you can do, it’s to keep fighting every time the world throws another obstacle in your way, we will be watching, we will see, we will send you our love and we will continue to be so so proud of the incredible young man you have become against the odds.

"You have a gift Blaine, a gift that could help the world. Your love of music pulled you through some of your darkest times and we believe, no we know, that it can help others do the same if you let it. You are a born musician, singer, actor and performer but you are also incredibly humble and worldy aware, one of the rarest combinations out there. Use your gift, share it with the world and we believe you will be able to help others on a bigger scale than you think is possible. We know you won’t do it for the fame or fortune but for the love, and that is part of what makes you so incredibly special.

"We have seen the way you and Sebastian look at each other, how much you mean to one another, let him help you during this time and all the other dark times ahead you two may face together and enjoy and celebrate the light, for the world is a balance of light and dark and every life has ups and downs. Face the downs together and they won’t be downs for long, embrace the lights together and you will both soar. Make sure to keep your friends in your life too for their truly are friends and let them love you and help you too, we know your natural reaction can be to close out the world to keep the hurt at bay, but don’t isolate yourself. You truly shine, glowing like a star in any room you are in but stars can’t be lonely, they need people and love around them to shine bright.

"The Will you are about to read details how we want our estate to be divided between you and your brother. This is our gift to you, please use it to nurture your gifts and to enjoy life, see more of the world and the beauty and good we’ve been so lucky to see in our lives. See it, embrace it and let it inspire you and those around you. Our final request is that you look after Cooper, just as we are asking him to look after you. The relationship that has finally blossomed between you both has made us happier than you can imagine.

"Now stop those tears sweetheart.

"We are with you forever, so play us a little something and let us hear your beautiful voice.

"All our love, now and for all eternity,

"Your loving Nona and Grandpa,

"Camille and Joseph

Both Blaine and Sebastian’s cheeks are tear stained from the heart breaking, beautiful and ultimately uplifting letter, and they take several moments to let the words sink in.

“Help me” Blaine’s voice cuts through the silence 

“What do you need?”

“To open the door”

Sebastian supports Blaine so he can stand without putting any strain on his injured leg and can’t help but smile as Blaine opens the door to the music area and, with Sebastian’s help, hobbles around the music area taking in all his instruments, touching them as if they are long lost friends and looking at the picture of his grandparents and him and Sebastian that was taken at their house in the summer, the four of them relaxing together and smiling and laughing brightly with food and wine surrounding them with the fountain and the hills as a back drop. Blaine then reads Sam’s canvas ‘let freedom sing’ and the poster of one of his and his grandparents’ favourite quotes, “Life is a tragedy when seen in close-up, but a comedy in long-shot. To truly laugh, you must be able to take your pain and play with it.” Charlie Chaplin and can't help but think how apt it is and feels like he's finally really understanding the meaning behind the words.

“I’m going to write something for them…I don’t know what yet but I am.” Blaine says mostly to himself with such conviction there can be no doubt, “I’m going to dedicate something to them.”

“I have no doubt” Sebastian kisses Blaine’s forehead, “You want to go over their will?”

Blaine nods, “Let Patrick come to” then sits on the piano stool, clearly not moving so Sebastian gets Xavier and Patrick.

“Welcome home Blaine” Patrick smiles meaningfully knowing this area means so much to Blaine and is a sort of sanctuary for him, as he sits at the piano his grandparents gave him.

The Will splits the assets so Blaine has 50% and Cooper has 40%, the remaining 10% to remain frozen and to go to Blaine when the Anderson’s assets no doubtedly go to Cooper and cuts Blaine completely out. If however before this there is a reconciliation and Blaine receives an even split with Cooper, then the remaining 10% would go to Cooper. They both wish to be cremated but do not wish for a large funeral and would like their ashes scattered from the top of the hill that overlooks their house and the valley before it. If anybody wants to buy them flowers they request that the money instead goes to charity. They wish for the smaller property on their land to go to Rosetta and her family officially, which Blaine of course already planned to do.

Luckily Blaine doesn’t have to wait to be able to speak to Cooper who hadn’t been home yet as he’d gone straight from the airport to set, but asks Xavier to go through the details with him on the phone.

“I just hope they haven’t been smart and written my letter in Italian or Tagalog” Cooper comments after the phone has been passed back to Blaine, “I wouldn’t put it passed them”

“Me neither” Blaine agrees

“Well you’ll just have to translate for me if they have”

“I can cope with that”

“How are you doing…you sound better if anything”

“I weirdly feel it…not because I’m being given so much, but because of what they said in their letter…I miss them more than anything though”

“Of course you do squirt…so do I…and we always will, but we can remember them together”

“Together” Blaine smiles

“I’ve got to go…got to do this scene another time before I can finally go home, but I love you”

“I love you too”

“And sing them a song Blaine…do it for them...and me” Cooper ends the call before Blaine can say anything else so he knows his words will be rattling around his baby brother’s   
head. 

“Bastian?”

“Yeah killer”

“Can you get the guys round? The girls can come too”

“What are you thinking B?”

Blaine lifts up his casted arm, “I can’t play properly at the moment”

“Calling for back up?” Sebastian raises an eyebrow and Blaine nods with a smile

“I need to do this…if I don’t now then I’m not sure when I will”

Meanwhile Burt and Kurt have just finished eating dinner when there’s a knock at the door, “Inspector?” Kurt asks surprised to see the policeman there

“Good evening, I don’t want to keep you long but as I was in the neighbourhood tonight I thought I’d deliver this to you instead of waiting for it to go through internal mail” he says as he passes Kurt the envelope

“What is it?” Kurt asks, Burt coming to stand behind him

“It’s just a cautionary warning on this occasion as you would have put that letter in Mr Anderson’s bag for him to find before you received the restraining order but if you do anything like that again, now the order is in place, then there will be consequences, have a nice evening.” The inspector passes Kurt the letter and walks away, secretly having enjoyed the shock on the younger man’s face even though he knew it was unprofessional and that he shouldn’t.

“What letter Kurt?” Burt asks, “Don’t make me ask you again” he emphasises when Kurt doesn’t say anything

“I put a letter in Blaine’s bag for him to find seeing as I don’t have another way of contacting him…happy?” Kurt bursts out

“No…no I’m not happy…I’m disappointed and as confused as hell as to why you’d do that!”

“Because as far as I’m concerned we still have unfinished business…there are things we need to talk about before I can move on…I need closure”

“No disrespect Kurt but surely you got that when you started seeing other people…what exactly do you think you need closure on as you seem to be able to have moved on in plenty of ways, even before your relationship actually ended.” 

“I made a mistake…I should never have done that while we were together and perhaps I shouldn’t have reacted the way I did when Blaine admitted he did the same”

“From what I understand, you had an ongoing affair where his was a one night mistake”

“So that makes it right?”

“Don’t twist my words Kurt…no it doesn’t make it right but it’s a one strike offence compared to your out…look I just want to understand so I can help you.”  
Kurt sits down, “Being with other people showed me how amazing Blaine really is…I can recognise that maybe I was jealous of him when he started McKinley and was still the star…I thought he only would be at Dalton. But now I can work on that.”

“Working on that would be a good step forward for you personally Kurt but it won’t right things with Blaine…too much bad blood has passed between you. Honestly, if Blaine hadn’t got together with Sebastian would you still have wanted him?”

“Yes on some level I always will”

“Maybe that is simply because he was your first love, and you never really completely leave those people behind”

“So you’re saying that Blaine probably feels something for me still?”

Burt leans back and sighs, rubbing his head before looking back up at his son, “Seriously Kurt…stop twisting what I’m saying to suit you…and stay the hell away from Blaine Anderson. I seriously think you should consider seeing a councillor to get over this…this obsession you seem to have grown for him. You’ve always had things you fixated on when you grew up, until you got what you wanted that is, you’ve just got that type of personality, but this time what you’re obsessing over is a person, not a thing and you aren’t going to get what you want. Think about it.”

“I will” Kurt agrees so the lecture will stop.

At the Seblaine apartment, the girls have just arrived with Sam, Thad, Jeff, Nick and Hunter.

The guys all give Blaine a hug, Jeff being particularly clingy when it comes to his old roommate.

“You look better than the last time we saw you” Jeff tells Blaine and everyone agrees

“So what’s with the pyjamas?” Hunter asks

“We had a duvet day” Brittany answers

“Do you feel left out Sebastian?” Hunter teases

“He has no need to, he has his own pair” Santana replies

“What?” Sebastian asks wide eyed

“Oh they’re in your room for you, didn’t you spot them earlier?”

“No…my mind was on other things” 

“I think you should put them on” The Latina goads and everyone else joins in, when Blaine also joins Sebastian caves

“Fine if it will shut you all up” It’s not long before he comes out wearing pyjamas in the same style as Santana’s with a large bad ass looking dolphin on them on the back and a smaller on the front pocket of the green-blue sea coloured set.

“That dolphin looks kinda devilish” Thad comments 

“That was the idea” Rachel giggles

“We agreed the sweet looking dolphins wouldn’t suit him” Brittany smiles cheekily

“Looking sharp Smythe” Hunter laughs

“Better than you would Clarington”

“I like them” Blaine adds

“That’s because you’re ridiculous” Sebastian teases his boyfriend

“Thanks for coming” Blaine tells the group, as he stands up from the piano stool, leaning on the top of the piano to support himself.

“Always…you know that” Jeff replies

“We’d have been here before if you’d let us” Nick smiles

“But we understand that you needed some time to process everything” Thad adds so Blaine knows they’re not chastising him

“Let us help you through it this time though” Jeff tells Blaine

“Trust me…you all did last time, even if you didn’t know what you were helping me through” Blaine says sincerely

“So…what can we help you with…Sebastian said it was time to get the troops together”

“Yeah” Blaine shifts slightly uncomfortably, “I got a letter from my grandparents today…and I want to do something for them, something they requested but I’m kind of limited at the moment” he raises his casted arm and the boys all click

“Want us to back you up?” Jeff smiles immediately catching on

“I wouldn’t have anyone else do it” Blaine answers

“Do you know what you’re going to sing?” Thad asks

“The song that got me my first Warbler’s competition solo”

“So your first actual Warbler’s solo?” Nick laughs

“You got competition solo after singing one song?” Rachel asks

“Of course he did” Nick replies, “And it was a spontaneous thing after orchestra one day as we were in the music area waiting for the final few to start Warbler practise”

“Classic Warbler harmonies with a little piano added in” Jeff reminisces

“It was a real turning point for me, so I figured it would be a nice tribute to us and my grandparents”

“Kind of an ideal song for it” Thad replies

“If you think you can, join in too” Blaine tells Sam, who he knows can join in with Warbler songs, having done it before, and the girls.

Blaine then starts singing Somewhere Only We know, using his good hand to add in some piano while Nick fills in for Beat’s beat boxing and Sam helps pad out the harmonies. The girls join in for the final chorus. Patrick films the performance as he and Xavier watch, Blaine clearly pouring a lot of emotion into the piece. When they’ve all finished singing, there are tears of mixed emotion in everyone’s eyes as they all form a group hug, Blaine in the middle.

Blaine sniffs, “Thank you” 

“Don’t thank us man” Thad tells him firmly

“We’re Warblers…we’re family” Jeff adds

“Too right…Even I’ve learnt that” Hunter agrees

“Then what does make us?” Santana jibes semi-playfully

“Hey don’t include me…I’ve already been made an official honorary Warbler” Sam pulls away from her

“I guess we could include you three” Nick says as if it’s a big ask

“You guess?” Santana raises an eyebrow

Brittany giggles, “They’re teasing you”

“Of course we are” Blaine rolls his eyes

“So do we get to join the Warbler call?” Brittany asks with a wide smile

“It’s pretty important…if you mess it up we can’t let you in” Thad tells the girls playfully

“Over to you Blaine” Jeff nods at the shorter boy so Blaine leads the call. Afterwards everyone laughs, “Brittany S Pearce, Santana Lopez and Rachel Barbara Berry…welcome to the Warblers as honorary members.”

The girls, including Santana all let out a small squeal, “I can finally admit now that even I wanted to sing with you guys” Santana confesses 

“When will you guys enrol?” Blaine asks out of the blue

“If we get in then before spring break, we’re planning on taking some classes over the summer to see if we can try and catch up…if we can’t we’ll graduate a year after you, but considering that’s technically two years late for us we’d like to be able to graduate when you guys do.”

“What are you going to study?” Xavier asks

“Hopefully dance and math” Brittany replies

“Interesting combination”

“Britt’s an incredible dancer and math genius” Blaine replies, “Britt what is 774 times 693” Blaine asks randomly

“536,382” The blonde replies almost automatically

“Right again” Jeff smiles after he’s done the sum on his phone

“That’s remarkable” Xavier tells her, “And you?” he asks Santana

“Business with a strong focus on public relations…figured I could put a good use to my inner manipulative bitch”

“Well I’ve always said people should make use of their natural talents if they enjoy them” Patrick teases good naturedly 

“Rach?” Blaine asks

“I’m going to approach NYADA, Tisch and Julliard tomorrow” Rachel replies determinedly, "With the aim of doing some summer classes like Santana and Brittany"

“There’s the Rachel Berry I know” Blaine smilles

“What’s your point Frodo?”

“All enrol before spring break and you could sing with us”

“What?” Everyone asks

“I’ll tell you closer to the time…I’ve got a few other things I need to take care of first…like catching up”

“Okay…that makes sense…but don’t leave us in the dark too long dude” Sam tells Blaine knowing trying to get the information out of him is pointless

“Right I’m ordering food” Nick pulls out his phone, “pizza okay for everyone? Good…and done” he says before anyone can protest

Sarah joins the group for dinner, it being her last day in New York. Everyone sits talking and Blaine takes it all in, leaning into his boyfriend and starting to see some of what he’s sure his Nona and Grandpa were trying to tell him in the letter. After they’ve all finished eating everyone quickly filters out, seeing that Blaine is getting tired and knowing he has a hospital appointment in the morning before Michael comes round in the afternoon. The main thing though, they’re not scared of losing their curly haired friend who brings so much light and colour into the group anymore. The girls also leave more determined than ever to make it into college and enrol so they can find out what could be in store for the summer.


	110. Next steps

The next morning Blaine heads to the hospital with Sebastian and Patrick for a check-up with Dr Fitzpatrick. All being well, he should be able to lose the cast on his leg and get an air cast instead plus a lighter one put on his wrist and hand, the original having been a heavy duty cast. This would also mean that Blaine should be able to move some of the time with the aid of a crutch as with the air cast on, he’d be able to lightly weight bear as long as he took it easy. 

“Good morning” Dr Fitzpatrick greets them brightly and ushers them into the consultation room where he removes the casts and gives Blaine a thorough physical examination and gets his wrist, hand, foot and knee x-rayed. When he’s assessed the results he turns to Blaine, “Well good news…you can have an air cast from now and the sutures can come out from your temple. The ones on your shin we placed where we had to make the small incision to realign your knee cap have dissolved and the incision has healed nicely. So with the air cast, you will need to use a crutch to take most of the weight off this leg as you walk and do not over-do it. This is very important for the next two weeks, we’ll then reassess it and go from there. You obviously had more invasive surgery on your abdomen and you need to come back next week for me to remove those stitches but overall you are a text book patient, if not better.”

“So when do you think I can go back to school?” Blaine asks

“Obviously that’s partly up to you, but I’d strongly recommend taking the next two weeks away from campus, though there’s no reason you can’t work from home if at all possible during this time. Doing too much could really set recovery back. I’d like you to spend the next two weeks slowly building you up again with the amount you do physically. Then after this you should be able to move between classes, though I don’t think you should use public transport to get to and from college and you obviously can’t walk the distance either for a little while. Be prepared to feel very tired as you start doing more.”

“I am…that’s one thing I can appreciate from before”

Dr Fitzpatrick smiles, “You’ve got a good head on your shoulders…okay so I’ll grab a couple of air casts to see which you find more comfortable and provides the best support. We have a few styles to take into account that everyone’s feet and ankles are slightly different, but you’ve got nice arches on your feet so it’s very unlikely you’ll need some of the heavier duty ones and then we’ll head down to the plaster room where Steve will give you a lighter cast for your wrist and hand and then you can go. Just remember to book an appointment for next week so we can get those stitches out.”

“Sounds great” Blaine smiles, happy to be out of the heavy duty casts that felt like they were weighing him down.

As Blaine agrees to taking to next two weeks away from campus, Sebastian relents on them not taking a wheel chair home so Blaine takes his first few steps from the hospital to the cab with the help of his crutch and Sebastian.

Blaine smiles when he lets himself through the door of their apartment but then quickly gets comfy on the sofa, feeling tired after doing the most he has for a while.

“Are you sure you haven’t over done it?” Sebastian asks as he pushes Blaine’s hair back

“Stop fussing” Blaine tells him gently

“I can tell you’re in pain”

“It’s just my ribs”

“See you’re going too much”

“Actually moving around between periods of rest will help keep mucus off the lungs, which is particularly important given that he experienced fluid on them due to the puncture. As long as he doesn’t try to do any heavy lifting or bend around then they’ll heal up fine. It’s just one of those things that broken ribs stay painful for probably longer than any other broken bone. I bet they feel like they’re burning right?” Patrick asks Blaine

“Right” Blaine agrees

“Do you want some pain killers then?”

“Not really but I’m going to so I can nap before Michael gets here…” Blaine shifts so he’s lying on the couch and puts his damaged leg up on some cushions to elevate it and makes grabby hands for Sebastian until he crouches down next to him, “What time do you have to go?”

“In about five minutes”

“Thank you for coming”

“Don’t be an idiot, you don’t need to thank me you doofus…listen to what Michael says and make sure you don’t go back before the next two weeks are up…you can fill me in on everything later”

“I promise” Blaine smiles and yawns so Sebastian gives him a kiss and grabs his school bag before heading out.

Patrick leaves Blaine to sleep and makes a sandwich for when he wakes up, which is actually only ten minutes before Michael arrives.

“I hope you don’t mind that I’m just finishing lunch” Blaine smiles when he sees his professor and mentor

“Not at all…you should not be living somewhere like this while you’re in college” Michael jokes as he looks around 

“Trust me we both know” Blaine readily admits

“You’re looking better than I thought you might be” Michael comments as he and Patrick sit down, Michael taking the arm chair and Patrick the couch, sitting next to Blaine, who has his leg resting on some cushions on the coffee table now.

“Thanks”

“Before we get started, I want to offer you my condolences, Patrick filled me in when he updated your payment details and bits”

“I know…I asked him too…and thank you…” Blaine looks down

“So are you ready to hear our master plan of how you not only pass the year but stay in the advanced group?” Michael says brightly to get Blaine’s mind back to the positive and what they are there to discuss.

“Seriously?” Blaine asks shocked, having been prepared for the worst or at least being put down into the other group

“Seriously…it’s going to take a lot of work though…but first to see if Patrick’s estimates were right…when do you think you’re coming back to campus?”

“Two weeks…I get my remaining stitches out next week and I’m using the time to build up some strength and stamina so I’ll be able to move around campus between classes.”

“Okay so it looks like you were spot on” Michael says to Patrick, “Now final important question before we get down to it…do you think you can complete some assignments in this time?”

“Absolutely” Blaine smiles

“So given the circumstances basically those of us who teach you and head up the programs you are on all sat down and put this plan together…I’m not going to lie, it’s going to be pretty tough but you are more than capable of passing this year and passing it well. Okay so you have four more assignments for Italian until the end of the year and a speaking exam as your final in the summer. How do you feel about getting those assignments done before you come back to campus given that you don’t really need the lessons anyway? You then wouldn’t attend any of your Italian classes, which would free up some of your time which you would then dedicate to your other studies?”

“I may have actually completed the next two already so I can do the other two no problem”

“I have some software you can download onto your computer which means you can dictate your assignments and then go back and edit them, it’ll be easier and faster than typing with one hand” Patrick adds

“Great…that’s excellent…in that case how do you feel about completing what you can of your next music theory assignment, again it’s an area you are strong in so I don’t foresee any problems.”

“No problem Blaine smiles”

“Excellent…now the orchestra concert is in 7 weeks…when should you be able to play again?” 

Blaine looks to Patrick for an answer, “In four weeks, though expect your fingers to be a little stiff for a while.”

“Okay…in that case we will have to let someone else takeover first violin for the meantime, but when you can play again we will give you the opportunity to take over again…how realistic do you think it is that you can will actually be able to do this considering?” Michael asks not at all hopefully  
Blaine thinks for a while, a sinking feeling in his chest as this was meant to be one of his assignments but then he snaps out of it, his grandparent’s last words to him echoing in his mind, Sebastian’s belief in him and the want to make him proud strengthening his resolve. “I learnt the pieces over Christmas, I remember them, I remember the fingering and the bow placements, I can do it. Plus Tabatha will be here then and she’ll be able to help get me back into shape quickly. The concert is meant to be one of my assignments and I’ll do everything I can so it still is.”

“Who’s Tabatha?” Michael asks

“My eldest” Patrick replies, “She’s second violin in the London Symphony Orchestra and was the one to teach Blaine. He was playing grade eight pieces in a year of first picking up   
a violin” he beams with pride.

“Well then…I don’t see that you’ll have any problems…I really do have every faith in you Blaine…we all do otherwise we wouldn’t have ever suggested two majors and a minor and you have our full support.”

Blaine nods in understanding. One thing that Blaine Anderson couldn’t do was let those he cares about down, and Michael fits into that category. Plus he knows his grandparents would be proud of him passing the year with his classmates, as will Sebastian and everyone else so he has to believe he can do it too, because if he believes then he will fight and it should be possible, he’ll make it possible somehow.

“So then…you will complete all your physical dance and stage combat assignments at the end of the year to give you chance to rehabilitate and learn the choreographies and techniques. I have no doubt that with your background you’ll fly through the stage combat ones how you have been so far and you are a natural dancer so I don’t see any issue there, though you will have to face tap in the summer which is unique and could be a challenge learning the technique while having to learn the choreography you will have missed.”

“But if I sit in the classes I’ll pick some of it up and Bas can help me with tap” Blaine replies

“He can?”

“Sebastian is an incredible dancer and a very accomplished tap dancer too”

“You have a handy set of people around you Blaine” Michael smiles

“I’m lucky”

“From my experience it’s not luck…I know how you feel about Sebastian and I take it you think of every one of your friends as being special?”

“Of course I do” Blaine frowns, confused

“Like typically attracts like Blaine, if you think they’re special, the fact you are so important to them shows that they think you’re special too” Michael grins. “You can join acting and singing as normal…in fact it has become Sarah’s mission to get you to find the other twenty five percent of your voice she’s determine you aren’t using by the next recital.”

“That’s in four weeks” Blaine frowns

“Exactly…she’ll be sending you an email with times you two will be Skyping, half an hour sessions every other day is the plan”

“Remote voice lessons I take it” Patrick laughs

“Exactly” Michael confirms before checking the time, “Sorry this was a flying visit but I have to head back for my next class…So we’ll have weekly meetings to see how you get on and give me updates over the next couple of weeks to let me know how you’re getting on, not just with school work okay?”

“Okay” Blaine agrees, feeling hopeful about the future, “Thank you…thank you all so much…you have no idea what staying with my friends and being able to continue my studies   
means to me.”

“Trust me I do Blaine…I let what happened to me get to me too much and I nearly had to stay back…in fact the warning was what made me kick start again.”

“I’ll do whatever it takes”

“I have no doubt” Michael says firmly before standing, squeezing Blaine’s shoulder, shaking Patricks hand and leaving

“Patrick?”

Patrick raises his eyebrows recognising that tone of voice “What are you after?” 

“Can you write me a rehabilitation slash exercise plan to make me competition fit by the summer? Is that possible?”

“What sort of competition?”

“Glee cross cheerleading, not quite up to cheerleading nationals but not far off”

“What are you up to?”

“Promise not to tell anyone…not even Bas?” Blaine asks with wide Bambi eyes

“I promise”

“I want us to enter the collegiate unofficial glee club competition, it’s for those groups who aren’t official in the eyes of the colleges despite all members being college students, basically it’s for anyone who’s not in the Whiffenpoofs or equivalent…and NYU are hosting this year.”

“Is this what the girls could be singing with you in?”

“Maybe” Blaine replies coyly

“So core strength, in fact overall strength, cardio and stamina all important?”

“Absolutely”

“And I take it you are doing the musical arrangement?”

“It’s going to be the hardest thing any of us will have ever done for a glee piece”

“Acapella?” 

“Of course” Blaine smiles knowing Patrick must be on board

“Then I have a feeling you won’t be the only one needing to get competition fit”

“Maybe not…but I want to be early enough to show them how it’s done if that’s possible”

Patrick leans forward and looks Blaine square in the eyes, “We’ll make it possible” he tells Blaine completely and utterly seriously knowing that although there are of course physical limitations to rehabilitation, that most of it is actually in the mind and with Blaine being this determined, with having such a strong vision and goal in his mind, that it truly is possible.

When Sebastian gets home that evening he knows things must have gone well as he smells what is undeniably the smell of Blaine’s cooking. He heads to the kitchen and finds his boyfriend bossing Patrick around who’s filling in as his ‘assistant’ chopping and adding herbs and spices to the pans exactly as Blaine is telling him to from where he is perched on the table.

“Hey killer” Sebastian greets his love with a kiss

“Dinner’s almost done” Blaine smiles

Sebastian raises his eyebrow in amusement, “Yes I can see you’ve been working hard…do I have time for a shower?”

“If you’re quick” 

When Sebastian comes out of the shower he finds his boyfriend sat on the floor in the living room on a cushion in front of the coffee table, his foot propped up on a cushion, both of their dinners on the table with cutlery laid out. “Where’s Patrick?”

“He’s taken his in to the office…he’s Skyping Natasha and thought we could do with some time as just us.” Blaine explains.

Over dinner they discuss their days, Blaine telling Sebastian the plan to keep his studies on track in detail while Sebastian recounts one of the most boring lectures he’s ever been in and one of the best. Patrick doesn’t reappear that night, wanting to leave the boys to be a couple again in peace so it won’t be such a culture shock again for when he leaves given the amount of people they’ve had buzzing around them and knowing that it such changes can unbalance people in Blaine’s situation.

They head to bed early so Blaine can be more comfortable and lay so Sebastian is on his side, leaning over Blaine who is cushioned by pillows on his other side in an attempt to make him feel more secure, the way he does when he’s being held.

“I love you killer” Sebastian smiles down at his boyfriend who is wearing boxer briefs and one of his lacrosse training t-shirts, more than he’d normally wear to be considering he’d usually sleep nude but less than he has been wearing. Since Blaine’s been wearing clothes to bed Sebastian has also been wearing boxer briefs, not feeling right being naked while his partner is clothed and vulnerable.

Blaine smiles back, full of emotion, “I love you too Bastian”

Sebastian leans down and kisses Blaine, slowly but firmly, and Blaine does not hesitate in reciprocating. This is their longest kiss since the attack yet as they truly pour their emotions into the kiss and into each other again. Sebastian dares fun a hand down Blaine’s side and it sets his heart racing when Blaine simply continues to kiss him, their tongues now coming together and clashing in a dance of their own. However when his hand goes to slip under the band of Blaine’s boxers the shorter abruptly pulls away. Sebastian can’t help the short flicker of disappointment and hurt that crosses his face but it’s enough for Blaine to see.

“I can’t…I’m sorry”

“I just…I just want to hold you B…it’s been so long since I’ve touched you or you’ve touched me like that.”

Blaine shakes his head, “Not yet…I can’t…I just can’t…I’m sorry”

“It’s okay”

“No it’s not…I saw the disappointment and hurt on your face”

“Well I’m going to be disappointed any time I can’t have you and always have been so don’t worry about that and I understand why you can’t yet. Well I don’t really, but I do if that makes sense.”

“Not really…that has to be the least articulate you’ve ever been” Blaine part teases

“Am I frustrated? Only because I’m a horny bastard, but you know I’ll wait for you until you are ready…I won’t go anywhere else B”

“I know” 

“And well as for the understanding bit I guess I mean that I know how you’ve been feeling about yourself, even though you don’t need to feel self-conscious and I appreciate that to let yourself be that vulnerable after everything again won’t be easy, but I can’t really truly understand because nobody can unless they’ve been in your position…plus I guess I should really at least wait to make a move until you’ve had all your stitches out….does that make sense now?” Sebastian asks hopefully, needing Blaine to understand where he’s coming from.

“It does and I appreciate it Bastian.” Blaine thinks for a long moment, Sebastian leaving him to his thoughts as he can practically see the clogs turn in his boyfriend’s head. “I’m not ready yet in anyway…but I do want to feel close to you…I miss feeling as close to you…I miss being wrapped tightly in your arms as we sleep and feeling your skin against mine.” Blaine takes a deep breath, “Help me take my t-shirt off…just my t-shirt and help my put a dressing on my stitches to protect them.”

Sebastian does just that so that when they lay down together again, he can feel more of his boyfriend pressed up against him as much as possible and places a hand protectively on top of the dressing that’s shielding Blaine’s stitches. “Better?” he asks.

“Better” Blaine agrees and has the best night sleep since the attack, not perfect and still a little haunted, but much better.


	111. Preparation preparation preparation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay posting this! It was a combination of me not being happy with it and not having a stable internet connection until now, thanks to the weather and being in a rural location this weekend. I am traveling abroad for work again this week so expect the next update towards the weekend. I know delays are really annoying but I really am doing the best I can to get the chapters up as quickly as I can.

Blaine starts throwing himself into school work the next morning, using the computer software Patrick gives him to dictate an Italian essay. It’s so much easier and faster being able to go back and edit rather than typing the whole thing with one hand that he gets through it quicker than he thought he would. Plus getting to speak Italian in such a fluent, flowing way helps release some tension, he’s always loved that language, the softness of it and the romanticism it brings, after all Blaine Anderson will always be a romantic at heart.

The way Blaine applies himself to both his studies and his recovery leave his friends in awe.

“I don’t think I could do what Blaine’s doing…I don’t know how he did it before” Thad tells Sebastian as they’re walking though campus

“Tell me about it…this is where his OCD tendencies actually help” Sebastian comments as they head into the coffee shop

“So do you think you’ll be able to come out for your birthday?” Thad asks as they queue up

“No…B may be doing remarkable well Thad but don’t get ahead of yourself…he’s still building up strength and wouldn’t be up to having a night out, let alone having to face crowds and walking out in the dark again.”

Thad frowns at himself, “I hadn’t really thought of that…of any of it really. I guess with the way he’s facing things, it’s easy for us to think he’ll just snap back in no time. Though I guess it’s more that we’re just not seeing him facing the demons in the same way you do.”

“Bingo” Sebastian confirms, “He’s still got a way to go, but you all acting normally around him is making a real difference so don’t change that.”

“I won’t …so what are you going to do for your birthday then?”

“Stay in with B” Sebastian shrugs

“When’s your birthday?” A voice comes from behind Sebastian, who rolls his eyes at Thad

“That’s for me to know” Sebastian answers

Steve takes a seat and scoots closer to Sebastian, obviously flirting. When Blaine was wary of Steve at the beginning of the year Sebastian brushed it off, but this guy did not get the picture and he can admit that before Blaine, he’d have gone there. That would never happen now though and Steve does just not give up, even though he knows Sebastian is in a committed long-term relationship.

“Oh come on Sebastian…we’ve got to go out…get the lacrosse team together and celebrate properly…none of this night in nonsense.”

“I’ll have a night out when my boyfriend will be able to join me”

“Tsk…if he can’t show you a good time I will”

“You’re pushing it Steve” Sebastian warns

Thad’s laughter stops that line of conversation.

“What’s so funny?” Steve questions

“I’m pretty sure Blaine and Sebastian will have more than a good time spending the night together” Thad replies, “Plus it’s a good job for you that he’s not here right now…it wouldn’t be good for your reputation to have a guy in a leg and arm cast put you on your ass in front of everyone.”

Steve scoffs, “I’m sure he’s terrifying…5ft nothing of pure rage” he mocks

That tips Sebastian over the edge and a side of him Thad hasn’t seen in action for a while comes out, “Oh but he could…he’s not someone to be messed with. It’s one of the things that keeps the appeal fresh after all this time…he keeps me on my toes. Get it into your thick head that you are never going to get anything from me. You’ve got a tiny dick and a flat ass and I’d seriously consider stop playing lacrosse if I were you…you’ll need what you have left of your tiny brain to try and somehow stay at Columbia as your dad will only be able to bribe them for so long with golfing holidays before he goes broke and you’re just more likely to ruin your not-so-pretty face.”

Steve stands up and looks down at Sebastian, “Fuck you”

“That’s something that you would never have had the chance of doing darling” Sebastian smirks patronisingly making Steve walk away.

Thad raises an eyebrow, “Darling…really?”

“Well it seemed to fit the occasion”

“Well hopefully that asshole will finally give up permanently” Thad spits

“Did he seriously bother you that much?”

“He knew you were in a long-term relationship and still tried to get into your pants”

“You I would never do that to B right?”

“Actually I do…maybe once upon a time I’d have thought it, but you’ve always been different when it comes to Blaine and I don’t think you’d be that much of an idiot to screw what is undoubtedly the best thing that could ever happen to you up”

“I’m going to take the compliment that’s in there”

“You should….but why go off on him now? You’ve tolerated him flirting with you since the start of the year”

Sebastian shrugs, “Simple…he never brought Blaine into it before”

Thad nods approvingly then the two get on with the rest of their day.

When Sebastian gets home early that evening he finds Blaine sitting on the rug in their living room with some papers around them he was sorting into a small ring-binder folder. “What’s all this then?” Sebastian asks as he sits down next to Blaine.

“Progressive exercise plans Patrick has created for me and timetables I’ve made for myself to make sure I study what I need to study and when given I’ll be doing things in a slightly different order.” Blaine explains as he finishes putting his colour coordinated folder together.

Sebastian smiles, “That’s such a you thing to do”

“Well I am me”

“You certainly are” Sebastian smiles, his boyfriend clearly not taking in the deeper meaning of his words at this time.

“So Thad said you went off on Steve…wish I’d seen it”

“Damn I wanted to be the first to break it to you”

“Hmmm well his account was pretty funny…not sure you could compete”

“You cheeky ass” Sebastian smiles, “So what’s on your exercise plans?”

“Stretches, some physical activities like hydrotherapy”

“So you can build strength without putting strain on things?”

“Exactly…Patrick booked the appointments with me before he had to go, I was hoping you’d be able to come but they didn’t have any spaces that suited both our timetables, so   
I’m going to ask Sam to come with me”

“Sounds like a good idea” Sebastian agrees, “Did Patrick get off okay?”

“Yeah…I’m sad he’s gone but at the same point I’m glad it’s just again…though that makes me sound really ungrateful”

“No it sounds like it should do…come on B, that’s clearly why he was keeping his distance the last couple of nights.”

Blaine thinks for a moment, “I can’t believe I didn’t really realise what he was doing”

Sebastian laughs, “Let’s put it down to you having more things on your mind”

“How much have you got to do tonight?”

“A couple hours worth of reading and things” 

“I’ll make dinner”

“Killer” Sebastian reproaches

“Relax…it will only be pasta bake…nothing difficult or strenuous”

Back at the loft Kurt is seriously starting to wish his dad would go already, “How long do you think you’re going to be staying for?” he tries to ask casually

“Trying to get rid of your old man?” Burt says through a laugh to pass it off as a joke

“Just trying to get a grasp on how much food I should buy in”

“Or am I getting in your way? I mean I don’t want to cramp your style with me staying here”

“Eww gross…don’t try to talk to me about things like that”

Burt understands people don’t want to talk to their parents about sex, but the fact his son can’t even remotely acknowledge that it happens.

“Oh come on Kurt” The glare he receives from his son makes Burt change the conversation, “But to answer your original question I do need to get back to the garage so I’ll catch a flight out the morning after tomorrow…I wanted to feel sure that you wouldn’t try and seek Blaine out before I left.”

“Urgh I promised didn’t I?”

“Yet you’ve broken that promise before…I just need you to appreciate how serious the restraining order is…how much of an impact it will have if you try to break it. It’s a short-term order, don’t do anything that will let it be extended.”

Kurt sits down opposite his dad and looks into his eyes, “I promise” but again, like he did to Blaine, he doesn’t actually say what he’s promising, something Burt doesn’t pick up on.


	112. Time to go back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay! Being away for work lasted an extra couple of days than we predicted it would. Anyway I'm not going anywhere next week so it shouldn't be such a long stretch without an update! :-)

“Are you ready for this?” Sam asks enthusiastically as he and Blaine get out of the cab at the centre where Blaine is having his hydrotherapy sessions.

“I have no idea how to answer that” 

“Well clearly the answer is no but you don’t want to admit to that” Sam says as he looks at Blaine with an ‘I know you too well’ expression.

The two head in and it isn’t long before Blaine’s therapist is greeting them after they are changed – Blaine wearing long board shorts and a swim t-shirt with Sam just in his board shorts.

“Hi Blaine I’m Ellie…so I take it this is your friend who’ll be helping us out today”

“Hi…yes this is Sam”

“Nice to meet you” Sam greets her

“You too…it’s great you can come along but just in case you aren’t always free you should know Blaine that we have many assistants who would be able to step in” She says enthusiastically.

“Oh I do…I’d just feel more comfortable if it’s someone I know” Blaine smiles tightly so Ellie drops it

The session goes well with Blaine being pushed but with the water taking some of the strain. When Blaine gets home it’s clear he’s tired so lies down on the sofa with his book and it’s not long before he’s drifting off with Sam heading home after quite a lot of convincing from his shorter friend.

Blaine is awoken an hour later by the door bell ringing so he sits up before making his way carefully to the door, still not fully with it.

“Sorry it took me a while to answer” Blaine greets

“It’s okay…we can do this another time” Xavier replies noticing the sleepy look on Blaine's face

“No…I’m good”

“How did this morning go?” Xavier asks as they settle in the living room

“Good…it just took a lot out of me”

“Understandably so…before we go into this, have you spoken with Sebastian?”

“Not yet…but I will…is that a problem?”

“Oh no not at all…you’re my client so there’s confidentiality between us, and it doesn’t make things awkward for me before you ask, I just simply don’t want to put my foot in it.”

“Well I’ll let you know when he knows” 

“Thank you” With that Xavier pulls some files from his brief case. “The blue file is the evidence from your first attack and the brown is the evidence from your second – both include still images of you after and surveillance footage of during…It’s completely your decision to see the evidence of course, but I thought you changed your mind about seeing the footage?”

“I had in a way, but I probably wasn’t in the best place to see either straight away…and I know Sebastian doesn’t understand it and I’m not surprised, I’m not sure I understand it really, but this is something I’ve got to do.”

“I don’t think anyone can understand it unless they’ve been in a traumatic incident…and we know everyone reacts in different ways…I’m having to fly back tomorrow…I have some things to take care of in the office but I’ll be back in two weeks, sooner if needs be, and you can contact me at any time.”

“Do you want to come to dinner tonight then?”

“Are you sure?” Xavier asks, a little taken aback by the invite

“I wouldn’t have asked if I wasn’t”

“Then I’d be delighted to”

“And don’t worry…I’ll be sure to talk to Sebastian about it first, but I know he won’t object to you coming round”

“Thank you” Xavier smiles, “Just think about whether or not you are best watching those alone”

“I will” Blaine promises and after quite a long time of contemplation, messages Artie.

As Artie has a free afternoon he heads to see Blaine as soon as he receives the message asking him to go round, “Hey man” Artie greets brightly when Blaine opens the door

“Hey…thanks for coming…I’m sorry I haven’t been in contact more”

“No problem…and that’s on me too…I kind of got caught up in everything and everyone that’s new…plus I wanted to give you space…I know how it can be to be crowded, even though people are trying to help, it’s not actually always helpful.”

“Exactly…and thank you for that…and for the welcome home gift…I haven’t watched all the movies yet, but the ones I have are amazing”

“I’m glad you like them”

After getting drinks they settle in the living room and Artie spots the two files on the coffee table.

“So…what’s going on?” Artie asks, “I mean…it’s great to see you and not that you need a reason to see me, but your message sounded like there’s something up”  
Blaine gestures to the folders, “That’s evidence from both attacks, pictures of the damage done and surveillance footage”

“Right…”

“Bas doesn’t get it and I don’t blame him…but I really want to watch the footage…I just kind of need to…though I’m not sure being alone would be smart just in case…I have no idea how I will feel or react.”

Artie nods thoughtfully, “I kind of get it…I have no memory of the accident that took the use of my legs away…if I could see it…I would…I can’t tell you why either, just that if I had the choice, I’d take it.”

“I remember too much” Blaine confesses, “But still…I don’t know I guess it’s confirmation that I didn’t do anything wrong maybe? At the same time as confirming there wasn’t anything else I could have done…I don’t know I just need to see.”

“I think I understand” Artie tells him earnestly, “Will Sebastian be okay about you watching them with me and not him?”

“He will be…even if he isn’t at first…this is one of those times I’ve got to be selfish and I love him and don’t want to hurt him…but this is about me”

“Completely” Artie agrees fully, “This is only about you and what’s best for you…I just needed to be sure you’d thought about it” 

“Probably too much” Blaine confesses and puts the DVD of the first attack in, “Are you ready for this?”

“Shouldn’t I be asking you that?”

From that point on neither of them speak until the footage from both attacks has been watched. At the end of the second DVD Artie turns the TV off when he notices Blaine has frozen, clearly deep in contemplation. Artie manoeuvres himself so he’s sitting directly in front of Blaine and leans forward. Blaine leans over so he’s in the brace position and Artie takes hold of one of his hands.

“It’s okay…it’s a lot to process” Artie reassures, “It was hard to watch for me…let alone you…but I would still watch my accident if I could…and it was obvious you did nothing to provoke it and that in both cases you did what you could to stop yourself from going down…you didn’t just accept and take it Blaine…you fought as best you could in both situations.”

Blaine looks up with watery eyes, “Yeah?”

“Definitely”

“Thank you for being with me”

“You do not need to thank me” Artie admonishes kindly

Just then the door to the apartment opens, “It’s me B! Our last lecture was cancelled so Thad and Hunter have come round…figured we could finish our project off and keep you company” Sebastian stops immediately when he sees how Artie and Blaine are sat, his boyfriend with watery eyes. “What’s going on?” he demands.

“Be open minded Sebastian…he did what he needed to.” Artie says firmly yet kindly, “We’ll give you some space” With that he moves into the kitchen, Thad and Hunter following.

“What’s happened?” Hunter asks

“He watched the footage” is Artie’s only explanation 

“I just don’t understand why you watched it B…why you’ve done this to yourself” Sebastian gestures at Blaine’s now tear stained cheeks as he paces

“Because I needed to… I know you don’t understand and that’s fine but you have to accept that this was my choice and not judge me for it…you’ve never judged me for anything before so why this?”

Sebastian collapses next to Blaine on the couch, “Because I don’t want you to hurt anymore”

“You’re hurting me by not respecting that it’s my decision and that ultimately nobody else matters in this” Blaine defends bluntly 

“Why didn’t you watch it with me?” Sebastian asks in a whisper

“Because I knew you’d react badly and try to talk me out of it again, and honestly I wasn’t sure if you’d be able to sit through it”

“I don’t think I could either…not again…I was sick after I saw it” Sebastian confesses

“You didn’t tell me that before”

“They almost killed you B and I saw it happen...the idea that I wasn’t there…that I couldn’t protect you and that you faced it all alone again…well…I never want to feel like that again...that afraid and that helpless."

Blaine looks deep into his boyfriend’s eyes, “I love you…I didn’t do this to hurt you”

“I know…and I love you too…so much”

“Do you know why I asked Artie to be here?” Sebastian shakes his head “Because he’s been through a traumatic incident too…if he could watch his accident he would…and yeah he’s a good friend but he’s not in deep like you”

“You cannot be real…even when you’re facing something like this you’re looking out for me”

“Always” Blaine promises

Sebastian cups his boyfriend’s face and kisses him deeply pouring all his love into it, Blaine immediately reciprocating.

When the kiss breaks they rest their foreheads together, “Oh…and your dad is coming round to dinner”

“Great…he should have told me about this” Sebastian closes his eyes

“Don’t be an idiot…you know he can’t. I’m his client so everything is confidential between us”

“I know” Sebastian grumps

“You’re weirdly cute when you’re sulky” Blaine teases

“I do not sulk” Sebastian pouts

“You totally do” Blaine smiles softly and kisses him again.

The rest of the guys stay until Xavier arrives with Artie and Blaine playing video games and the other three finishing their project. That evening when Xavier leaves he and Sebastian share a very awkward one arm hug of sorts but it’s a massive break through.

Sebastian turns around to see his boyfriend grinning goofily, “Oh shut up”

The rest of the days before Blaine goes back to campus seem to rush by with everyone watching their curly haired friend battle every obstacle head on. Of course Sebastian can’t help but fuss the morning that Blaine is meant to head back to school.

“Bastian please stop fussing” Blaine requests as Sebastian helps him put his backpack on, his usual satchel not being a good idea while dealing with the cast on one arm and using a crutch with the other.

“I just want you to be sure that you are ready to go back”

“I’ve got to”

“I don’t want anything to happen to you” Sebastian confesses as he wraps Blaine in his arms

“Me neither…I’ve felt that way everyday I’ve had to wave you off since…since it all happened. I don’t know if I’m ready to go back but I won’t find out until I do…and I’ve got car service booked for both journeys and Jeff is coming with me remember and Joey is in all my classes today and said he’d stick with me…he didn’t even question why I haven’t been there or why I might need some help.”

“He’s a good guy” Sebastian admits, arms still wrapped around his boyfriend, not yet ready to let go. 

“We need to go Bas” Blaine mutters and presses kisses into Sebastian’s neck

“Okay” Sebastian finally relents and lets go of his love to pick up his own bag, the two heading out together. When they get to the lobby Jeff is waiting outside but Sebastian pulls Blaine back, who is clearly getting anxious. “Remember, you can do this”

“I can do this” Blaine repeats, an exercise he’s been doing whenever he’s been feeling anxious, and leaving his sanctuary of home is still making him a little anxious, they were building up slowly to him going out in the dark again but they weren’t there yet.

“Promise me you’ll send me a couple of messages so I know you’re okay…and if you get tired remember to go and use Michael’s office for some time out like he said.

“I promise” With a final deep breath the couple step out the doors

“I love you killer” 

“I love you too Bastian” The couple share one final kiss before Sebastian walks off, heading to the subway to start his own day, knowing that he needed to pull himself away now if he was ever going to and doesn’t once look back.

“Car service to school….I knew there was a reason I kept you around” Jeff jokes as he wraps his arm around his shorter friend casually

“Thanks Jeff”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about”

Blaine smiles, “Of course you don’t”

Jeff walks with Blaine to Michael’s office, where Joey is already waiting inside, “I’ll see you back here at the end of the day”

“You don’t have to wait around for me to finish if you don’t want to”

“Blaine…car service versus subway” Jeff half jokes before giving his friend one last hug, “If you need me”

“I’ll call”

“It’s good to see you Blaine…you’re certainly looking better than when I last saw you” Michael greets as Blaine closes the door

“What the?” Joey asks in shock, “I mean you don’t have to tell me…good to have you back bro”

“Thanks for agreeing to being my chaperone” Blaine greets his friend with a hug

“Anytime…you’d do it for me”

“And thank you for not pushing”

“It’s not my style” Joey tries to act cool, making Blaine laugh

“But I think you need to know what happened…just in case I get any triggers” Blaine admits and then goes on to tell Joey about the attack and the injuries he suffered. Michael then picks up to explain how Blaine will be able to stay in the advanced group and continue with his friends.

After the meeting Joey and Blaine head to class, Joey walking on the outside of the shorter boy to lessen the chances of him being bumped in to. “So any mutations I should know about?” Joey asks as they walk slowly along the corridor.

“Huh?”

“Well you saw what happened to Deadpool after he was put under strain and pain right? I mean you don’t look like an old avocado but you might have some power…”

“You’re such a nerd”

“Touché my friend”

“Not denying it! Let’s face it…Harry Potter brought us all together and I really don’t think many friendship groups can say that.”

Joey laughs, “Ain’t that the truth”


	113. Back to Earth?

When Blaine gets home after his first full day at college he is exhausted, “I’m home” he calls tiredly after hearing Sebastian pottering around in the kitchen.

“How are you feeling?” Sebastian asks as he appears, dish cloth slung over his shoulder and his round-framed glasses on

“Exhausted but happy” Blaine replies as he takes his backpack off 

“Come here” Sebastian smiles softly and scoops Blaine up, the shorter holding his crutch so it doesn’t get in the way, and places him on the couch.

Blaine giggles softly, “My Superman”

“You know it” Sebastian leans down and places a kiss on his love’s forehead, “This came in the mail for you” he passes a white envelope to Blaine

Blaine frowns curiously as he opens it, “They’re doing it” he says with a mixture of disappointment and sadness, he looks deep into his boyfriend’s eyes, “I don’t understand…they have no need to do this”

“Do what killer?” Sebastian asks and settles next to Blaine, rubbing his leg soothingly as he reads the letter, “It’s simple to me…your parents are greedy. They hadn’t spoken to   
your grandparents in a long time so they won’t have any sentimental value for the house in Italy or anything else, but they don’t want you to have the money.”

“So because of me they can’t respect Nona and Grandpa’s last wishes”

“No…not because of you…nothing they do is because of you. They’re choosing to go against your grandparent’s wishes and they’re choosing not to have you in their life…and that’s their loss. Let me call my dad” Blaine nods so Sebastian makes his way back to the kitchen to speak to his dad and make sure the pasta doesn’t over cook

Blaine pulls out his phone and calls Cooper but it goes through to voicemail so he leaves a message. “Hey Coop it’s me…can you call me back when you have a sec? Love you big bro”. He then calls Patrick.

“Hey Blaine how are you doing?” Patrick answers brightly

“Is this a bad time?” Blaine asks hearing voices in the background

“Oh don’t be silly…it’s never a bad time for you and actually it’s Xavier and Sarah you can hear as well as Natasha, they’ve come round for dinner so they won’t mind me answering to you and Xavier just had to take a call himself.”

“He’ll be talking to Bas” Blaine admits quietly

“Why? What’s going on?”

“You were right…I’ve received a letter from my parent’s lawyer”

“They’re contesting the will then”

“Yes” Blaine replies sadly

“Hey…it’s not your fault”

“But…”

“No buts”

“I don’t even want their money and I’d be more than happy for the whole of the Italian property to be handed over to Rosetta, I know she and her family would look after it and the horses and I was going to make some donations to charities I know my grandparent’s supported.”

“I know you Blaine…I know it’s not the risk of losing the money that upsets you, I know it will be that your parents are explicitly going against your grandparent’s wishes that’s making you feel cut-up”

“Thank you”

“What are you thanking me for?”

“Taking the time to know me…even if I wasn’t always the easiest”

“To be fair your teenage tantrums weren’t the worst out there” Patrick teases, “How was your first day back on campus”

“Good…tiring” Blaine yawns, “And the hydrotherapy is the same...erm if I send you the dates will you see if you can come to my next singing recital and orchestra performance? I know it might not be possible, and you don’t have to but…” Blaine starts to ramble nervously

“Blaine” Patrick interrupts, “If we can, we’ll be there...now Xavier has just come back so talk to Sebastian and call me back if you need anything”

“I will…and you can tell Xavier he can talk to you about it”

“Thank you…and don’t stay up too late”

“Urgh fine” Blaine purposefully groans in a way that reminds Xavier of the stroppy teen even Blaine Anderson could be on occasion, “Not that I have much choice” he yawns again.

“Night…I send my love to you both”

“We love you too” Blaine disconnects the call then looks to Sebastian, “So?”

“My dad’s getting one of his friends to have a look considering it’s not strictly his area and he isn’t sure if the Italian law will have any impact so he’s going to contact Mr Scaletta too. Potentially this could go to court for a judge to decide though”

“They’d have hated that” Blaine frowns

“So we just have to make sure that they won’t hate the outcome” Sebastian says with such determination Blaine practically melts.

The door bell ringing catches them both off guard so Sebastian goes to answer, “You’ve got a visitor B!” he calls as he walks back through

“Ian? What are you doing here? Not that it’s not great to see you” Blaine greets and goes to push up from the sofa

“Don’t get up” Ian replies as he sits down

“Do you want some dinner?” Sebastian asks

“That would be amazing” Ian answers before turning back to Blaine, “Sorry for dropping by without notice, but I wanted to see how you’re doing, plus Cooper called me before he went on set earlier. He said he would have called you but he knew you’d likely be in class and not have seen the delightful letter yet…he also said to tell you that he’s with you every step of the way and that he’ll call you back when he can as he knows you’ll try to reach him after you’ve seen said letter. He then told me I’m to try and be his big brother substitute even though there’s no way I’ll ever live up to it…we agreed to disagree on that one.”

“He’s such a dork” Blaine smiles, “but he’s right, I did try to call him….not going to lie, I’ve been better but I’ve also been a lot worse so progress”

“Considering what Cooper told me…that’s the best I think you can be”

Sebastian comes through with three plates, each with cutlery on and the three talk over dinner, catching up and making comfortable small talk. After they’ve finished Ian looks at his watch, “Not that I’m trying to dine and dash but I’m back to work at 4am so I better go home and try to get some sleep…keep in touch and I’ll see you soon”

“Thanks for coming” Blaine says as he gives Ian a hug goodbye

“No problem, and if I can help with anything then let me know”

“We will” Sebastian replies as he walks Ian to the door before returning to Blaine, “Did that seem surreal to you too?”

“What Ian Somerholder just stopping by? No not at all” Blaine answers flippantly 

Sebastian rolls he eyes, “Smart ass”

“Can we cuddle tonight?”

Sebastian immediately softens, “Of course…why don’t you go get washed and get comfy in bed and I’ll follow, I just need to blitz some reading and it shouldn’t take me longer   
than it will you to get ready for bed”

“Sounds perfect” Blaine presses a kiss to his boyfriend’s door then uses his crutch to hobble to their bedroom, giving away how tired his body is truly feeling.


	114. Justice has never felt like a reality

Blaine gets into the swing of going back to campus, each day pushing him but in a really rewarding way and he’s already starting to notice a difference in his singing voice thanks to the intense vocal lessons and can admit he now truly understands what was meant when he was told he wasn’t accessing 25% of his voice.

Blaine is even more incredibly grateful for having Sebastian in his life as his boyfriend is truly looking after him when they’re at home and sends him messages of encouragement throughout the day, always somehow timing them for when Blaine is feeling down, as if he can sense it. 

When Blaine gets home that evening he orders some takeout so it should arrive around the same time as Sebastian. It turns out he couldn’t have got the timing better when Sebastian appears with a bag of Chinese food.

“You deserved a night off of looking after me and doing everything” Blaine explains to the silent question

“I like looking after you”

“Still the fact that I’m drained by the time I get home so you’ve been doing all the cooking isn’t fair…so this is me taking my turn.”

“Hey I’m not going to argue with you” Sebastian kisses him and grabs a couple of plates after putting the bag down, “How was your day then?”

“Well I know what I’m going to be singing at the spring recital”

“So tell me then” Sebastian nudges Blaine when he doesn’t elaborate

“Hallelujah, acapella, and Listen.”

“Wow…so hallelujah completely acapella?”

“Yep…I won’t be able to play at that point and it would feel wrong with someone else playing for me so completely acapella it is…I’m starting to regret that choice though”

“Don’t…you’ll be amazing and there is a reason why you decided that was the best way to perform it so don’t second guess yourself. Your best performances are when you follow your gut. I’m guessing you didn’t choose the Beyonce song”

“Nope…that’s Sarah’s choice to demonstrate my voice as she thinks I’d have unlocked the rest of it by then”

“Makes sense”

“I guess” Blaine frowns, “How was your day?”

“Good I have no work to do tonight!” Sebastian smiles brightly 

When they finish eating Blaine receives a call from Xavier so Sebastian puts the plates in the dishwasher and fetches them both drinks before cuddling Blaine, who puts his phone on speaker, “Bas is here too Xavier…you can speak openly in front of him”

“Okay…hi Sebastian”

“Hi Dad…so what news do you have for us?”

“Well I wanted to make sure you both remembered that as of midnight tonight, the restraining order will no longer be in place”

“Any chance of getting it extended?” Sebastian asks

“At this point it’s unlikely. Kurt has respected the order so there is no evidence to suggest it warrants extending. If however he starts tracking you down or hassling either of you should you bump into one another, do like you did before, document it all and let me know because then it can be reinstated”

“Okay” Blaine accepts, “I’d rather not need to have a restraining order against someone so fingers crossed it was the shock he needed”

“We’ll see” Sebastian grumbles, “Oh come on B don’t look at me like that”

“You always think the worst” 

“And you always think the best”

Blaine rolls his eyes at his boyfriend, “Is there anything else Xavier?”

“Yes…I’ll be seeing you sooner than I predicted. I’m coming to New York tomorrow. Do you think you are up to an identification line-up?”

“Seriously? They have some leads?” Blaine asks shocked 

“The police are quite confident they have all four attackers, but need a positive ID check from you…they are also contacting Kurt to ask him to take part. If you both select the same four then it is twice as powerful when it goes to court”

“So he’ll be there at the same time?” Sebastian asks

“No, I’ve asked for him to have a separate appointment, plus it will make the identifications questionable if both are in the room at the same time, it could be argued that the decision of one could have affected the other”

Blaine had zoned out of this part of the conversation, “I can’t believe it…they actually think they could have the right people…I never really thought it would go anywhere” he confesses

“The police really want to catch the group who attacked you Blaine. There have been other attacks they think have also been committed by them so they will be pulling other victims in too. If it is these men and then they will serve time and it could make a big difference.”

“I don’t want to get my hopes up”

“That’s wise, but enjoy this moment, for if these aren’t the right men, the police will keep looking until they find them, find solace in that”

“I do”

“So do I” Sebastian adds

“So when’s the line-up?” 

“The day after tomorrow…I’ll of course come with you, Sebastian you can be there too…they will let you in as support for Blaine”

“As if I’d be anywhere else” Sebastian responds

“I’ll leave you two to the rest of your evening, but you can always call me if you have any questions. Perhaps I can take you to dinner tomorrow evening?”  
Blaine still hasn’t managed to go out in the dark without setting off a panic attack so is reluctant to go out, “Or we could do dinner here?” he suggests

“Whatever works best for you both…I’ll see you tomorrow”

“Tomorrow” Blaine and Sebastian agree and end the call

“I can’t quite believe it Bastian”

“You should…you could get some justice B” Sebastian smiles

“Not just me, others too, and hopefully people will be a little safer now” Blaine smiles at the thought

Later that evening as they are getting into bed Blaine looks to Sebastian, “You don’t have to sleep in those you know” he says quietly as he climbs under the covers

“My boxer briefs?” Sebastian questions

“Yeah…I know you’re not as comfortable when you wear them and you prefer sleeping nude…so you know…you can if you want” Blaine says bashfully, looking down where he’s playing with the edge of the comforter 

Sebastian sits down next to his boyfriend, takes his hands gently and dips his head so he can get eye contact, “Talk to me B…what else is going through that head of yours”

“I want you to be comfortable”

“And I want you to be comfortable…and I didn’t want you to think I was pressuring you”

“I know you’re not…you’re being beyond patient and I know I’m not meeting your…erm needs”

“Hey…you’re meeting my needs everyday by tackling this shit head on so get that out of your head right now…and we’ve been over this before, I’m not going to look elsewhere”

“I don’t think you are Bastian!” Blaine responds immediately with such passion Sebastian knows he’s being honest

“Then what else is this about? I know you’re not telling me everything”

“I want to try to go back to normal…well I mean…I’m not ready for…yet but we’ve always been comfortable in front of each other and I don’t want to lose that by covering up in a way we never have…we never slept with any form of clothes on before all of this”

Sebastian can tell Blaine is getting a little emotional and wants him to sleep tonight so he rolls his eyes playfully, “Honestly killer…if you wanted me naked you only had to say so,   
I’m more than happy to oblige” he teases and manages to get a smile in return. Sebastian peels of his boxer briefs then cuddles up under the covers with Blaine, “It does feel a little weird with you wearing something when I’m not though…it’s like I’m trying to violate you” he half jokes

“When aren’t you?” Blaine replies, clearly finding the situation comfortable and not at all awkward, like he was fearing.

“Hmmm…you should be proud of the restraint I’m showing”

“Oh I am” Blaine then kisses Sebastian. It’s clear nothing else is going to happen but it’s still a massive step forward considering and that’s something Sebastian will not take for   
granted. He’d done a lot of reading about cases where people had been through similar traumatic experiences and a key theme with those who’d been attacked, even in non-sexual ways, is that it takes time for them to be able to be intimate again, even if they are in a long-term relationship, because of the amount of vulnerability that you put your body through, even if you don’t realise it. 

Sebastian does however dare to run his hands down and cup Blaine’s ass, “Is this okay?” he asks warily when Blaine stills for a moment.

“Yeah…that’s good” Blaine smiles then buries his face into Sebastian’s neck.


	115. Facing demons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay in posting, I've had the flu so have been mostly sleeping the last few days and feeling sorry for myself!

It’s the day of the line-up and Blaine is clearly nervous about it, only managing a few mouthfuls of cereal at breakfast. Sebastian doesn’t push him to eat more though, figuring he’ll have opportunity to get food into his boyfriend afterwards. Xavier had ended staying with them overnight having gone to the apartment straight from the airport and didn’t want to turn down the invitation once it was offered in case of offending the boys. Plus it let him see into their world a little more, something he did not take for granted. The older Smythe keeps out of the way as much as possible knowing today will be difficult.

Blaine’s standing in front of the wardrobe, “What do I wear Bas?”

“Something you’ll be comfortable in…here” Sebastian reaches in and pulls out a pair of stone coloured chinos, grey v-neck t-shirt and denim button down, and gently dresses Blaine, leaving the top third of the buttons of the button down open so the t-shirt underneath can be seen a little. “There how’s that?”

“Perfect” Blaine smiles

When Sebastian is dressed they head out of their bedroom and find Xavier ready to go, “Are you ready to do this?”

Blaine takes Sebastian’s hand, “We are” The couple put their shoes on, for Sebastian a pair of Converse and for Blaine a pair of Vans and their coats.

When they get to the station, they are warned things are running a little behind schedule so take a seat prepared to wait. Blaine doesn’t really join in with conversation but does maintain contact with Sebastian, never letting go of his hand and starts reciting some of his violin pieces, which becomes apparent when he starts mumbling notes under his breath and twitching his still healing fingers. Xavier picks up on this and Sebastian quietly explains, knowing Blaine has zoned out.

“Don’t be surprised if he starts doing times tables either, it’s a focusing technique for him”

“Noted” Xavier then slightly abruptly stands up, catching Blaine and Sebastian’s attention

“I need to speak to him” Kurt tells Xavier

“I’m sorry Mr Hummel but you cannot speak to Mr Anderson at this time. I’m sure you can appreciate this is a difficult time and if you speak to Mr Anderson at this moment it could jeopardise the case as it could be twisted that you consorted to identify the same people, if you have identified anyone, in court.”  
Kurt looks over to where Blaine is sat with Sebastian, both ignoring his presence even though it’s clear they will know he’s there given the proximity. “Fine, in that case tell him I’m sorry I left him that evening and that I’ll always be here for him” Kurt then turns and leaves, not being stupid enough to push in the police station.

“Do not repeat what he said” Blaine tells Xavier flatly yet politely without making eye contact

“Well I guess we know why they’re running behind” Sebastian comments non-committedly

Before they know it the three are called in.

“Now Blaine, take as long as you need to” Inspector Timpson tells him as he, Xavier and Sebastian keep back while Blaine looks down the long row of suspects, four of whom are thought to be the group who carried out the attack. A long while later Blaine speaks, “Can you make number three talk?”

The Inspector moves up to the microphone, “Number three please step forward, can you tell me what month you were born in?”

“None of your business asshole” Is the response

“Him” Blaine confirms with a strong conviction and reaches behind him while staring at number three. As soon as he feels Sebastian’s fingers entwine with his he pulls his boyfriend close so he’s stood with Sebastian pressed along his back, arms wrapped around his waist.

“Are you 100% sure? I’m sorry but I have to ask”

“100%” Blaine replies then continues to look up and down the row eventually he takes a deep breath, “Numbers one, six and eight as well as number three”

Again the Inspector moves to the microphone, “Numbers one, three, six and eight please step forward and stand next to each other”

“That’s them” Blaine says immediately as the group are stood together, triggering flashbacks

“Everyone else file out” the Inspector tells the line up as Blaine steps out of Sebastian’s arms and walks closer to the one way mirror so he can look into the faces of his attackers, one of whom spits at the glass. The four men are all relatively tall with larger builds, the rough looking sort who are clearly used to throwing their weight and fists around to get what they want. The types of thugs who can ruin football matches for the other fans by picking fights with supporters of the opposition.

The height and general size difference of Blaine and his attackers becomes more apparent to those in the room as the shorter gets as close as he can without touching the glass, putting it into perspective. Nobody rushes him at this point even though a few minutes feel like hours.

“You can’t keep us here forever, either charge us or let us go” One of the men almost shouts at the glass aggressively, eyes moving around as if trying to see through the mirrored glass.

Blaine shakes his head, “I almost feel sorry for them. They must be so unhappy in their bigoted lives or else why would they do it.”

“They don’t deserve you to feel sorry for them B” 

At last Blaine finally turns around and faces the others in the room, looking each one in turn before locking eyes with Sebastian, “It’s better than letting myself hate…otherwise it’ll make me like them” he gestures backwards with his head to the glass behind him, making everyone look on at him with awe. 

“If you could sign to confirm you picked out these men with no influence from any third parties and that you have no doubt it is them, then you can go” the Inspector hands the paperwork over to Blaine and Xavier immediately steps forward to read and handle the forms with him. 

“It normally takes a couple of weeks for the court date to come through. Given the seriousness of the crimes they’ve committed and the evidence amassed I’d say you shouldn’t have to wait long to go to court though” The Inspector says to Xavier and Blaine

“I’d expect to be in court in around six weeks” Xavier states drawing on his experience

The three head on their way after shaking hands with the Inspector. When they are a couple of blocks from home a downpour of rain starts, “Here’s great” Blaine says to the taxi driver who pulls into the side, the shorter boy immediately getting out and tipping his head back to the sky. Sebastian looks at his dad and shrugs so Xavier pays the driver then the two step out and immediately use Xavier’s large black umbrella to shelter from the rain, the weather meaning the sidewalk is now basically deserted as everyone scrambled inside the nearest building to wait out the heavy shower.

“What are you doing?” Sebastian calls over the noise of the rain 

“You can’t wait for the storm to pass you need to dance in the rain! Besides rain brings us water so brings us life! You shouldn’t hide from it!” Blaine shouts back laughing and starts walking towards home occasionally spinning around and kicking his feet through puddles. 

When they’ve walked a block Sebastian laughs at the sight of his boyfriend spinning around a lamp post then jumping in a puddle so leaves the shelter of the umbrella and jogs to catch-up with Blaine before scooping him up and spinning him around, the couple both laughing brightly. Xavier looks on and can’t help but smile.  
“Right you need a warm shower” Sebastian tells Blaine and pulls him to the ensuite and is bold enough to jump under the stream of warm water with him, kissing him deeply as they both keep randomly giggling. Sebastian manages to keep his hands to himself though, not wanting to push the boundaries or make Blaine feel bad for not ‘meeting his needs’ again and just enjoys the complete skin on skin contact again. 

Sebastian is the first to reappear, his hair still wet and dressed in sweat pants, and finds his dad bringing three mugs of coffee into the living room, “I hope you don’t mind, but I figured we could all do with it”

“Thank you”

“Of course I wish none of this had ever happened, that neither of you are having to go through what you must be, but I am glad to have gotten to know you both better…even though I don’t think I’ll ever be able to fully figure out that boyfriend of yours” Xavier says lightly yet meaningfully, with a hint of nervousness buried deep down, “Or you for that matter, it’s probably why you go together so well.”

Sebastian raises an eyebrow, clearly a little sceptic, “Right…”

“I guess in a very roundabout way I’m ultimately trying to say sorry for how I’ve treated both of you”

“Just don’t slip back to it and we’ll see how things go” Sebastian replies firmly then sees Blaine hobbling back through, “You okay killer?” he asks noticing Blaine’s mood is a little more sombre.

“I’ve got a missed call from Rosetta”

Sebastian frowns with sympathy, “Better call her back then B”. Blaine nods then curls up next to Sebastian and pulls his phone out before having a conversation in Italian. “So what’s going on?” Sebastian asks when the call ends.

“Apparently a lawyer has been sniffing around the property on behalf of my parents and she was asking about the cremation and stuff”

Xavier sits forward, “What did she say about the lawyer?” 

“That he’s been asking questions about the house and land, not that she or anyone has given him any information, but that he tried to get it by saying that he is there on behalf of the new owners as they are concerned about the condition of the property, even though there’s nothing wrong with it.”

“So what do we do?” Sebastian asks his dad

“Well the property could be a sticking point as apart from the smaller house going to Rosetta and her family, there was no explicits as to what should happen with the rest of the property, the will just stated that their assets should be split between you and Cooper, 50 to 40 percent with the remainder on standby if you like. Let me call my colleague Johnathan, this is more his area but your parents clearly aren’t hanging around.”

Sebastian signs quietly to Blaine as he cuddles him while they both wait for Xavier to come back. In truth he’s getting really pissed off with the constant downs after any slight high but he knows it won’t be forever.

“Okay” Xavier starts as he comes back in the room, “Johnathan recommends forcing a court date, bypass any negotiations courts can request you go through in such situations and get in front of a magistrate. From looking at Italian law and various things, if they start doing work on the house it could help their case for owning it. I am very aware you have some assessments coming up but I suggest you talk to NYU about missing a few days out next week.”

“That soon?” Blaine gasps

“That soon” Xavier confirms

“Bastian?”

“I’ll see if I can get the time out too without any comeback…so, you said you’d fight for your grandparents…are you ready for this?”

“It doesn’t matter if I’m not…what matters is what I’ve got to do” Blaine replies with an almost alarming amount of conviction then pulls out his phone to email Michael. Blaine then stands up and heads towards the music area.

“What are you doing?” Sebastian asks

“If I’m going to be taking more time out next week I need to make up for it” With that he closes the glass door divider and sets up a microphone with his laptop and earphones so he can listen to himself sing back.

“I didn’t expect that reaction” Xavier confesses

“Keeping me on my toes is perhaps what he does best…he’s such a determined stubborn ass though that didn’t surprise me” 

Sebastian then takes out his own laptop and books and starts working so Xavier does the same until Johnathan calls him back to call confirm the court date for the next week.

“How would he have pulled it off?” Sebastian asks his dad

“You’ll be amazed at what you can do when you know the right people and strings to pull…You’ll be able to do the same”

Sebastian goes to let Blaine know and when he opens the glass door Xavier gets a glimpse of the younger boy’s voice and is truly blown away. Sarah had shown him videos of Blaine performing that she’d seen and he had to admit he was a true talent and showman, but what he’d just heard was something else, something truly special.

Xavier watches the interaction through the glass with curiosity, watches how his son first gets full eye contact with Blaine, how he gently cups his face gently as he breaks the news and how after a few moments Blaine nods slowly but surely before hugging onto Sebastian, the taller forming a protective embrace around him.

Blaine speaks to Cooper later that evening with the older promising to request the time off so he can be in Ohio, but doubting that he’ll get it given that they already delayed the start of filming so were playing catch-up. Blaine reassures his brother that it’s okay, that he understands, plus he’s not sure he could watch Cooper be in a position where he’s being pulled between their parents and him.

The next day Sebastian makes a point of speaking directly with all of his professors who confirm he can have the time away from campus with no penalty or mark against his record, as long as any work that is due is not submitted late and that he covers the topics in his own time so he does not fall behind. Thad and Hunter of course both find out what’s going on, as do Sam and Jeff from Blaine. Together, the guys decide that this is perhaps one occasion that the couple should not be left to face things alone, even if they say that’s what they want, so they set about making their own arrangements, knowing that if things get as messy as they could, safety in numbers would be no bad thing.


	116. You don't have to do this alone

Before they know it Blaine and Sebastian are flying back to Ohio. Originally the couple were going to drive as Sebastian wanted to be able to drive Blaine separately to anyone else when going to and from court and have some freedom to get away if needs be. Patrick however had assured Sebastian that they would be able to use one of their cars so save them the long drive and make their journeys easier. Unfortunately Cooper couldn’t take any time away from filming, however he had done everything he could to let his brother know he wasn’t in this alone, including sending a statement to Xavier and Johnathan saying that he supports how his grandparent’s will was set out and doesn’t agree that his parents should be able to claim the property.

When the boys land in Ohio they first meet up with Wes, who’d also flown home, his flight having arrived thirty or so minutes before and then all head out front where they find Patrick waiting for them.

“I thought you might like to drive back Sebastian, she’s basically yours for the weekend” Patrick tosses the keys at the taller boy.

“Are you serious? When you said we could borrow a car…”

“Don’t give him the chance to change his mind” Wes quickly interrupts as the three look at the Mercedes S-Class, “How come you’ve never let me drive it though?” he challenges his dad.

“Because I’m not teaching you to drive shift in it” Patrick replies as they climb in after placing the luggage in the trunk

Sebastian takes to the car like a duck to water, never once coming near to stalling it or over revving and he has no problems backing it into the garage once they get back to the house. 

The couple take their things up to Blaine’s room, “I love seeing you smile like that” Blaine tells his boyfriend, who’s still grinning from getting to drive the car.   
“Like what?” Sebastian asks as he wraps his arms around his boyfriend and pulls him into his body

“Like you’re happy and carefree”

“Do you know when I feel happiest and most free?” Sebastian press his forehead against Blaine’s, “When I’m with you…me and you against the world killer”

“Me and you” Blaine reaffirms and kisses Sebastian, it’s slow and sensual and they don’t break apart for some time. “You okay about seeing your dad again tonight? I think Patrick is actually a little worried he overstepped by inviting him and Sarah here for dinner and to go over things ahead of tomorrow.”

“It’s fine. He’s helping you…and I guess it’s a compromise as we’re not staying with them”

“I guess…it was nice that he offered but I’m with you that it’s too soon.”

“Plus you’re comfy here”

“So are you…come and play something with me, make up for my other hand” Blaine tells his boyfriend as he takes him to the piano in Tabatha’s room.

“What do you want to play?” Sebastian asks as they settle next to each other on the bench

“Whatever we feel like”

“You know I can’t play off the cuff like you”

“Yes you can…just let your fingers move”

Sebastian raises an eyebrow, “If it was that simple, everyone would do it” 

“Just join me with what feels right” Blaine says gently and starts playing a beautiful yet simple melody with his uninjured hand.

After a few long moments Sebastian slowly joins in, with one hand at first and then the other until between them they are playing a flowing piece of music.

When they stop playing Blaine looks to his boyfriend, “Now that…that was awesome”

They head back downstairs a little while later and join Wes and Patrick in the living room, “Where’s Natasha?” Sebastian asks Patrick

“She’s still on shift at the hospital, she had her clinic this morning then is at the hospital until the small hours of tomorrow morning”

“Wow that’s a long day”

Patrick laughs, “I guess…feels kind of normal to us now though”

“You’re looking good Blaine” Wes tells him and receives a look of disbelief in response, “Well you look a damn sight better than when I last saw you, it’s only the casts that give anything away now”

“Told you B, nobody can see the few tiny scars on your face”

Dinner that evening goes smoothly with Xavier relaying everything Johnathan had told him to in order to prepare Blaine in court as he was unable to make it to dinner himself, he would however be in court besides Xavier and representing Blaine, but he wasn’t able to make dinner that evening. As expected Blaine doesn’t really sleep that night and all too quickly they’re wearing their suits and he’s being driven to court by Sebastian in the Mercedes.

After they park they walk round to the front of the court house with Patrick, Wes and Natasha who’d pulled up just after them.

“Am I seeing that right?” Blaine questions out loud when he looks up the steps that lead to the entrance of the building to see Xavier and another man, presumably Johnathan, with Sam, Jeff, Nick, Thad, Hunter, Kitty, Rachel, Santana and Brittany.

“Well if you’re not then none of us are…Come on killer” Sebastian tugs Blaine along to greet everyone and they catch the tail end of Xavier firmly telling them they are not to communicate in any way with Blaine’s parents. “What are you doing here?”

“You were being dumb” Kitty replies

“We all know you two think you can do this mostly on your own…and well you can” Sam continues

“But…you don’t have to” Santana emphasises 

“So we’re not letting you” Thad furthers

“You’ve both handled too much on your own, and we want to be there for you this time, so we’re going to be” Jeff says firmly

“Besides…you’d do the same for us” Brittany smiles

“Without a doubt” Rachel adds

“Basically we’re staying whether you like it or not” Hunter shrugs a single shoulder, one arm wrapped around Kitty who playfully shrugs him off to hug Blaine who envelops her in his arms, the duo still being as close as they were at the end of Blaine’s senior year.

“Missed you fuzz”

“Missed you too wild cat…shouldn’t you be in school” Blaine adds purposefully to wind her up a little.

“Oh shut up” she giggles and gives him a kiss on the cheek before pulling away, “Well you’re still better looking than most guys and your assets don’t seem to have been affected”   
Kitty purposefully leers at his ass, “Damn you should wear dress pants more often”

“Please don’t” Blaine blushes

“Nice to see you again Kitty” Patrick greets her, “On form as always it seems” he comments amusedly

“I’d say I try but I really don’t” Kitty quips back impishly and re-joins Hunter, the two clearly pleased to see each other again.

“Blaine, I’d like you to meet Johnathan, Johnathan this is Blaine and my son Sebastian” Xavier introduces the three and then Patrick, Natasha and Wes to his colleague.

Johnathan looks at his watch, “We best head inside” So the group file in.

Sebastian gives Blaine a small kiss before they have to part ways, with Blaine sitting at the desk with Xavier and Johnathan. Patrick sits one side of Sebastian and Hunter the other, everyone making a silent agreement that they are the best two should things get rough. Blaine’s parents don’t once look in his direction and soon the judge enters, everyone rising until she is settled.

“We are here to assess the will of Mr and Mrs Santos, which is being challenged by Mr and Mrs Anderson. I have a copy of the will, it explicitly states that the small property Rosetta Abate resides in should be passed to her and her family. The remainder should then be split between Cooper and Blaine Anderson, forty to fifty percent, with the fate of the remaining ten percent being determined upon Mr and Mrs Anderson’s death. I understand Mr Cooper Anderson was unable to be here today.”

Johnathan stands before the Anderson’s lawyer has a chance, “That’s correct your honour, he was unable to take any time away from filming his current project or would face breaching his contract, he did however provide this letter on his stance of the situation.” Johnathan passes the letter to the clerk who hands it to the judge.

The Judge reads over the letter before looking back up, “Very well, I will of course bare Mr Cooper Anderson’s thoughts in mind, however it cannot be the main decider of this case and will not be.” The judge looks over to the Andersons, “I am to believe you are protesting the will…please present your reasons for doing so.”

The Anderson’s lawyer stands, “Your honour, I would first like to point out the recent change of date to the Santos’ will, the change that saw their estate being divided up fifty to forty between Misters Cooper and Blaine Anderson, a stark difference to the previous edition that still saw the small property being passed to Rosetta Abate, which I would like to add my clients have no contention with, but the remainder was to be split, fifty percent to Mr and Mrs Anderson then twenty five percent each to Cooper and Blaine. Surely the sudden change before their deaths throws this dramatic change, that is very much in Mr Blaine Anderson’s benefit, in question.”

Johnathan then stands, “Your honour if I may”

“Proceed Mr Miller” The judge replies

“Nobody could predict Mr and Mrs Santos would die in such tragic circumstances so soon after changing their will, therefore Mrs Barker’s point is invalid. Furthermore, Mr and Mrs Santos only changed their will in such a way as Mr and Mrs Anderson disowned Blaine at Thanksgiving last year due to his sexuality. There is also the fact that Mr and Mrs Anderson had been in very little contact with Mr and Mrs Santos for many years.” Johnathan then passes the clerk evidence that shows the Andersons cut all funding with ties with   
Blaine, including their informing NYU that they would no longer be paying his tuition fees.

After looking over the materials the judge looks over to the Andersons, “Is what Mr Miller is saying true? Does the change in the will reflect the time when you disowned your son and how much contact had you been in with Mr and Mrs Santos over say the last three years.”

Mr and Mrs Anderson then stand alongside their lawyer, “Our work causes us to travel frequently your honour. In combination with my wife’s belated parents passion for travel it meant that maintaining regular contact would have been near impossible. It is true that we disowned Blaine at thanksgiving, but that was because we simply could not continue to support the lifestyle he’s chosen and continued to ultimately throw in our faces.”

Jonathan stands, “Objection, the accusation that my client threw his sexuality, which nobody chooses, in his parent’s faces is unfounded and boarders on slanderous.”

“Objection accepted” the judge agrees, “Please keep to the facts rather than opinion.”

Jonathan then continues while he has the floor, “I would also like to put on the record that although Mr and Mrs Santos used to be frequent travellers, in the last two years they have been based primarily at the property in Italy as age and health prevented them from travelling long distances. The only long-haul journey they undertook was to attend my client’s high school graduation. Other than that, any travels were simple short breaks around the Mediterranean.” 

From there the proceedings become more and more bitter until Blaine stands and looks to the judge, “Please may I say something your honour?”

“Please Mr Anderson” the judge encourages, not yet having directly heard from Blaine

“I’m confused as to whether my parents are wanting the money for themselves or simply not wanting me to have it. If the latter, is there a way we could come up with another arrangement?”

“Please elaborate” the judge commands

“What if my share of the money went to charities my grandparents supported?”

“Exactly what did you plan to do with the money and assets your grandparent’s left you?” The judge asks with curiosity

“I hadn’t fully decided, I mean there’s a lot to consider but I was going to pay for my college tuition with some of it, like my grandparents said they wanted, they were paying for me anyway as they didn’t want me to use savings on it and my timetable doesn’t really allow me to commit to a job that would provide me with enough hours or funds to pay myself, and they said they wanted me to concentrate on my studies. I was going to donate some money to the charities they supported then put the rest in saving to give me time to really think about it. Then their house in Italy Cooper and I would use and let our friends use it too so if they wanted to go on holiday they could and only have to worry about flights.”

“What are you studying that means you couldn’t pick up enough hours?”

“I’m majoring in theatre studies and musicology and minoring in Italian at NYU”

“That’s impressive and I can see why your grandparents wanted you to focus on your studies.”

“Thank you your honour”

“Mr and Mrs Anderson I would like to know your opinion on donating the money to charity…you may take a few minutes to discuss this with your lawyer of course”

Blaine sits back down and Johnathan and Xavier both look to him, “That is an incredibly selfless option” Xavier tells him

Blaine shrugs, “I just want what would make my grandparents happiest to happen and I think if their wishes can’t be carried out fully, then the money going to charities they always supported, where it can make a real difference then I think that would still make them happy.”

Hunter looks to Sebastian, the duo having overheard Blaine’s every word, “It goes without saying anyway…but never let him go, or it will be the biggest fuck up you could ever make”

“Trust me…I know”

The Anderson’s lawyer stands back up after finishing hushed discussions with Blaine’s parents, “Your honour, my clients have a counter proposal. They would like the property in Italy as they have a personal attachment to that property and have previous involvement in it. They will then respect the remainder of the will.”

Blaine turns to Sebastian with fear in his eyes, that house and the grounds mean the world to him and Sebastian knows it. He’s seen Blaine’s special spot underneath the tree, seen how at peace Blaine was there, witnessed moments of love, laughter and happiness that happened at his boyfriend’s home from home, at what was probably the first place that felt like a home to him. He knows it’s one of Blaine’s only true sanctuaries in the world.

“They’re fucking doing this on purpose” Sebastian spits out quietly under his breath, but Patrick and Hunter both catch it.

“Please elaborate on their previous involvement with the property” the judge requests

“Mrs Anderson spent many childhood hours in that house and Mr and Mrs Anderson both supported and acted as references for Mr and Mrs Santos when they purchased additional land that now lies with the property.” The lawyer then passes the clerk supporting paperwork. Of course all of this happened many years ago, before Blaine was born, but there’s also details of Mr and Mrs Anderson supporting the Santos’ with landscaping work that saw the additional land become one with the gardens. This was of course because of the fact that both Camille and Joseph would both have still been travelling a great deal for their careers and there was no bad blood there at this point. Cooper would have been a small child and Mr and Mrs Anderson had always been parents to him. 

Things between them and Camille and Joseph only started going badly, and ended up toxic, because of how they treated Blaine and when their true feelings on any sexualities that weren’t straight came out. The lawyer then passes the clerk paper work that indicates Mr and Mrs Anderson are still involved with maintenance of the property, which of course they haven’t been, they’d simply sent someone round, but the quote was for an ‘assessment of repairs and maintenance works needed’. It is clearly a last ditched attempt to take something away from their son, however the paperwork has a lot of weight.

“Be prepared Blaine” Xavier tells him and Blaine immediately knows this isn’t good

After the judge perusing all of the physical evidence and considering all she’d heard that day she’s come to her decision. “There was never any deliberation over the smaller property going to Rosetta Abate and that is still the case. The ten percent of the assets that were meant to be frozen will be split evenly between Blaine and Cooper Anderson, this is acting almost as a form of compensation as the main Italian property, all assets associated with the property, will go to Mr and Mrs Anderson, due to their investment and involvement to date. The remainder of the assets will then be split fifty percent to Blaine Anderson and forty percent to Cooper Anderson, meaning minus the Italian property,   
Blaine will receive fifty five percent and Cooper forty five percent. Are there any questions?”

Blaine whispers to Xavier who then stands, “Your honour, when you say all assets associated with the Italian property, does this include the horses? There are three horses in the stables there that currently Mrs Scaletta’s family care for but were Mr and Mrs Santos’.”

“Yes this includes the horses, as they are technically an asset of the property” the judge confirms, “Good day” they all then rise for her to exit the courtroom, Xavier having to pull Blaine to his feet who’d entered a trance like state.

“That’s good right?” Rachel says to Santana, “It was a good outcome”

“I don’t think so…look at Blaine…really look at him” Brittany replies

They file out of court, Sebastian taking Blaine’s hand as they leave the room. As soon as they enter the lobby Blaine drops his boyfriend’s hand and with great dignity approaches   
his parents, “I would like to put an offer in for the three horses”

“We’ve already had interest for them” his mother replies

“I’ll pay more than they’re worth…please”

“We’re not selling them to you Blaine” his father reiterates, then looks at his casts, “Look at the state of you...you clearly aren’t mature enough to care for the animals if you still haven’t sorted yourself out yet…still haven’t got over that behaviour” he points at Sebastian. “Or is he the one that did this to you? He doesn’t look the sort, but I bet he could…maybe you just like it a bit rough” Mr Anderson stands imposingly over his son.

Blaine immediately becomes smaller, “Please…I don’t want any trouble, I just want to be able to put an offer on the horses”

“And we’ve told you no...and don't ever think of stepping a single foot on any of the property again” Mrs Anderson replies haughtily

Blaine's breath hitches, "But...no....you can't"

"I think you'll find we can" Mr Anderson tells him firmly with no room for movement

Hunter grabs Sebastian’s arm to hold him back as it’s clear the interaction between the three is becoming increasingly unpleasant and the two had been close enough to catch bits of the conversation. Patrick meanwhile walks up to Blaine, “Come on Blaine…let’s go” and takes his shoulders before walking him out of the court house. As soon as they get outside Blaine starts walking away and Sebastian is very quickly at his side and guides him to the car. 

“We’re missing something” Kitty comments to the others as they watch the couple go


	117. Don't become me

Sebastian drives Blaine to their quiet spot next to the lake where he asked Blaine about the recording where he confessed to putting rock salt in the slushy all that time ago. When he parks the car he manoeuvres his boyfriend so they are cuddled on the back seat.

After a few moments of silence Sebastian speaks, “That night when I asked you about the recording, I was so scared when you just walked away. I thought I’d completely messed everything up, that after I finally earned my chance to show you I was more than just an asshole, I’d gone ahead and screwed it up spectacularly quickly and that I’d never get the chance to take you out on another date. Being you, I thought we’d stay friends, but wouldn’t be as close, and that would have killed me, but not as much as the alternative of not having you in my life at all."

Blaine doesn’t say anything so Sebastian continues, “Then the time after that when we were parked here in this very spot, well I couldn’t believe my luck when I had Blaine Anderson cheerleader extraordinaire on the back seat of my car, determined to prove how flexible he’d gotten, and boy did you….and now…now every day I have you in my arms I can’t describe how thankful I am, and no amount of shit is going to make me change my mind, so talk to me B…I couldn’t hear what was being said enough to know what actually happened, talk to me and you’ll be safe in my arms no matter what, I promise."

The next thing Sebastian knows, Blaine has gotten out of the car, gone into the trunk and reappeared with a blanket, “Patrick always keeps warm blankets in the cars just in case”

“Riiiight” Sebastian drawers out but then understands, he undoes one of the back windows a little so they have a circulation of fresh air in the car and lies back, his knees bent so his back can be flat along the seat. Blaine then climbs back in the car, shuts the door and settles on top of his boyfriend, lying on his front between Sebastian’s legs, his own bent round, so his air casted leg isn’t being contorted awkwardly and throws the blanket over them both. “Tell me if this hurts your ribs”

“They’ll be fine, they don’t hurt now, I’ve just got to be careful until they’re fully healed”

“So…” Sebastian encourages

“They won’t let me put an offer in on the horses” Blaine says into Sebastian’s neck, “I even said I’d pay more than they’re worth, but they simply won’t sell them to me and they’re already considering another offer…and apparently as I haven’t stopped my 'behaviour', I’m not mature enough to look after them, why do they want to hurt me so much Bastian?”

“Because they’re greedy selfish bastards who knew they were going to lose if they kept pursuing everything so went after what they could to stab you and twist the knife to get some sick satisfaction....What else happened?”

“Apparently being attacked again means I like it rough, but the thing that’s really killing me, is that I’m never allowed to step onto the property ever again, not onto the grounds or into the house, I can never go back Bastian”

“I’m so sorry B…I know that place is like a sanctuary to you”

“Yes but it’s not just that…it means I can’t go to the ceremony to scatter my grandparent’s ashes” Blaine finally lets himself cry, big, deep sobs that make his whole body shake. 

Sebastian holds onto Blaine, both arms wrapping tightly around him as he occasionally presses kisses into curls until Blaine eventually cries himself to sleep. The emotional exhaustion and lack of sleep from the previous evening finally catching up with him with such force he can’t resist.

Sebastian carefully pulls his phone out of his pocket and messages Patrick to let him know they are both okay and to tell whoever might be at the Montgomery residence to give them space when they return. He also messages Hunter, who confirms they are all at Wes’ and tells him he needs to speak to him later. There wasn’t much, if anything, Sebastian could do about Blaine being allowed onto the property, and therefore to the ceremony, he knew enough about the Andersons to know they would not be moved, but there’s a chance that with Hunter’s help he might be able to do something about the horses, after all his family did have stables and Blaine’s parents wouldn’t link someone with the surname Clarington with them. That did rely on them conducting business without seeing Hunter face-to-face though or else they may recognise him. All Sebastian knows is that he’s got to try and do something or else his boyfriend would spend far too long wondering what happened to the animals he loves and if they’re being treated well.

It’s almost dark by the time Sebastian pulls up at Wes’ and the couple are shocked when Hunter and Kitty pull up seconds after.

“We’re staying” Kitty explains when Sebastian raises an eyebrow, “I just had to go home to get some things”

Blaine heads up to his room to go and speak to Cooper on Skype and catch him up on anything he doesn’t already know so Sebastian takes the opportunity to speak to Hunter. 

“How do you feel about purchasing three horses on our behalf, obviously we’ll give you the money.”

“Tell me everything” Hunter requests so they head into the den to discuss the matter in private, Sebastian divulging everything that happened at the court house between Blaine and his parents. “I’m going to pull my dad in on this” Hunter tells Sebastian, “There are empty stables at our place in the Hamptons the horses can stay in, if he okays it, which I’m sure he will from your description of them, and I get the feeling Blaine’s parents won’t question a high ranking member of the army, particularly considering there are US bases in Italy, not ridiculously far from where Blaine’s grandparent’s lived.”

Sebastian smirks, “Military man wants to purchase horses while in Italy, falls in love with them so gets them shipped back stateside?”

“Something like that” Hunter agrees

“One thing, I don’t want to give B more false hope so…”

“This stays between us” Hunter finishes, “I was going to suggest it if you didn’t” The two then call Hunter’s father.

Blaine’s sat upstairs having just finished speaking to Cooper when he hears a loud megaphoned voice booming into the house and commotion at the front door.

“What the hell?” Kitty shouts at Sue as she enters the hallway, Patrick having answered the door. “Did you follow us here? Why am I even asking of course you did you crazy   
psychopathic bitch”

“I am still your Principal and senior coach Kitty I really can’t remember your last name” Sue warns her before putting the megaphone to her lips once more, “Young Burt Reynolds get your pathetically small stature and ridiculously big eyebrows down here now!”

“You have actually fully flipped” Santana shouts at her old coach

There are other shouts of confusion and frustration but Sue will not be moved and continues to bellow through the megaphone until Blaine appears in a blur, snatches it from her hands and aggressively throws it outside, making it smash on the ground.

“That was my favourite megaphone” Sue shouts at the curly haired boy

“Deal with it” Blaine spits back at her

“Walk with me…and so help me god if you refuse” 

Blaine grabs his coat and heads out with his old coach.

“Do I want to ask?” Patrick addresses the group

“Actually on this one, I think we’d all like to” Sebastian replies and watches out the window as Blaine and Sue simply walk off the gravel of the long driveway and onto the front lawn.

“I know about the attack and I know about what happened in court” Sue tells Blaine flatly

“How?”

“Please, I was there earlier and heard everything your parents said to you afterwards, I’d be disappointed in you for not picking up on my presence if it wasn’t for my excellent disguise.”

“You’re crazy”

“No I have sociopathic tendencies, there’s a difference…everything I do has reasoning behind it, it’s not my fault if not everyone can see it, but it’s lucky for you”

“How exactly?” Blaine scoffs

“There are very few things I like in this world, and fewer people, yet you became one of them.”

“So what are you doing here Sue?” Blaine asks tiredly and walks to the seat swing, Sue joining him

“Do you know what makes us different?” 

“I honestly can’t be bothered with your games, not now so just please say whatever it is you’ve got to say then leave me be”

“What so you can continue to give up how you’ve started to?” Before Blaine can respond Sue continues, “Look the reason why I liked you, after I got over your annoying usually sunny disposition, is because no matter what the world threw at you, you never backed down, you always kept going and not only that but you kept going to make yourself better, to make the world around you better for those who live in it, you actually go out of your way to help people, really help them. I know about the Sadie Hawkins attack, it’s in your school record, it won’t surprise you to know that I tried to find as much dirt on you I could and what I found was that your seemingly idyllic upper-middle class life is full of loneliness and parents who don’t give a damn about you. That’s something I can relate to.”

Sue leans forward and takes a deep breath, “Yet, through all of this and with how you were treated when you first came to McKinley, you were always the good guy fighting for what’s right. You never fell for my manipulations and you weren’t scared of me….But the thing that makes you really different from me? I gave you the chance to destroy your parent’s so they’d be investigated by the IRS and you never took it, not once. You’re like Fabray. Both of you are as attractive as I am, both of you as clever, yet neither of you are like me. And I don’t want you to become me. Keep the good parts.”

“You know you have good parts too, they are just a little, well kind of a lot deeper, than most, or else you wouldn’t be here” 

“That’s the type of sickingly positive outlook I’m talking about, just don’t lose it, because it sure looked like you were going to earlier, and if you lose it, then you lose yourself and then you'd have let your parents win”

“Thanks coach”

“I had a feeling you needed someone else to say it other than your friends or that boyfriend of yours who is hopelessly in love with you. It makes me want to vomit, but despite that I have respect for him. He’s not someone to be messed with and I like that.”

“Do you want to come in and have a protein shake or something? I’m not sure what else you actually ingest”

“God know I’d rather have every single hair from my body plucked”

“Eww gross” 

Sue stands, “You still owe me a megaphone” and walks off leaving Blaine alone on the bench until Sebastian joins him a few minutes later. Sebastian sits down and Blaine automatically shifts so he’s sat sideways on Sebastian’s lap.

“What did she want B?” Sebastian asks as he wraps his arms around Blaine

“To make sure I don’t turn into her…I think it was the least ‘Sue’ I’ve ever known her to be”

“So what are we going to do now”

Blaine shrugs, “Carry on I guess. Today was really really awful…like up there with the worst of them…but if I can’t let them win, and giving up would be them winning…….You know my grandparents weren’t religious but they were spiritual, and I’d like to believe they’re still out there somewhere, together, and happy. The idea of my parents changing that house and taking away my grandparents from it is vile but the idea the horses might go to someone who won’t treat them right, they mean so much to me and they meant an awful lot to my grandparents too. They always used to use houses were ultimately bricks and mortar and that people got too attached to them, but living things, they’re what we should cherish.”

“So if you live by their beliefs then although you’ll still miss the house and the grounds, you can let them go, but the horses not so much.”

“Exactly, though this is definitely is a case of easier said than done”

“I know…I don’t expect miracles killer, I just want you to be you and remember than I’m here for you and that I love you so much.”

“I love you too” Blaine kisses Sebastian softly, “Is everyone still here?”

“They are, but they aren’t expecting you to sit with them if you don’t want to, they simply wanted to be here”

“Maybe we could have dinner with them, but then I want to just be us”

“Sounds like a plan killer B”

The couple slowly make their way back inside and join everyone where they’re gathered in the living room.

“Does anyone else fancy Mexican?” Blaine asks hesitantly

“Man I thought nobody was going to mention food” Nick replies brightly, “You know I’m more than happy with Mexican”

There’s a general chorus of yeses and agreements so Patrick orders plenty of food from the local Mexican. Sebastian’s glare stops anyone from asking about the details of what happened earlier or how Blaine is feeling as an alternative, with Santana stopping Rachel from putting her foot in it too.

“So what do you have to do to repay Sue for the megaphone?” Kitty asks

“Get her a new one” Blaine replies

“Seriously? That’s it?” Brittany questions shocked

“There has got to be a catch” Santana agrees

“Not this time” Blaine replies

The guys and Kitty drive most of the conversation knowing taking the focus away from Blaine is the best thing for him at this time and is what he’d want. Santana, Brittany and Rachel also catch on and join in while Blaine mostly sits back and watches his friends as they converse and eat their food. He excuses himself to get another drink and Wes follows him.

“I don’t think I have ever been prouder of you today Blaine”

“You don’t have to say that”

“When have you ever known me to say something I don’t mean…I’m proud of you and I’m not the only one”

Blaine and Wes share a tight hug which Patrick walks in on and smiles at the sight of the two boys, his two boys. 

“Embarrassing dad moment coming up” Patrick warns them before joining the hug, making Blaine and Wes both laugh a little, “If you’re getting tired Blaine you can head up you   
know, nobody will be offended, we’ll make sure of that” Patrick says pointedly, sensing that Blaine is needing some time out again.

“Can you tell Bas? Not that you’ll really need to”

"No he'll follow as soon as you've been gone just a little bit too long" Wes teases

Patrick rolls his eyes and smiles, “Of course”

Before long Blaine heads upstairs and removes his air casts before stepping carefully into the shower, when he gets out and goes back into his room with the towel around his waist and finds Sebastian sat on the bed, “You should go shower” Blaine tells him, “Trust me you need it”

“You’re a smart ass sometimes, you know that?”

“Nope” Blaine smiles

When Sebastian has dried off he wraps the towel around his waist and steps into Blaine’s room to find him in bed, “Cuddles?” he asks

“Cuddles” Blaine replies

“Am I okay like this?” Sebastian asks

“Just lose the wet towel”

“Well duh” Sebastian rolls his eyes playfully and slides into bed, “Hang on a minute” he looks under the covers.

“Don’t read too much into it, this is more like a next step than me waving an ‘I am ready flag’”

“More than fine by me…hello my old friend” Sebastian teases as he runs his hands down Blaine’s body and grabs his bare ass. Sebastian can tell Blaine isn’t truly comfortable with the situation though as instead of using his hands and arms to embrace him, he’s using them to shield his body. Of course Sebastian can understand why, he’s seen the new scars, one in particular that snakes its way from the top of Blaine’s thigh and round to be between his legs. “You know B, the flower that blooms in adversary is the most rare and beautiful of them all….and that’s exactly what you are, don’t doubt your beauty, inside and out, it’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before, and it’s only grown…you’ve only become more beautiful to me in every single way and you were spectacular before.”

Blaine tries to subtly wipe away the lone tear that escapes down his cheek before he looks deep into Sebastian’s eyes, “Did you really just use a Mulan quote to help make me feel better?”

Sebastian shifts his eyes, “I don’t know what you mean…I don’t know any Mulan quotes" Managing to get a small chuckle out of his boyfriend, "But no, I didn’t say it to make you feel better, I said it because it’s true.”

“I love you so much”

“I love you too…and if I end up poking you I’m sorry, it’s just that I can’t help it”

Blaine giggles softly then kisses his boyfriend. The two continue to kiss and enjoy the feeling of skin on skin, completely and utterly for the first time in a long time.


	118. Making it special

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I would absolutely love to hear what you think of this chapter! I really really hope you like it! :-)

The next couple of weeks are full of emotional outbursts from Blaine, but Sebastian knows he’s processing everything and dealing with it as tears turn to anger, which then starts to fizzle out. The worst day is of course the day of the ceremony to scatter the ashes, but Blaine speaks to Rosetta to do what he can to feel part of it and spends time on the arrangement he’s started working on and decided to dedicate to his grandparents.

Sebastian’s birthday gives Blaine something positive to focus on, and the recital the day after gives him something to channel his emotions into, particularly given the songs his singing. For the morning of Sebastian’s birthday Blaine had arranged an early vocal session with Sarah at school and manages to be up and out without disturbing Sebastian, but leaves a letter on the nightstand so his boyfriend doesn’t panic when he wakes up. Of course as soon as the front door closes Sebastian wakes, as if on instinct, and he immediately bolts up when he realises the apartment is too quiet for Blaine to be there too but he then notices the letter.

'Dear Bastian,  
I’m sorry I’m not there with you on the start of your special day but with the recital tomorrow I had to be gone early and I didn’t want to wake you as you looked so peaceful, so beautiful. I know you’ll tell me I don’t need to say it so I’m putting it down on paper. Thank you. Thank you for being my rock and not giving up on me. Thank you for being so patient. And most of all, thank you for truly loving me unconditionally, for I can have no doubt that you do, not after everything we’ve been through, particularly over these last several weeks.

Please come home at 6pm, not earlier and not later – unless you can’t help being late, in which case please give me a text. Tonight is about you my love, and about us.  
You have my heart, my soul, my body and my mind until the end of time.

Your killer B'

Sebastian sits and stares at the piece of paper for a moment before texting Blaine, ‘I love you too my adorable, ridiculously sweet idiot, I’ll see you at 6.’ He gets a message back straight away so knows Blaine must still be in the cab, not having taken to using the subway yet due to the casts, ‘there’s coffee brewing for you and a plate of breakfast being kept warm in the oven, and don’t say I’ve done too much, not today. I love you’.

Sebastian rolls his eyes fondly then goes and finds a full cooked breakfast and a small bottle of Courvoisier next to the coffee machine, making him smile brightly.

Sebastian bumps into Thad and Hunter on campus as he makes his way towards his first lecture of the day.

“You’ve got an extra bounce in your step today Smythe, Blaine make your morning special then” Thad teases with a smirk full of innuendo 

Sebastian stops Thad dead and leans over him darkly, “Listen to me, don’t you dare say anything like that to B, or it will be the last thing you do. That’s not a threat, it’s a promise.”

Thad holds up his hands placatingly believing his friend, “I don’t know what line I’ve crossed but I’ve obviously fucked up for you to react like that. I’m sorry okay, and I won’t say anything to Blaine.”

“Good” Sebastian calms himself down

Hunter cuts the tension, “Friends again? Good…Come on birthday boy I’ll buy you a coffee”

After their lecture Sebastian splits from the other two to go and meet with one of his professors.

Thad looks to Hunter, “I’m glad he’s okay again, I think I’d have an angry Blaine after me if he went home as pissed as he was earlier. I don’t get why he reacted that way though. Both of them normally take, and dish out, any jokes about that kind of thing, they know we’re only messing around and don’t mean anything nasty by it.”

“Thad I don’t know for sure, but think about it. It’s not as if Blaine would have really been in a position to do anything until recently, and then you’ve got the emotional scars to get through.” Hunter replies having a bit more of an insight into things from his own emtional recovery and hoping Thad will fill in the gaps.

Realisation dawns on Thad, “Oh…I feel like a prime asshole now”

“You’re always a prime asshole”

“Coming from you?” Thad laughs

“Just don’t tell anyone else my theory if you know what’s good for you”

“No I think Sebastian would actually kill me”

“And I don’t want to get lumped with helping hide the body” Hunter smiles back

Meanwhile at NYU after Blaine’s session with Sarah he heads out front and finds Sam already waiting with the car service he’d booked for the day. Weirdly it worked out cheaper than multiple cab journeys and this way he knows he should be able to get home without any delays or difficulties.

The best friends share a hug in greeting before climbing into the car, which then starts heading towards the hospital.

“You ready to ditch those casts?” Sam asks brightly

“It’s not a definite that I’m going to get to”

“Trust me you will…I got this feeling…you sure about having me with you and not Sebastian?”

“Yeah…remember if I get them off properly today then I want it to be a surprise for him. And if I’ve got to wait a couple more weeks, well then that’ll be what we were originally expecting so he can’t be disappointed about it.”

“It does make sense” Sam agrees, “Particularly as it’s his birthday”

“Are you still good to come to the leather craft with me afterwards?”

“You’ve got me until you ditch me dude” Sam smiles

It’s not long before they arrive at the hospital and Blaine has to take a deep breath before he can go in. After checking in at the clinic one of Dr Fitzpatrick’s junior doctors arrives to take him down to X-ray so the results are ready for his appointment with Rupert.

“Hello Blaine” Dr Fitzpatrick greets as he calls him in for his appointment when he’s back from x-ray, “And Sam is it?”

“Yeah it is…awesome memory” Sam smiles making Rupert laugh

“So do you want the good news?”

“Is there bad news?” Blaine asks hesitantly 

“Not really” Rupert smiles being genuinely happy for the curly haired boy, “You can go cast free”

Blaine smiles so brightly it lights up the room and Sam can’t help but wrap his best friend up into a mighty hug having missed that smile so much.

“Just don’t push it too quickly” Rupert continues, “Or you could cause recovery to full fitness to take considerably longer and even possibly go backwards, okay? Stick to the plan Patrick and I have approved for you and if you have any questions at all then let me know okay?”

“I will…I promise”

Dr Fitzpatrick stands, “Well in that case you’re free to go, and although I’ll miss our catch-ups at your appointments, I’m glad I don’t have to see you again so soon” Blaine laughs as he had formed an almost friendship with Rupert, he was so similar to Patrick it was just natural and easy for Blaine to do

“Likewise” Blaine shakes Rupert’s hand, “But I have a feeling we’ll see each other again if Patrick has anything to do with it”

Rupert laughs, “Without a doubt, but I mean it when I say call me, you have my number so use it, for any questions, worries or for a catch-up.”

“I will” Blaine replies sincerely before turning to Sam, “Can we do it?”

“We can totally do it” Sam smiles so happily and widely his cheeks are starting to hurt

The next thing Rupert sees is Blaine jump on Sam’s back and the duo go charging out of the hospital in that way, it makes him laugh. For the two boys it’s a small thing that makes a big difference. Because of the air cast Blaine had on his leg and arm, they hadn’t been able to mess around how they used to with piggy backs and things. If any of the new New Directions had seen them they’d surely be teasing them about morphing into Turk and JD more.

They both climb back into the car and head to their next stop. It’s not long before they’re stopping at the leather craft shop where Blaine has an appointment. He’s already finalised the design but he’s now going to make the custom bracelet with some help from one of the experts. The small silver tab with the infinity sign on and their initials intertwined in such a delicate way you wouldn’t realise what they were unless you really looked, is ready to finish off the bracelet. Blaine works with the craft-man to weave the four leather strands together that are all different shades of brown, with one having the words, ‘I’m not alone when you’re here with me’ on and another, ‘nothing is ever going to tear us apart’ imprinted in black lettering, with the other two being plain, allowing the wording to be made out, again if you properly looked at the bracelet rather than glancing at it. The special silver tab is then used to fix and finish the bracelet off, it having been made with a tightening mechanism, but one that could never let it become completely undone.

When back in the car with the small unassuming box that houses the bracelet Sam looks to his best friend, “He is going to love that so much.”

“I hope so” Blaine smiles shyly at the box he’s clutching

Sam rolls his eyes fondly, “He will. It’s the type of thing he’d wear, classy and…erm…what’s the word, kinda not flashy, un something or other…”

“Unassuming?” Blaine offers

“Yeah that’s it! But the details you’ve put on it obviously mean a lot, the silver tab I can work out for myself but the words must mean something too”

“Promise you won’t tell?”

“You know I won’t”

“They’re lyrics from the song I wrote him for our first anniversary”

“Oh my god that is quite possibly the most romantic, sweetest, most meaningful thing ever” Sam gushes, “So what’s next?”

“We’re picking up food then the flowers”

“You’ve preordered everything right?”

“Of course, I wasn’t going to risk it! Plus this way it’s easier as we only have to stop for a couple of minutes to grab the things”

The car pulls up outside of the high end grocery store Blaine had ordered the food from, Cooper had ordered the champagne on his behalf, which had already been delivered and kept locked up by Malcom, so he didn’t have any ID issues. Then only a few minutes later they’ve picked up the flowers and petals and are then soon back at the Seblaine apartment. While the duo had been out Brittany had also delivered the cape-blanket Blaine made so that was also waiting with Malcom, who helps the pair carry everything up, nobody wanting Blaine to risk overloading his newly free hand and arm.

“Sure you don’t need me for anything else dude?” Sam asks once Blaine has double checked he’d got everything he needs

“No thanks, I just need to get on now, everything is running to schedule though so it should all work out fine”

“You and your schedules” Sam teases before hugging Blaine

“Thanks for today, I know it can’t have been fun for you”

“Hey! I got to spend time with my best friend, pick up a hobby I want to try and see you get your casts off. Sounds like a pretty awesome day to me.”

“You’re the best friend ever”

“No you are” Sam gives Blaine one last squeeze before letting go, “Jeez I had better go before we get any soppier” 

“You really had” Blaine laughs.

With a final hug goodbye, Sam leaves Blaine to it, knowing the shorter will have everything planned out already down to the minute. First Blaine wraps the gifts, the bracelet, the cape-blanket and a framed picture of the two Jeff had snapped at New Year with fireworks exploding behind them. When Blaine saw the picture he made sure that Sebastian wouldn’t see it as it was the perfect shot and in the frame he’s chosen, a beautiful gift.

Next he sets the champagne to chill, puts the flowers in water, one bunch of yellow roses on the coffee table, another on the dining table and then a bunch on both of their bedside tables in their bedroom. He then prepares dinner, so he will only have to heat it up or cook the finishing touches. Of course Blaine’s planned the menu carefully to incorporate some of Sebastian’s favourites but so they go together as a complete meal. To start, they’re going to have chargrilled chili king prawns on slow roasted peppers, a main of pan-fried duck breast, creamed cabbage with chestnuts and caramelized pear and for desert, a chocolate, raspberry and almond pudding with boozy chocolate sauce. 

Sebastian meanwhile is heading to his own secret appointment. When he walks into the shop he walks up to the counter, “Sebastian Smythe, I have an appointment with Scott”

Sebastian only has to wait a couple of moments until the artist comes out, “I’ve done a few designs, obviously all an alto clef like you requested, but slightly different styles so you can choose your favourite, I’ll do any tweaks necessary then we’ll do a trace to make sure you’re happy with placement. When you’re happy with everything, then we’ll get you inked!”

The two sit together and look at the designs, Sebastian is immediately drawn to the one that has all the angles of an alto clef, but is somehow softer than the others and it reminds him of the oxymoron that helps make up his boyfriend. Considering some of the stories he’s heard about tattoos he’s surprised at how little it hurts and at how quickly the artists can work, and that is exactly what they are, artists. Before it’s wrapped, Sebastian looks in the mirror and can’t help the grin that spreads across his face when he sees an alto clef that resembles a B staring back on exactly the same place where Blaine’s tattoo is.

Back at the apartment Blaine’s dug out the large box of electric candles and covers the surfaces in the bedroom with them and closes the blinds, letting the candles create a warming glow, that almost resembles the light at sunset, enough to see clearly yet softening everything. Finally Blaine scatters the yellow rose petals he’d ordered separately from the actual flowers, over their freshly changed bed and puts the champagne in an ice bucket on top of their chest of drawers, complete with a towel and two glasses. He then jumps in the shower before dressing in the silver-grey dress pants and dark, dusky red shirt he knows Sebastian loves so much because of the way it makes his skin and eyes look. 

Blaine nervously glances at the clock and sees he’s finished everything dead on the time he wanted to so uses the last of the petals to create a path to their bedroom, and plays some Claude Debussy softly over the music system and stands next to their bed somewhat anxiously.

Sebastian is a little nervous as he approaches their front door as he’s not entirely sure how Blaine will react to the tattoo. He did it for a reason though, this is a concrete symbol about how he plans to stay the rest of his life with Blaine as otherwise he wouldn’t have done it, but he doesn’t want Blaine to feel as though he’s done it because he feels he has to in some way, or to freak out at all, as understandably, his emotions are still a little up and down. When he opens the front door he immediately notices the soft piano floating through the apartment and the dimmed lights, and of course the trail of petals that take him to his bedroom.

Sebastian’s breath hitches as he takes in the sight he finds, Blaine looks absolutely gorgeous, with the way the clothes cling to his body in all the right ways and the soft light  
bounces off the curls and then Sebastian notices it, “Your casts are gone” he comments puzzled

Blaine shrugs shyly, “I don’t need them anymore if I take things carefully and to the recovery plan. Surprise, and happy birthday my love”

“All this B? It’s…I can’t” Sebastian shakes his head as he’s truly speechless

“Have I actually made you speechless?” Blaine laughs softly, “Take a shower then come and have dinner with me” he gives Sebastian a kiss before leaving their bedroom so he can have dinner ready for when his boyfriend reappears.

Sebastian takes in the scene for a moment before jumping in the shower and can’t help but feel excited for what this night will bring. After showering Sebastian also dresses up a little to try and so that the effort Blaine’s gone to truly is special to him. They share a beautifully romantic meal that is full of bashful gazes and longing looks with coy smiles.  
After the last of the plates are cleared away Blaine takes Sebastian’s hands, “can you come and open the champagne for me?”

“Lead the way killer B” Sebastian smiles softly and lets Blaine pull him through their home

With perfect control Sebastian opens the bottle and pours them a glass each, which they both take sips from, maintaining eye contact the whole time. Blaine puts his glass down  
and takes Sebastian’s, putting it next to his own, before going up on his tiptoes and wrapping his arms around his boyfriend’s neck.

“Make love to me Bastian”

Sebastian smiles truly happily, “Are you sure?” he asks as his arms wrap around Blaine, his hands naturally resting on his ass once more. Blaine nods in response, “Okay but promise me that if you need me to stop or feel uncomfortable in any way, we’ll stop”

“I promise” Blaine replies then kisses Sebastian

“You’re not just doing this because it’s my birthday right?” Sebastian asks, feeling compelled to

“No…this is because I’m ready and we deserve to be us, really us, in every single way again, I’ve missed you and I need and want to do this more than anything else in the whole world.”

“Then I need to show you something” Sebastian replies as he steps back and starts unbuttoning his shirt

Blaine gasps when he sees the tattoo through fresh plastic wrap that Sebastian had used to redress the tattoo for the night as he was told to, “Is that really?”

“It is…what…what do you think?”

“Do you love it?”

“Absolutely, in everyway”

“Then I love it, we match” Blaine grins as he undoes his shirt so they can both look into the mirror side by side, “S”

“And B…and our love for music….the thing that helped bring us together in the first place, we wouldn’t have met without it”

Blaine turns back to his boyfriend, “I love you so much it hurts, but in a good way”

“I always knew you were a little BDSM” Sebastian smirks

“Very funny” Blaine pulls on Sebastian as he walks backwards towards the bed, taking his boyfriend with him

“And also a little true” Sebastian waggles his eyebrows before resting their foreheads together, “But I know what you mean. What you’ve done…all of this is more than I could have imagined or asked for, but let me take care of you now”

“Okay” Blaine agrees, “And remember, you’ve still got your presents to open”

“I’d say you’re the first and best one” Sebastian grins cheesily then gently lowers Blaine to the bed before delicately undressing him and then himself before climbing on top of his boyfriend. “I mean it though B, if you feel at all uncomfortable, we can stop at any point”

Blaine wraps his arms around Sebastian and rubs his back, “The truth is I probably will feel a little uncomfortable at points, but that doesn’t mean we should stop. Like the very first time we were together, I think we were both uncomfortable sometimes but because of nerves until it all just clicked and then was the most natural thing ever, and it’s like that now. It kind of feels like my very first time.”

“It kind of feels like mine too” Sebastian admits, also being nervous though very excited too, just like his boyfriend.

Sebastian carefully lies down on top of Blaine and the two begin kissing softly yet passionately. The kiss soon turns heated, the desire they have both been keeping locked away truly coming to the surface. Soon marks are sucked onto anywhere mouths can access and kisses are pressed against bodies and nipples sucked, both savouring the other’s body. Once again it’s the most natural thing in the world for both of them to be with the other like this. Before long both end up on their sides, bodies pressed together as they continue to kiss, tongues battling in a dance of their own as Sebastian’s lubed fingers start to massage Blaine’s ring of muscles before slipping him.  
Sebastian does what he can to keep Blaine relax as he slowly stretches him, doing it thoroughly to avoid as much discomfort as possible. After what feels like an agonizingly long amount of time they roll gently so Sebastian is once again pressed on top of Blaine, lying between widely parted legs. They maintain eye contact as Sebastian slowly pushes his coated length in, inch by inch as he lets Blaine adjust. They meet each other for every long, complete, careful thrust and savour the feeling of being joined completely and utterly once more. They keep the thrusts steady, only speedy up a fraction and end up crying out loudly as they both spill over together, Blaine painting their stomachs untouched while Sebastian comes deep within him. 

Neither say anything for some time and only pull apart when they truly have too, yet lay back on their sides, bodies pressed together despite how sensitive they both are and kiss some more.

“Thank you” Blaine finally says

“What are you thanking me for?” Sebastian asks so seriously they both burst out laughing

“That was really amazing, truly special” Blaine explains once he has his giggles under control

“Being with you has always been amazing, always been on another level compared to anything I’ve ever experienced, but this, I don’t know how it’s possible but I feel like we’ve reached new heights”

“I know exactly what you mean, but I think that somehow this has brought us even closer spiritually and emotionally and I didn’t think that would have been possible either.”

“Well I suppose when you think about it, we both thought we’d never see the other again at one point” Sebastian smiles painfully, remembering the talk where he admitted he  
genuinely thought Blaine was going to die and how much that terrified him, and Blaine admitted when he thought he was going to die before he lost consciousness, that all he could think about was Sebastian. There had been many tears that night, but if it had transcended into what they’ve just experienced, they could cope with that and maybe even see some good in it.

“I’m sure you’re right” Blaine agrees then presses a kiss to Sebastian’s lips, “Do you want your presents and champagne?”

“As long as I don’t have to get out of bed” Sebastian smirks cheekily

“Nope” Blaine smiles then takes a deep breath to boost himself before climbing out of the bed and collecting their glasses, fighting the urge to cover himself in any way. He then ducks under the bed and pulls out Sebastian’s presents.

“Please don’t tell me you’ve been hiding them there for long”

“Of course not…I know you’d have issues resisting if you saw them”

“Says you…Mr ‘I’m not really looking for my gifts but I totally am’”

Blaine laughs, “I can’t really argue there”

“No you can’t” Sebastian smiles as he accepts the gifts, letting Blaine climb back into bed.

The first thin Sebastian opens is the photograph from New Year, “This is stunning B” he exclaims, genuinely appreciating the gift and frame, with the year delicately carved into one corner. Next is the bracelet which he examines for some time, picking up on all the details. “I can’t…it’s amazing” Sebastian tries to subtly wipe a tear from his eye, his emotions running wild given everything that evening. “Did you really make this too?”

“With some help” Blaine smiles, “I wanted a way you’d always have me with you, some of my words so you know you’re always my priority no matter what.”

“It suits me perfectly and I can’t actually even begin to describe how much this means to me” Blaine passes Sebastian the final gift, “I’m not sure how much more I can cope with tonight B…I spent many years being an emotionally constipated asshole remember”

“You’ll like this one, trust me, and it won’t overload you”

“You seem very sure of yourself”

“I actually am….this is a one off too”

Sebastian furrows his brows then tears at the paper, revealing the cape-blanket, “What?” he asks

“Stand up and try it on”, As Sebastian unfurls more of the material it all makes sense so he fastens the cape-blanket and sees it hang on him in the mirror, looking like a real Superman cape

“Did you make this too?” Sebastian asks as he grins madly, now only wearing his cape and the leather bracelet. Blaine nods quickly. “You are frigging amazing you know that?”

Blaine laughs, “I knew you’d like it ever since I saw that picture of you in your Superman costume when you were little”

“Don’t ruin this for me killer” Sebastian playfully warns

“It’s unfair though” Blaine grumps

“What is?”

“Nobody should look that damn hot wearing only a Superman cape, or a Superman cape full stop”

“Oh really?” Sebastian asks, immediately seductive as he stalks over to the bed making Blaine visibly gulp, “What should we do about that?”

“There’s only one thing we should do” Blaine beckons with his finger so Sebastian goes closer, “I think I should take you while you wear the cape” he growls into Sebastian’s ear.  
That’s exactly how they find themselves minutes later as Blaine pushes into Sebastian who’s lying back, cape- still tied around his shoulders as they complete their intimate bond with Blaine being inside of his boyfriend this time, completing the balance that is their relationship.

Later when they’re lying in bed, freshly showered and any remaining petals banished from the bed with their arms around each other, Sebastian tenderly kisses Blaine, “Best birthday ever...one question though, why didn't you tell me about your appointment today?"

"Because it wasn't a definite that I'd be able to have the casts off. If I hadn't I'd still have told you about it but tomorrow so you couldn't be disappointed on your birthday"

"I'd only have been disappointed on your behalf"

"I know" Blaine smiles

"Just please tell me you're still going to sing acapella tomorrow night"

"I am" Blaine confirms, "I wouldn't be confident about playing to an audience yet anyway"

Blaine lets out a big yawm, the busy day really catching up with him, "Go to sleep B...you've got another big day tomorrow"

Blaine opens his eyes once more to stare deeply into forest green, “I love you, with everything I am and have”

“Right back at you killer B, I love you more than I dreamed it was possible to love” 

With those final confessions the two drift to sleep, finally feeling whole, the first time since the attack, as one by one the batteries in the candles die, slowly putting the room into darkness. That night is also the first night that Blaine manages to sleep without a light being left on in the apartment since that dark night that nearly destroyed both their worlds.


	119. Letting your voice soar

The next morning Blaine wakes up, chest to chest with his boyfriend, his head tucked under Sebastian’s chin and their limbs intertwined in such a way it’s almost impossible to see where one begins and the other ends. 

Blaine takes a deep breath then feels a kiss pressed into his morning mess of curls, “Mmmm morning” he smiles into Sebastian’s skin and presses a firm kiss at the junction of his jaw

“Morning” Sebastian purrs back as Blaine’s hands start running his skin, “How are you feeling?” he asks as his own hands find Blaine’s ass

“I could be asking you the same thing” Blaine chuckles, “And I feel amazing”

“Me too”

Blaine lifts his head to look over Sebastian’s shoulder to check the time and smiles, “That’s the best I’ve slept in a long time…and I’ve still got a couple of hours before I have to go”

Sebastian smiles completely happily, “Me too…so what do you think we should do to kill some of that time?” and waggles his eyebrows.

Blaine rolls them over so he’s lying on top of his boyfriend, “Maybe something like this?” and presses kisses onto Sebastian’s chest, neck then eventually lips.

“This is a good start” Sebastian agrees then presses their lips together again.

A good while later couple make their way to the kitchen, freshly showered and both have jam on toast for breakfast, “How are you feeling about tonight killer?” he asks, a hand finding Blaine’s hip as one of Blaine’s finds his knee, the two seemingly needing to be in contact with the other more than ever.

“Nervous…both songs are putting me out there in very different ways, kind of personal ways and it’ll be easy to mess them up”

“But you won’t” Sebastian replies firmly, “Don’t think you will and you won’t”

“You sound like Sarah and Shelby”

“Right then…what time is Cooper meant to be arriving?”

“He’ll be meeting you at NYU straight from the airport, I think Patrick and Natasha will have time to check in to their hotel and will then meet you guys there too…what about your   
dad and his Sarah?” 

“The same…I’m sure they’re all on the same flight…they’re staying at the same hotel at least?”

“Really?” 

“Yeah…it’s kind of weird how well they’re getting on”

“Weird for us at least” Blaine replies, “Though I guess it will become normal”

“You still haven’t” Sebastian teases

“You’d get bored if I did” Blaine retorts

“Touche” Sebastian smiles and steals the last mouthful of Blaine’s toast straight from his fingers and grins triumphantly 

“When you arrive can you come and find me?” Blaine asks 

“Of course…it’s smart dress tonight right?”

“It is…shirt and dress pants at least, jacket would be good but don’t worry about a tie unless you want to, it’s going to be much more intimate than the showcase, which makes it scary in a different way.”

“But scary can be good”

“That’s true….look at you” Blaine smiles cheekily and Sebastian is so happy to be seeing this side of his boyfriend again he smiles fondly and kisses his forehead.

“As much as I don’t want to let your perfect ass go…you better had if you’re going to get there in time and I’ve got to pop into campus…are you sure you don’t want me to come with you though? I don’t have to be on site for a certain time, I just need to pick up that book”

“Positive” Blaine replies, “I need to be able to go on the subway on my own again, and if it gets too much I can get off and get a cab the rest of the way or walk if it’s close enough”

“Okay” Sebastian relents after a few moments before helping Blaine on with his coat and bag and sending him on his way for the way, the two being sure to tell each other that they love the other before parting.

Later that day, true to form everyone gathers at the Seblaine apartment before heading to NYU together, “So it should go without saying…none of you are to make a big deal or even look remotely shifty at B walking out in the dark tonight” Sebastian warns the group

“He’s right” Artie backs up, “The worst thing you can do is highlight in any way that he’s doing something that’s become unusual for him, because believe me, he will pick up on it and it can set him back…I’ve been there myself”

“We can manage…I guess it’s stuff like not hesitating at the door and things” Sam checks

“Exactly” Sebastian and Artie, who’d become more of the feature in the group again, agree

“Is Ian coming tonight?” Jeff asks, “Blaine said he was hoping to” 

“It could be touch and go, but he intends to, it just depends when he finishes tonight” Sebastian replies

“Does anyone else think it’s kind of crazy that Ian Somerholder will be attending again to see Blaine?” Rachel asks

“Not anymore” Sebastian shrugs, “He’s been really good over the last few weeks, he’s weirdly like Cooper and has been trying to fill his void considering Coop’s filming schedule has been insane to wrap on time…we’re both kind of use to it now.”

“That’s weird in itself” Jean Baptiste laughs

“Perhaps” Sebastian concedes, “But they are people, and again, don’t make a big deal out of it or draw attention to him, or Cooper for that matter”

“That’s very true and we won’t” Santana agrees

“And think...one day Blaine Warbler will be a star and then we’ll think it’s funny that everyone in the world knows who he is when to us he’ll still be Blaine” Brittany smiles

“None of us are going to disagree with that” Nick replies

When they arrive at NYU they wait in the foyer of the venue the performances are going to be in, a performance hall that allows the audience to sit at tables almost fully around a stage area that’s on the same level. 

Sebastian turns to the group, “Can you guys grab all the arrivals?”

“Going to see Blaine?” Sam asks and Sebastian nods, “Good…I know he’s really nervous about tonight” 

“We’ll keep an eye out for them” Hunter adds and with that Sebastian goes to find his boyfriend

“Why’s Blaine so nervous?” Rachel asks Sam

“It is the first time he will have been in front of a large group of people since…you know” Thad points out

“Exactly…and you know Blaine…he always puts himself out there on some level with each performance” Sam shrugs then waves to Patrick, Natasha, Sarah and Xavier, “Hi” he greets them.

The rest of the group exchange greetings, “Where’s Sebastian?” Xavier asks

“With Blaine” Hunter answers

“It’s not unusual for him to go backstage if Blaine’s nerves are playing up” Jeff explains

Sam looks at the time, “Man, where’s Cooper? We’re meant to take our seats soon”

“Maybe he’s been delayed” Jean-Baptiste replies

“I hope not” Sam scratches the back of his neck

“I’m sure he’ll be here as soon as he can” Patrick reassures, “Do we know when Blaine is singing?” The whole group turn to look at Sam at once

“That’s creepy don’t do that again…like seriously, can you all stop staring at me?”

“Why are you all zombie staring Sam?” Sebastian asks as he saunters back to the group

“What are you doing here?” Santana questions

“Had to leave them to it…I stayed as long as I could”

“Don’t worry…I sent him narwhal luck” Brittany smiles

“He got it Britt” Sebastian winks and is about to ask where Cooper is when the older Anderson and Ian come skidding up to them, both out of breath, clearly having run at little while to get there on time.

Both men simply wave at the group in greeting as they catch their breath, Ian giving a smile and nod as he shakes hands when Sebastian makes introductions between him and   
the Montgomerys and additional Smythes.

“Looking good boys, crumpled but good” Santana teases

“We just busted a gut to be here…be nice” Cooper responds as they are all called to their seats where the programs give away that Blaine will be singing last, but don’t state what the students will be performing.

Everyone agrees there are some brilliant performances, which makes the time pass relatively quickly until it’s Blaine’s turn. For his first song he walks onto the stage area and sits on top of the baby grand piano, feet resting on the stool. Blaine makes eye contact with Sebastian briefly before taking a deep breath and looking downwards at a spot on the floor a little in front of the piano, so his face isn’t tilted down too much.

From the moment he starts singing the mood in the room changes as everyone gets caught up in his acapella version of Hallelujah, for which he uses a modified version of the Jeff Buckley melody. At the end of the performance there is a moment of stunned silence as everyone had entered a state of reflection with a fair few tear filled eyes in the room, the reaction of the crowd being a true testament to the emotions and beauty Blaine had poured into the meaningful song.

Blaine then stands up and walks to the microphone on the stand in the centre of the stage and the music for Listen starts. Throughout the performance he builds the power and strength behind his voice. All his friends and Cooper had of course witnessed the growing power of Blaine’s voice in performances such as Fighter, but this, this is something else. Blaine really had unleashed the additional 25% of his voice his professor Sarah had told him he wasn’t accessing so although he’d had a powerful voice for a guy his age before, he’s now truly on Rachel Berry standard, the two now both being able to give Beyonce a run for her money in terms of strength and power of voice if they wished to.  
There’s a standing ovation at the end of the performance to which Blaine gives a modest bow and a bashful thank you before heading off stage, Sebastian sliding out of the room to follow him. 

Blaine’s waiting for Sebastian in the area between the room and where is being used as backstage and immediately jumps into his arms. “You were amazing B…the reactions to both songs prove that…hey what’s with the tears?” Sebastian asks as he wipes them off Blaine’s cheeks.

“Relief? Happiness? I’m not really sure” Blaine laughs

Sebastian rolls his eyes fondly and kisses the top of Blaine’s head, “You’re voice is something to be reckoned with you know?”

“If you say so”

“I do” Sebastian gives him a kiss, “That’s better…no more crying now”

“I didn’t mean too” Blaine admits, “It just happened…my eyes leaked on their own accord…that’s all”

“Must have put in too many eye drops” Sebastian winks

“Must have” Blaine smiles then sees Sarah, who’s just finished thanking the audience for attending.

“Well done Blaine…you did exactly what we’d spoken about and it showed, you lifted the songs to another level, you should be proud of yourself” The professor tells him.

“Thank you” Blaine blushes

“You don’t need to hang around…we’ll catch-up next week okay?”

“Okay…and you know….thanks for everything”

Sarah shrugs, “You’re the one who put in the work that resulted in that performance”

“Yet I wouldn’t still be here if it wasn’t for all of you” Blaine replies flatly

“The work you put in and grades you’d achieved meant you more than deserved it…and the fact you’re catching up at the rate you are speaks volumes…have a nice evening and a restful weekend”

“You too…thanks again” 

As soon as the couple reappear in foyer where the others had gathered Blaine is wrapped up in his brother’s arms, “You were amazing squirt…I’m so proud…and I know Nona and Grandpa would be too” Cooper says quietly so only Blaine can hear, “You’re looking a lot better than when I last saw you” he comments when the embrace breaks

“When did you get your casts off?” Ian asks

“I think that’s something we’re all wondering” Nick adds

“Yesterday” Blaine replies

“And not all of us were wondering” Sam teases as Blaine greets everyone else

“Dinner?” Patrick asks the group, “We made a reservation hoping you’d all be able to make it but we understand if you can’t”

“But if it makes a difference we will be covering the bill between us” Xavier adds

“Where’s the reservation?” Blaine questions

“In the Italian near you” Patrick replies, “So you can go home easily if you crash”

“Performance adrenaline can definitely do that” Ian comments 

“Tell me about it” Cooper adds, the pair of them purposefully taking the focus off Blaine

“Sounds good” Sebastian confirms after sharing a look with Blaine

“None of us will say no to food” Sam replies, gesturing at himself and the Dalton guys

“And for those of you living further out, you can have car service home” Sarah tells them, which results in the girls and JB and Artie all agreeing to go

Sebastian and Blaine both frown slightly at this, “What’s the catch?” Sebastian asks discreetly as everyone gets ready to head out

“Actually we’re being selfish” Patrick replies

“This way we get to see you and you can all celebrate a little together how you normally try to” Natasha adds and Xavier and Sarah are quick to agree

“Did you seriously just call me to get hold of Blaine?” Hunter asks amusedly to the person on the other end of the phone, “Blaine, Kitty for you” he hands his phone over to the curly haired boy.

“How does it feel knowing your girlfriend loves him more” Santana teases

“Better than any girlfriend of Sam’s will” Hunter replies lightning fast making everyone laugh, apart from Sam who’s left a little confused

Blaine passes Hunter his phone back when he’s finished then looks to Sam and Sebastian, “They’re all coming for Easter weekend”

“Awesome” Sam replies with a knowing grin

“Who’s all?” Rachel asks

“Kitty, Marley, Unique, Jake, Ryder and Spencer” Blaine replies making Brittany squeal with excitement

“What are you up to?” Patrick asks Blaine as he recognises the look in his eyes

“Operation the last crusade” Sam replies and the best friends do their special Blam handshake

“Did Kitty get the blueprints then?” Sebastian asks

“Yep!” Blaine grins

“I knew I liked her for a reason” Hunter smirks

“Do we want to know?” Patrick questions

“Is it legal?” Xavier queries

“It’s legal and you probably don’t really want to know anyway, besides it’s super top secret for now” Blaine smiles

“So are we ready to go?” Natasha asks

Blaine’s smile falters for a blink but nobody other than Sebastian notices, “Let’s go” Sebastian confirms when he feels Blaine squeeze his hand. Blaine falters momentarily as he steps out into the dark with Sebastian, but when he feels his boyfriend’s arm move around his waist he takes a deep breath and continues being thankful that nobody turned back and saw his hesitation.

“How did you manage to develop your voice so quickly?” Rachel asks Blaine curiously

“Intensive lessons with one of my professors, it’s a result of me having to do things in a slightly different order”

“Well the next duet we sing together will be even more amazing, and I didn’t think that would be possible” Rachel continues to gush

“Have you heard anymore from NYADA?” Blaine asks

“I’m still working on them, but actually I’m speaking to Julliard and NYU too”

“It’s kind of refreshing to hear you say you’re talking to other schools but why?”

“The pain in the ass” Santana cuts in

“Plus I’ve learnt that NYADA isn’t the be all and end all” Rachel quickly adds

Cooper sidles up to his brother as Xavier engages Santana in conversation regarding her applications, “How are you doing?” he asks discreetly

“Okay” Blaine smiles tightly, “I’m really glad you could come”

“Me too” Cooper throws an arm around Blaine’s shoulder despite Sebastian’s arm still being wrapped around his waist, “You blew me away tonight squirt!”

“Don’t call me that”

“But there is one thing I’m not so keen on”

“What?” Blaine frowns

“How am I meant to be able to sing a duet with you now?” Cooper jokes making Blaine laugh

Before they know it they arrive at the restaurant and find Wes and Tabatha sat waiting at the table already, a surprise for Blaine.

“What are you both doing here?!” Blaine exclaims, “I didn’t think you could make it at all this weekend” he says to Wes then turns to Tabatha, “And I thought you were due in on   
Wednesday”

“What kind of greeting do you call that?” Tabatha retorts playfully and stands to give her baby brother, as far as she’s concerned, a hug, which Wes joins. Patrick doesn’t miss the opportunity to take a picture.

“Do you want me to take a picture of the five of you?” Sebastian asks Patrick

“Don’t be silly you need to be in the picture too” Tabatha greets him, “It’s nice to finally meet you in person” she says brightly

“You too” Sebastian smiles, “Britt, fancy being photographer?”

“Always” the blonde girl smiles

“She’s kinda hot” Sam whispers to Cooper and receives a glare from Blaine, “Damn his hearing” Sam grumps making Cooper and Ian laugh.

Everyone settles and has a thoroughly lovely meal full of lively conversation and Tabatha and Blaine start planning how to get him back up to speed as quickly as possible so he can retake first violin. 

If anyone notices Blaine and Sebastian making more body contact with each other than usual, they don’t comment on it. Collectively, though silently, everyone is simply happy to have their curly haired friend and the couple back to being themselves.


	120. Maestro if you please

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay in posting. It's been a difficult week at work that's left me exhausted with absolutely no inspiration. Hopefully this is okay though :)

The next day Blaine and Tabatha get straight to it, with her having arrived with coffees and breakfast for him and Sebastian. Miraculously Blaine had managed to slip out of bed without waking his boyfriend so leaves his coffee and plate of pastries on the bedside table. After Blaine and Tabatha have finished their breakfast they both thoroughly wash their hands and Blaine grabs his glasses and the music before the two tune their violins. 

When Sebastian wonders out into the living area after having finished his drink and breakfast almost an hour later he sees Blaine wearing his glasses and playing his violin while Tabatha is speaking to him. Blaine then stops and the duo mark up the page of music. Given the looks of concentration on both of their faces Sebastian doesn’t disturb them. When Cooper gets up a short while later having enjoyed the extra sleep he grabs a coffee then slumps down on the sofa next to Sebastian with a bowl of mixed cereal and grins dopily at his brother working away.

“He’s always been determined” Cooper smiles fondly

“It’s part stubbornness”

“Speaking from experience or are you speaking about yourself?” Cooper teases

“A bit of both” Sebastian admits with a laugh, his phone then goes off and he negotiates lunch with the Montgomery’s, Smythes and Cooper at the apartment so Blaine and   
Tabatha can spend as much time working as possible given that they are clearly in the zone. 

Blaine and Tabatha continue to work right through until lunch, having been making brilliant progress, leaving Blaine with his blinding smile plastered over his face.  
When the parental units and Wes arrive they’re carrying boxes of pizza and tubs of salad.

“We weren’t going to miss our chance to have New York pizza while we’re here” Patrick explains as they place the boxes on the side in the kitchen, “How’s it been going?” he asks Blaine and Tabatha

Tabatha beats Blaine to answering, “Brilliant! We’re making even quicker progress than I even thought we would”

“I’ve still got a way to go”

“No you haven’t” Tabatha immediately retaliates, already having been expecting Blaine to make that comment

Before Blaine can even pick up a plate and help himself to some food Sam comes bursting into the apartment and heads straight to the kitchen, immediately locking eyes with his best friend.

“Are you being serious? What am I saying I knew you would?!” Blaine exclaims when he sees Sam’s eyes tearful with happiness and excitement. Before anyone can blink the duo are caught in a fierce hug. “I’m so proud of you”

“I haven’t got it yet”

“No but you’ve got over the first hurdle and you’re almost there” Blaine grins, still hugging the blonde.

Sebastian catches on, “Congratulations man” and gives Sam a hug when he finally pulls away from Blaine

“What are we congratulating you for?” Cooper asks excitedly

“I’ve got an interview with Prat with the opportunity of getting a full scholarship” Sam practically shouts

“Yes!” Cooper shouts back and hugs Sam, very much seeing him as a younger brother too now, “And you two are still doing your creepy psychic thing” he teases Blam, “And it   
seems you’re getting in on their wavelength too Sebby boy”

“Don’t call me that” Sebastian replies flatly, warningly 

“Yeah plus you can’t call me Sammy boy and him Sebby boy” Sam adds

“Are you saying you like it when I call you Sammy boy?” Cooper grins mischievously 

“No…God no! It’s going to stick for ever now isn’t in?” Sam frowns

“Yep” Cooper beams

“I think it’s a sign that Cooper loves you….and that he’s really annoying” Blaine smiles cheekily

“Well done Sam” Patrick congratulates

“You deserve it” Xavier tells him and Sarah, Tabatha and Natasha add their congratulations too

“I still might not get it…and I probably only got it because of your help on the essay” Sam says to Blaine

“Don’t be ridiculous” Blaine pointedly tells him, “You’re portfolio was amazing and that was all down to you. As for your essay I didn’t do anything major…just ironed it out a little and the few mistakes you made were because of your dyslexia”

“Is there any chance we can see some of your portfolio?” Sarah asks having a keen interest in art

“After we’ve eaten I can show you pictures of the wings Sam painted” Sebastian replies 

Blaine and Sam both help themselves to pizza and automatically swap a few of the toppings over so they’re just the way they like them.

“Am I right in thinking you two used to live together?” Xavier asks

Sam and Blaine both nod with the same expression on their faces as their mouths are full.

“You can totally tell” Tabatha giggles, which turns into a full laugh when they both title their heads to the side in question at the same time

When they’ve finished Sebastian grabs his laptop to show off the pictures of Sam’s painted wings on Blaine.

“They’re incredible” Everyone gushes when they see them

“You are certainly talented Sam” Patrick praises

“Thanks” Sam smiles slightly shyly 

“It’s Sam’s canvas in the music area that feeds onto the surrounding wall” Blaine adds clearly proud of his best friend

“Enough about me….you’ve clearly been working hard this morning…play me something” Sam playfully demands of Blaine to get the focus off him 

“There’s something we can both play that you’ll enjoy” Blaine smiles and before long he and Tabatha are playing a duet of the Zelda theme music.

When Blaine puts his violin down Sam picks him up and spins him, “Man that was awesome! You need to make a Blonde Chameleon and Nightbird theme tune kinda like that but obviously not that”

“Fine fine but can you put me down now?” Blaine laughs

“Nah I don’t feel like it” Sam shifts Blaine so he’s across his shoulders

Sebastian raises an eyebrow, “Seriously?”

“It’s like we need to take you to the park or something to burn some of this off” Cooper jokes

“Actually that would be awesome!” Sam beams completely missing the child slash dog comparison

“Can you put me down now?” Blaine asks

“Hmmm let me see…only if you admit that I’m Wolverine” Sam grins

Blaine scoffs, “Yeah right…put me down now or….”

“You’ll let your inner ninja out? Can you do that again?”

“Do you really want to find out?” Sebastian smirks so Sam gently puts Blaine down who is then scooped up by Cooper

“Hey this is a good game” Cooper winds his brother up 

“Picking me up is not a game” Blaine pinches the pressure point on Cooper’s shoulder

“Alright hitman” Cooper grumps then remembers how ticklish Blaine used to be when he was little and takes the chance that he still is. Of course as soon as he starts tickling his   
baby brother it sends Blaine into laughing hysterics and quickly onto the ground, in turn making everyone else laugh.

When it’s clear Blaine is struggling for breath Sebastian saves him, pulling him out of his brother’s grasp.

The next day Cooper, Wes, Natasha, Patrick, Xavier and Sarah all have to leave New York to head back to work and college but nobody feels sad about the departure as they’re all returning in a few weeks for the orchestra performance.

Blaine arranges with Michael his retrial for first violin and is delighted to find out the orchestra are backing him, apparently the girl who had taken over had rubbed quite a few people up the wrong way. As first violin is also technically orchestra lead this would work in Blaine’s favour, however, he knew that with the concert so close it was ultimately his playing that would make the difference.


	121. Rightful lead

Blaine and Tabatha use what time they can to work on the orchestra pieces and she accompanies him to NYU the day of his re-audition.

“You know you didn’t have to come with me” Blaine tells her as they sit on the subway

“I know but I wanted to and I get to see some more of New York” she smiles kindly at him

“Sorry”

“Don’t apologise” Tabatha chastises kindly as they get off at their stop, “Any way, it’s not like I haven’t been exploring during the day” they link arms as they walk the rest of the way to NYU, “I’ve loved staying with you and Sebastian”

“We’ve loved having you…I really missed you”

“I really missed you too. I’m so happy you’ve found someone who loves you and treats you how he should…it’s obvious you’re both crazy about each other but are under no illusions”

“Perfectly imperfect” Blaine smiles and comments quietly remembering Sebastian’s words but Tabatha notices 

“Ahhh it really is true love for the baby of the family” she pinches his cheek playfully

The two make their way to the orchestra rehearsal where Tabatha sits quietly at the back, unnoticed by most in the room. 

The girl, Stephanie, who’d taken over as first violin goes first. She’s good but Tabatha knows Blaine is better. Everyone in the room also knows it as soon as he starts playing. The tone Blaine manages to get from a violin is particularly special, as Tabatha is all too aware. At the end of his performance the rest of the orchestra are literally sitting on the edge of their seats waiting for the official announcement of who will be leading them at the concert. Of course Michael and Jeremey, the conductor, were well aware of the discord between the orchestra and Stephanie and they were prepared to take that into consideration if the playing had been of a very similar standard, however there was no need.

After a moment of quiet deliberation with Jeremy, Michael steps forward, “We would like to thank Stephanie for taking over as first violin at short notice and for all the hard work she’s put in. However, we are officially reinstating Blaine as first violin”

The orchestra let out a cheer and immediately start welcoming Blaine back while Tabatha sits in her corner and watches with pride. She gets his attention before waving goodbye and mouthing ‘see you later’. 

On her way out Tabatha bumps into Jeff, “Jeffrey!” 

“Oh hey Tabatha, what are you doing here? Wait it was Blaine’s orchestra trial wasn’t it?”

“Maybe…do you think all of you would be up for dinner tonight?”

“Have you asked Blaine or Sebastian?” Jeff replies

“No…I was going for the surprise factor”

“They’re not the best at surprises”

“Well it’s my last night here before going to Ohio for a little while so they can get over it if it’s a problem, but I doubt it really will be, trust me Jeffrey”

“I’ll think about it if you stop calling me Jeffrey!”

“Message me and let me know who can make it” Tabatha calls back to him as she leaves. On her way back to the apartment she messages Sebastian to double check if a big group   
dinner is okay given the warning Jeff gave her, particularly as she was planning on having it at their home. She does warn him however that she wants it to be a surprise for Blaine, which Sebastian immediately agrees to having already heard to good news from his boyfriend.

Jeff arranges to meet Blaine after his last class so the two can travel home together, where everyone else will already be waiting with a range of Mexican food they’re all sharing.

“You look happy” Jeff greets Blaine

“I got first violin again! Which is awesome in itself but also means I’ll be on track with my assignments, well assuming it goes okay on the night, but I’m on track as much as I can be right now and there was a time I didn’t think it would be possible at all!” Blaine rambles excitedly making Jeff laugh and throw an arm around his friend’s shoulders.

They talk for the rest of their way home, Blaine’s mood not faltering at all. It’s clear this is a big step for him, and it makes complete sense to Jeff that it would be, after all it’s a sure sign that all of Blaine’s fighting and hard work is paying off.

When they get back to the Seblaine apartment Jeff closely follows Blaine into the living room where the guys, girls and Jesse, Artie and Jean-Baptiste are all waiting along with Tabatha and Sebastian, “Surprise!” 

“What is going on?!” Blaine laughs as Sebastian picks him up and spins him around

“You are amazing that’s what’s going on” Sebastian kisses Blaine before putting him back down

“You have learned some incredibly difficult pieces to a very high standard and rightfully regained your position as first violin and orchestra lead.” Tabatha kisses Blaine’s cheek. 

“Plus it’s my last night here before your recital and a big group dinner to celebrate and see everyone seemed like the perfect thing to do.”

“It’s only with your help I did it…seriously…you always know how to get me to play better” Blaine hugs his, for all intense and purposes, older sister

“That’s not quite how I see it, it’s all you, you’d always get there on your own, I just help you unlock it a little quicker when you can overthink things”

“Congratulations” Santana, Brittany and Rachel give Blaine a three-way hug

“Thank you” Blaine then looks up to everyone else, “Thank you…all of you, seriously. Over the last couple of months every one of you has been there for me…and Bas, and it’s honestly made such a difference. You don’t know how grateful I am to have all of you in my life. No matter what mood I’ve been in, and let’s face it there have been quite a few, none of you have treated me differently, you’ve just been there, and that honestly that means the world to me…so thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

Nick passes Blaine a glass of Margarita then Hunter leads the toast, “Where’s Wes when you need him?” He jokes making them all laugh before they raise their glasses, “To friends, the family we choose for ourselves” Hunter is a little shocked when he finds himself with armfuls of Blaine after they’ve all drank to the toast but reciprocates the hug, “I hope you’re going to call Kitty”

“Trust me I will” Blaine laughs as Sebastian wraps his arms around his waist from behind after he lets go of Hunter, “When is she next coming out here?”

“That’s for her to tell you” Hunter smiles

By the time everyone leaves Blaine is definitely tipsy and being completely adorable as far as Sebastian is concerned.

“Thank you for tonight” Sebastian says to Tabatha as the three are sat on the sofa, “It was perfect….and thank you for everything you’ve done for him since he came into your family”

“You don’t need to thank me” Tabatha smiles gently at Blaine where he’s cuddling into Sebastian, “It was like he was the other younger brother who should have always been there…and you’re part of the family now too Sebastian” 

Sebastian looks down a little shyly, “Erm thanks”

Tabatha leans back against the cushions and looks Sebastian in the eye, “You are so good with him…you can get through to him like no one else and you clearly love each other unconditionally, flaws and all. Not everyone is as lucky to find that, and you two have found it early. When I arrived I was prepared to give you a big sister type warning as I never felt that doing it over Skype would have been enough, but when I saw you together, really together, it was clear it wasn’t necessary. So thank you. Thank you for loving him how he deserves.”

“Always” Sebastian promises

“I have no doubt…I never really spoke to Kurt, but the glimmers that I did see and from what Blaine and Wes told me of him, I never liked them as a couple, and I was so worried   
when Blaine transferred to McKinley. But if that’s what meant that you two are how you are, I’m glad it happened…if you see where I’m coming from.”

“I do” Sebastian admits, “It’s something we’ve both spoken about too”

“You’re a special guy Sebastian…do you need help getting him to bed?” She gestures to where Blaine has fallen asleep

“No thanks, I’m good…I’ve had practise”

“Now that doesn’t surprise me” Tabatha kisses Blaine’s cheek and then Sebastian’s, “Good night”

“Good night” Sebastian smiles at her before standing up, taking Blaine with him and carrying him to their room.

After stripping Blaine down and tucking him in Sebastian takes his own clothes off before joining his boyfriend in bed and wrapping him in his arms. Just as he closes his eyes Sebastian feels Blaine’s lips press against his own so opens his eyes.

“I love you Bastian”

Sebastian smiles lopsidedly, “I love you too killer B” and joins their lips together again

“Are you tired?” Blaine asks when the kiss breaks

“Not overly” Sebastian smirks

“Good” Blaine’s gaze turns heated and he pulls Sebastian into a searing kiss

“And to think a minute ago you were sleeping” Sebastian pants and their hands find each other’s lengths

“Are you complaining?” Blaine goads between kisses and bites

“Never” Sebastian growls as the two rub against each other, becoming more frantic until they both finally spill over. After a few moments Sebastian reaches in to his drawer and pulls out a packet of wet wipes and uses them to clean them up so they don’t have to leave their bed. Both now sated, it’s not long before they do actually go to sleep, as much skin as possible press together, limbs tangled so they almost make a cocoon around themselves with them.


	122. Romantics at heart

As Sebastian’s day is shorter than normal he wants to get home in plenty of time to cook the surprise dinner he has ready for Blaine, who’s been working incredibly hard to get ready for the orchestral performance that is now only a couple of days away. Sebastian is sat in the library with Hunter as they make use of the break they have before their last session of the day.

“Jesus they need to get this heating fixed…if Lopez came in here her boobs were melt it’s so hot” Sebastian comments and pulls off his jumper, causing his t-shirt to ride up a little

“Holy fuck what was that I saw? Is it what I think it is Smythe?” Hunter teases through a smirk

“It depends what you’re referring to, if you mean ab definition, then yes…perhaps you should consider getting your own before Kitty sees you topless, and if you mean my tattoo then you’re a bit behind…I’ve had it a little while.”

“Fuck off” Hunter laughs, “When did you get it done?”

“My birthday” Sebastian shrugs

“Let’s see it then” Sebastian lifts his t-shirt a little to reveal the tattoo. “So it was a present to Blaine as much as it was yourself then…you’re just a romantic at heart aren’t you?”

“The same as you” Sebastian challenges, “And only for B…in the same way that you only are for Kitty”

“I don’t know what you mean”

“And you’re being a dumbass for thinking she wouldn’t have told B…flowers, muscle soak bubble bath, lavender candles, and protein chocolate mousse so she can have a treat   
and meet her Cheerios diet requirements? That’s quite a lot of thought there”

“Still doesn’t mean anyone should mess with us” Hunter replies a few moments later

“Hell no” Sebastian laughs, “Or mess with those we love”

“What? Who said anything about love?” Hunter replies nervously as they pack up their things to head to their last session of the day

“The first step is admitting it to yourself….I thought rehab would have taught you that” Sebastian teases as they head out.

As Sebastian is on his way home he receives a message from Blaine, who doesn’t know that he’s finishing early, ‘I’m tired and my head is pounding, why does tonight have to be a late one for you? :) I love you xxx’ Sebastian sends a reply, ‘I’m sorry killer B…I’ll make it up to you. I love you too xxx’

Sebastian still plans on cooking the dinner for Blaine but changes his plans a little so makes a point of stopping off to buy more of the bubble bath they’re both partial to. Dinner is still the French classic of roast rolled leg of lamb cooked on cherries, that turn into the most amazing gravy, roast potatoes and green beans, but now the plan is to have a relaxing bath while it finishes cooking before changing into lounge wear and eating cuddled together on the couch rather than at the table, and perhaps to eat the chocolate torte desert in bed.

As Blaine steps into their apartment later on that evening he decides his headache must truly have entered migraine zone as he swears he can smell Sebastian’s delicious cook. He closes his eyes for a moment before taking of his bag and shoes and turns to hang his coat up. Just then he feels strong, comforting arms wrap around his waist.

“How’s the head?” Sebastian asks as he nuzzles Blaine’s neck from behind

“It’s been better” Blaine replies as he holds onto his boyfriends arms, “I hope you aren’t skipping classes….but I’m so so glad you’re home”

“I’m not skipping, they were cancelled. Come on…I’ve got a bath and pain killers waiting for you”

“I love you” Blaine tells Sebastian when he enters their en suit.

Sebastian helps Blaine strip off and carefully lowers him into the bath which has a mixture of lavender and camomile oils to help him relax. When Blaine is settled Sebastian passes him a glass of water and the tablets he gets prescribed for when his headaches get severe or turn into migraines.

“Join me” Blaine half requests, half demands after swallowing the pill

“As if you have a choice” Sebastian scoffs before stripping. “Scoot forward”

Blaine doesn’t need telling twice and soon feels his boyfriend sit in behind him, long legs coming either side as hands guide him back so he’s cushioned against Sebastian’s body. 

“This is just what I need”

“I figured we could do bath, dinner and bed” Sebastian presses a kiss to the top of Blaine’s head

“I don’t deserve you”

“Sap” Sebastian teases lightly before starting to gently run a wash cloth over Blaine’s body. By the time he gets to Blaine’s groin he finds him fully erect, “It seems like someone is   
happy to see me”

“I’m not the only one” Blaine smiles and wriggles slightly to emphasise where he can feel Sebastian’s erection

“I’m naked with you…it’s an automatic reaction”

“Right back at you”

“So the question is…what should we do about it?” Sebastian noses at the shell of Blaine’s ear, causing him to shudder

“Wash our hair first” 

Sebastian abruptly pulls back, “That was not the reaction I was expecting”

“Trust me”

Sebastian washes their hair slightly begrudgingly, but all makes sense when Blaine rolls over so they’re chest to chest and takes both their lengths in hand, Sebastian quickly adds a hand of his own and together they bring each other off, lips never breaking apart. It’s a long slow build that causes them both to shout when they’re releases finally come.

“Sorry it wasn’t more” Blaine pants

“Don’t be ridiculous, that was amazing”

“If my head wasn’t still pounding you’d have been inside me”

“Damn we should have waited for the drugs to properly take effect” Sebastian half teases and laughs at his boyfriend’s resulting pout. “Come on, we’re all wrinkly and I don’t want   
all my hard work to go to waste”

“Have you made what I think you have?” Blaine asks as they dry off

“If you think I’ve made lamb on cherries and the trimmings then yep” Sebastian kisses Blaine’s nose

“Comfy clothes?”

“Comfy clothes”

After they’ve finished eating Blaine looks at Sebastian, his eyes full of love and a slight mischievous sparkle, “That was amazing, better than amazing” And stacks the plates into the dishwasher

“B…what’s buzzing around that head of yours?” Sebastian asks curiously 

Blaine turns around and looks Sebastian square in the eyes with a far too innocent look, “My headache is gone”

Sebastian grins, “Then why didn’t you say so?” and hoists Blaine over his shoulder before running to their bedroom, the sound of Blaine’s melodic laughter filling the apartment  
As Blaine lands on the bed he lets out a huff of air from practically being thrown down, “Impatient much?” he laughs as Sebastian already has them both naked

“Your ass is mine” Sebastian growls as he lands on top of Blaine

“Yours…take me Bastian” Blaine gasps as Sebastian bites down at the juncture on his neck

From then it’s a flurry of fingers and lube until Sebastian’s length is pressing steadily into him until he’s fully seated.

“Fuck B you’re so tight” Sebastian gasps as he begins slamming into his boyfriend, barely giving Blaine any time to adjust, “No matter how many times I have you…you’re still so tight” Sebastian grabs both of Blaine’s ass cheeks with his hands to change the angle, both of them moaning loudly in result. “I want you to feel it tomorrow, so it will make you think of me taking you”

Sebastian’s words make Blaine start anxiously meeting him thrust for thrust and he starts clawing at his boyfriend’s back, “Sebastian!”

Sebastian crashes their lips together in response and uses one of his hands to pin Blaine’s together above his head, the other hand still clutching on to a full globe of ass cheek. Sebastian makes them both edge as long as he can bear to before they both come hard for the second time that evening, moaning loudly through their releases. They lay there for a long while catching their breath until Blaine leaves over and pulls out a couple of wet wipes and uses them to clean them both up. When he’s finished, they collapse together to form a tangle of naked bodies and don’t move for the rest of the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a rough sketch of where this story is going through to their summer so far (If anyone's still reading it by then!) But at the beginning, I said I wanted this to be a fic for everyone and that's still true. So let me know if there's anything in particular you'd like to see in this story, any events, meetings, anything you're missing and you want to see unfold? I'll do what I can to fit them in, without changing where we're heading. I quite like the challenge of it and I want to make sure that I'm writing something that satisfies everyone so fire away! :)


	123. Fuzzball and Wild Cat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning - discussion about historical sexual assaults, please do not read if this could be a trigger for you. There is no detail about the assualts, but the events are discussed.

Blaine’s coming out of the last full rehearsal before the orchestra concert the next day and starts walking to the bench where he’s expecting to meet Sebastian. He sees Hunter stood next to his boyfriend and doesn’t think too much of it but then a certain blonde steps out from behind him so immediately breaks into a run, making sure to hold his violin tightly which he thrusts into Sebastian’s waiting hands before he picks Kitty up and spins around, making her laugh. 

“You’re looking good” Kitty smiles and rubs one of Blaine’s cheeks, “I missed you” 

“I missed you too” Blaine throws her up in the air a little before putting her down

“I think it’s safe to say it was definitely still a surprise” Hunter laughs

“I honestly had no idea” Blaine confirms

“I’m impressed, he has to be one of the hardest people to surprise” Kitty says

“You don’t need to tell me” Sebastian replies and wraps Blaine in his arms, “So we thought we could go to dinner, somewhere not far from home as you’ve got a big day tomorrow.”

“Did you have a place in mind already?” Blaine asks

“Not particularly” Hunter replies

“What do you fancy B, because you clearly fancy something and don’t try to deny it?”

“Can we go to that Filipino place?” 

“We can go to that Filipino place” Sebastian confirms without even looking at Hunter and Kitty and pulls Blaine tightly into him so the small group head on their way

“It smells amazing in here” Kitty comments as they sit down at their table

“So when are you flying back home?” Blaine asks the blonde

“Oh I see…fed up of me already?” Kitty winks

“Just wondering if you’re going to be making the journey twice in quick succession or hanging around considering you’ve just started your Easter holiday” Blaine says innocently

“I’ll be hanging around…I need your help with Spanish so you better squeeze me into your busy schedule.”

“You know Santana is fluent, she might be able to help better”

“And you’re crazy good at it and basically taught AP Spanish last year. The new teacher speaks even less Spanish than Mr Schue did”

“But he didn’t speak any” Blaine frowns

“Then you see my problem”

They stop talking to place their orders but before the waitress can leave their table Blaine stops her, “Sorry to be a pain but actually can we take that to go, and can we get four servings of cavana cake too?”

“Sure no problem” she smiles 

“You okay B?” Sebastian plays with the curls at the back of Blaine’s head

“Yeah I just thought it’d be nice to catch up at home in comfort”

“And…” Sebastian prompts

“I saw Elliot looking at the menu out front”

“Elliot as in the guy who was in the band the girls were in with Kurt”

“That’s the one…to be fair to him he’s a nice guy but I can’t be doing with any awkward small talk plus it increases the risk of”

“Bumping into the world’s most annoying pain in the ass” Kitty finishes and Blaine nods

“Sorry I should have asked first before just changing our plans” Blaine apologises

“Don’t be an idiot” Sebastian replies lovingly

“What Sebastian said” Hunter adds

It’s not long before their food arrives ready to go. As they exit the restaurant they all keep an eye out just in case Kurt is in the area so he can’t follow them, something he’s proved he’d do. Luckily there’s absolutely no sign of him but Sebastian keeps a protective arm around his boyfriend. It doesn’t take long to walk back to the Seblaine apartment and when they do Blaine puts the cake in a very low oven before grabbing plates. They through the cushions on the floor around the coffee table in the living room and eat there instead of at the dining table so it’s cozier and less formal.

“Oh my god that was amazing” Kitty moans when they’ve finished

“You haven’t had dessert yet” Blaine grins, “And trust me…you want to” The way Kitty smiles at Blaine tells him there’s something she wants to talk about, “Come and help me”

“Since it’s you” the blond replies and together they collect the plates and head into the kitchen where she stacks them and Blaine prepares a pineapple he’s going to caramelize to   
go with the just right warm cake.

“So what’s going on? I know something is…you know you can stay here tonight if you want…I’m sure Hunter wouldn’t mind”

“It’s not that…well not exactly that” Kitty takes a deep breath and fully turns to her friend, “I need to tell him about…you know, the world’s worst sleepover” She smiles sadly, “But apart from my parents, and you and Ryder I’ve never told anyone before and I’m scared it’ll make him see me or treat me differently”

“I think you’re right to tell him, I know you didn’t Artie. I’m positive Hunter won’t see you differently…not in a bad way…he’ll see you as being stronger.”

“I loved Artie, I thought I did at least, but there was something stopping me each time I went to. You know we never went all the way, yeah we fooled around but there was something that made me keep my V card, even if I can’t explain it. I know I’ve only been going out with Hunter for a few months and I know most of that has been at a distance, but I feel like there’s a connection there you know and I can’t guarantee that I won’t freak out if we do take things forward…..and I’ve made a pact with Ryder, I’m meant to tell Hunter tonight, and he’s meant to tell Spencer.”

Blaine takes a moment to process everything, “Okay…so we eat dessert, and then you can use the guest bedroom if you want to talk to him, or I can distract Bas…I’ll follow your lead, but if you tell him here you know I’m just in the other room if I do need to kick some ass” Blaine winks, “And if you do want to stay here you really can…we can always pull out the couch, it could fit the four of us on the watch a movie and we can have cuddles without them feeling left out that way” he encourages.

Kitty steadies herself “Okay” she replies very determinedly, “As I tell him…you can tell Sebastian”

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely…I kinda feel bad that you’ve had to keep something from him, and don’t tell me I shouldn’t, plus this way Hunter has someone to talk about it to too”

“You’re one of the really special ones you know?”

“Well obviously” Kitty scoffs playfully, “Now hurry up I need my cake! And you better have an extra loaded hot chocolate for me after this all goes down too”

“That can be arranged” Blaine says as he serves up the cake and pineapple, “Ready?”

“Ready” Kitty grabs two of the plates and follows him through to the living room where Sebastian and Hunter are sat talking 

After dessert Kitty takes Hunter’s hand, “Come on…I think I left some shoes on top of the wardrobe in the spare room but I’ve got no hope in hell of checking” Hunter frowns slightly, not buying it but follows his girlfriend.

“What’s going on? She’s not about to break up with him is she because I think I’ve finally convinced him to actually say the word that really describes his feelings for her”

“Bas are you being serious? Does he really love her?” Blaine asks too seriously for Sebastian’s liking

“He does….so what’s happening killer?”

“She’s not breaking up with him. You know there’s something I’ve not been able to tell you about Kitty? Well she said I could and Hunter might need someone to talk to about it.   
So you know Ryder also knows, Artie never did. Only her parents, Ryder and I and now you and Hunter do…apart from the bastards at her old school.”

“Start from the beginning” Sebastian tells his boyfriend soothingly

Blaine takes a deep breath, “Kitty was sexually assaulted when she was in middle school…she was at a sleepover. All of them were in the basement at her friend’s house asleep. Kitty was too until her friends older brother came down the stairs and got into her sleeping bag with her…he was fourteen and touched her and kissed her to keep her quiet. A few days later Kitty finally told her mum who went to speak with the boy’s parents. They said that it didn’t make sense because he’s a good boy and completely dismissed it. Well Kitty’s friends turned her back on her because they thought she was making it up and spread it round the school. Things got so bad she left and was home schooled for the last term of middle school. Her parents then moved as things followed her up to senior school and that’s how she came to be at McKinley”

“Fucking hell” Sebastian says breathily in shock, “I can’t believe she went through something like that…but it also makes sense…she’s not as confident as she comes across”

“I know you’d picked up on something”

“But I never thought of something like that…why did she never tell Artie?”

Blaine shrugs, “It didn’t feel right to and they didn’t go all the way…she’s worried that when it gets to that point with Hunter that she might have flashbacks or something”

“I think they should stay here tonight….if they want to I mean”

“I’ve put that out there too” Blaine cuddles his boyfriend, both of them in silent contemplation as they wait for their friends.

“What’s going on?” Hunter asks Kitty as they sit on the bed

“There’s something I need to tell you…but I’m worried it’s going to change things between us, but at the same time I need to tell you to be able to move forward…and you should   
know that apart from my parents, my only current friends who know are Blaine and Ryder, though Blaine will be telling Sebastian now”

That immediately tells Hunter that whatever it is, is serious, “You know I won’t judge you”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep..no don’t say anything else…just let me get through this.” Kitty takes a big breath, “I was sexually assaulted in my last year of middle school.” She then goes on to explain everything that happened to Hunter who schools his expression throughout the whole account, simply holding her hand as tears flow down her cheeks. 

At the end of it Hunter pulls her into his arms, “I don’t think any less of you…in fact I think more. If that guy ever shows his face again, I’ll make it so he’s unrecognisable” It’s clearly a promise rather than a threat. “We can take things as slow as you want you know…if you’d rather stay here this week than with me I won’t be offended”

“Really?” Kitty asks wide eyed and hopeful

“Yeah…I mean it makes yours and Blaine’s closeness even clearer so it makes sense that you’d want to stay with him, but you should know I won’t pressure you into anything”

“That’s great but I actually meant the bit about you thinking more of me”

“Do you think less of me for having been to rehab?”

“No…it shows you were strong enough to beat that crap and get yourself into a good place…it’s part of what makes you you”

“Exactly” Hunter smiles at her

“Oh” Kitty smiles shyly. 

It’s Hunter’s turn to take a deep breath, “To be honest…this confirms something for me”

“What’s that?” Kitty asks a little worried, emotions still running high

“That I love you” 

“And you’re not just saying that because of what you’ve found out and feel like you should?” Kitty questions

“This is me you’re talking to” Hunter replies flatly

“True…and good, because I love you too”

A short while later Kitty and Hunter join Blaine and Sebastian in the living room and find them cuddling under a blanket on a now pulled out sofa bed, complete with ultimate hot chocolates for all of them.

“Sooo?” Blaine asks tentatively as Kitty and Hunter join them, albeit under a separate blanket

“You don’t need to beat anyone up” Kitty replies with a small smiles, “And if the offer is still there we’re going to stay here tonight”

“Of course” Sebastian replies

“Have you messaged Ryder?” Blaine asks

“Yeah…we can expect a phone call soon”

“Can you tell us?” Sebastian asks and Blaine looks to Kitty

“He didn’t say” she replies

“So not yet…sorry” 

“Don’t be sorry killer B” Sebastian squeezes his boyfriend in reassurance after putting their now empty mugs on the side

“Thanks for being there for Kitty” Hunter says to Blaine as he picks up his and hers hot chocolates

“You don’t need to thank me” Blaine frowns with confusion

“Shhh B, Hunter’s trying to be nice” Sebastian stage whispers, making Kitty and Blaine laugh

“Besides, how many times have you thanked us over the last few months for doing nothing other than being your friends?” Kitty asks the curly haired boy purposefully

“You did far more than that” Blaine answers

“Pot kettle killer”

“Wow what do you make these with?” Hunter almost gasps after his first sip, “I don’t normally like hot chocolate but this is amazing”

“Wait you don’t normally like hot chocolate?” Kitty asks shocked, “I’m going to have to reconsider this relationship” she jokes, as she cuddles into him further, feeling safe in his arms

“It’s a secret…it was my Nona’s recipe” Blaine replies

“I bet Sebastian knows” Kitty goads

“Of course he does…otherwise he wouldn’t be able to make it for me” Blaine rolls his eyes playfully, “Can I just say, you’re looking much happier than earlier…and I’m so glad you’re here”

Kitty makes a sideways glance at Hunter, “I feel happier” her phone then starts ringing, “Ryder? How are you? Blaine’s here too…yeah I can put him on speaker, but Hunter and Sebastian are with us….are you sure…so we can fill them in fully after? Okay…no you know they won’t say anything, it wouldn’t be worth their while.” Kitty puts speaker on, 

“Everyone can now hear you”

“Ryder are you okay?” Blaine asks straight away

“Yeah…yeah, just drained you know? Spence is here by the way…erm I might have put my foot in it?”

“How?” Blaine asks

Spencer speaks up, “I asked why Ry told you, cos he told me about Kitty, you know because she told him he could, so that made sense, but I couldn’t work out why you knew…not that it matters really, but…”

“I said it was because you understood what it’s like to go through a traumatic experience”

“Ryder that’s not sticking your foot in it…you’ve told him what you know…and maybe you should both know, I trust you not to tell anyone else.”

“Only if you’re sure”

Sebastian squeezes Blaine in support so the shorter takes a deep breath, “I was a victim of a hate crime after I went to a Sadie Hawkins dance in my freshman year of high school with another boy. Long story short, I was beaten so badly I nearly died and the attack that happened a few months ago…well…” he says very matter-of-factly then trails off

“We nearly lost him again” Sebastian finishes, clearly still very haunted by it

“Oh man I feel like an ass now…I’m really sorry” Spencer says earnestly

“Don’t be sorry…but I hope that answers the why for you…though I also hope that you know that ultimately it doesn’t matter who Ryder tells, that’s up to him and his choices will never be made to make you feel bad, they’ll be made because that’s what was right for him at the time.”

Ryder cuts in, “We spoke about it a lot Blaine…I’m okay…honest” 

“We’re okay” Spencer emphasises

“Yeah…we’re okay” From Ryder’s tone of voice Blaine and Kitty can both tell he’s smiling a little

“Good because I really don’t want to have to kick ass, but I will if I need to” Blaine adds, only half joking

“Kitty are you okay though? I guess you are…it seems like it” Ryder says clearly anxious

“I’m okay…a bit drained but okay”

“Good…and thanks for giving me that push tonight…you’re right, it does feel better after”

“You know I’ll always be there to push you Ryder” 

“I feel like I should be worried”

“I think you should…you can’t see the look in her eye” Blaine jokingly warns and winks at the blonde

“On that note, I’ll say goodnight…I just want to crash now” Ryder laughs at himself

“Emotions do that to you” Blaine replies sympathetically

When the call disconnects Blaine and Kitty both look at Sebastian and Hunter respectively.

“So who’s going to tell us what that was about?” Sebastian asks first

Kitty and Blaine share a look before he starts talking, “This can go no further, Ryder’s parents don’t even know so it really is just us and Spencer who do.”

“I promise” Sebastian vows

“I promise too” Hunter adds

Blaine continues, “Ryder was molested by his babysitter when he was eleven. She erm…she got into the shower when he was in there and touched him.”

“Jesus” Sebastian mutters

“It kind of screwed him up…his words” Kitty explains

“How could it not?” Hunter frowns 

“What happened to the babysitter?” Sebastian asks

“She got caught doing it to another kid so got locked up” Blaine answers

“So chances are there are others who didn’t come forward” Sebastian says

“Without a doubt” Hunter agrees

“Are you still happy I came?” Kitty asks Blaine with a smile

“Wouldn’t change it” he answers honestly, “I just want you and Ryder to be okay”

“We will” Kitty replies confidently with determination and Blaine yawns

“God it’s got late” Sebastian comments after checking the time, “You need to go to sleep killer…important day tomorrow”

“I know” Blaine whines sleepily as his eyes flutter closed

Sebastian rolls his eyes fondly then scoops his boyfriend up before looking to Hunter and Kitty, “It’s all locked up, you can either stay here or use the guest bedroom, it’s up to you”

“Thank you” Kitty replies

When Sebastian disappears with Blaine, Kitty and Hunter turn off all the lights before heading to the guest bedroom.

“Am I okay to stay in here?” Hunter asks

“If you’re going to keep acting cagey around me now, I’ll kick your ass myself, get in the bed” Kitty orders him and goes to change into the dolphin themed pyjama shirt that had been clearly left in the room for her. When she gets back she finds Hunter under the comforter in his boxers and undershirt and climbs in and curls up with him. “This is nice”

“Hmmm” Hunter rolls over and wraps her in his arms, “I’m glad you told me”

“Me too…by the way if you snore, now is the time to tell me…I can’t guarantee you’ll wake up with eye brows otherwise”

“Then I guess I better make sure you can’t sneak out of bed to find a razor” Hunter tightens his hold making her giggle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Putting it out there so there isn't any speculation *spoiler alert* Kurt genuinely wasn't around so definitely couldn't have followed them anywhere.


	124. Blown away

The next morning Sebastian wakes up before his boyfriend and smiles at the mess of morning curls on his chest from where Blaine is sleeping on top of him. As Blaine only has to be at NYU three hours ahead of the concert he doesn’t even question wakening him, knowing he needs as much sleep as possible before tonight. After checking the time though he carefully leans over to pick up his phone and sends Hunter a message telling him that if he and Kitty are awake, to feel free to help themselves as there’s no sign of Blaine waking up any time soon and won’t be able to get up without disturbing him, plus he doesn’t want to. It’s moments like these that Sebastian cherishes most. Sebastian tightens his arms a little around his boyfriend, closes his eyes and dozes lightly, half awake and half asleep.

It’s another hour before Blaine starts to stir, “Let me see those beautiful eyes” Sebastian coaxes Blaine awake and presses kisses to the top of his head

Blaine turns his head so his chin is to Sebastian’s chest then opens his eyes so the first thing he sees is Sebastian gazing at him.

“I love you”

“I love you too” Sebastian stretches his neck to connect their lips. 

“Did you sleep okay?” 

“More than okay”

“Even with me crushing you?”

“When have I ever complained about you sleeping on me? I love having your body pressed on mine”

Blaine smiles softly then gives Sebastian another kiss before checking the time, “No wonder I feel so good, I haven’t slept like that in a while, but what about…”

“Kitty and Hunter?” Sebastian cuts in and Blaine nods, “I messaged Hunter telling them to help themselves…do you want some breakfast, well brunch?” he cards a hand through Blaine’s curls

“Sounds perfect”

After a few more moments of kissing and enjoying the peace that will be broken when they start the day, they both pull on lounge wear before heading out to see the other couple, Blaine only flattening his morning curls a little. 

“What’s all this?” Blaine laughs as he and Sebastian enter the kitchen hand in hand to see a wide selection of brunch foods spread out on the table along with freshly brewed   
coffee and sparkling orange juice.

“My idea of course” Kitty smiles smugly

“You must have ordered in” Sebastian comments 

“It was her idea and my wallet” Hunter laughs

“What do we owe you?” Blaine asks

“Nothing” Hunter replies, “Count this as pay back for the amount of dinners I’ve had here”

“Thanks man” Sebastian smiles, when Hunter catches his eye it’s clear there’s something he wants to talk to him about in private, but for now they all sit down and eat.

When they’ve all had their fill Blaine leans back in his chair, “Man that was amazing…I’m ridiculously full though”

“You better go jump in the shower B…it’s not long before I have to take you”

“You know you don’t actually have to take me right?”

“And you know getting a lift in today isn’t an option…this way you won’t be stressing about people knocking into your violin on the subway and things”

Blaine grumps a little but then stands and gives Sebastian a kiss before heading back to their room and en suite.

“So what news have you got for me Clarington?” Sebastian asks

“Good news”

“Wait what’s this about?” Kitty asks

“Nobody can know about this, absolutely nobody outside of us three, including Blaine okay?” Sebastian says so seriously Kitty knows this is serious

“I promise” Kitty vows seriously as it’s obviously something that will affect her curly haired friend

“Blaine’s parents have signed the necessary paperwork passing ownership of the three horses to him”

“Are you serious?” Sebastian asks with a smile on his face

“Honest to God, my dad now officially owns them and he’s looking into getting them transported here”

“I don’t actually know how to thank you both for doing all this…how much do we owe him for the horses? I know there will be other costs with getting them over and we’ll of   
course cover that too, but for now what’s the total?”

“For the horses and the vet checks he’s had done so far you’re looking at around twelve thousand dollars, they should be going into quarantine soon.” 

“Wait why aren’t we telling Blaine?” Kitty asks

“Because there’s a chance they might not get through the quarantine procedures” Sebastian replies, “With horses they have a quarantine period that side and then again after they arrive here and I’m not risking his hopes being built up just in case.”

“That makes perfect sense, it would crush him more” 

“Exactly”

“Where are you going to keep them though if they do make it?”

“At my parents property in the Hamptons, there’s space in our stables” Hunter answers

“You boys have got this wrapped up nicely then haven’t you?” Kitty smirks, “So if everything goes through, when will you be able to tell Blaine?”

“When they’re settled at the stables, which will be a few months” Sebastian replies

“So in time for his birthday” Kitty smiles

“Timing works out well huh?” Sebastian mirrors the smile

Blaine then comes through from the bedroom, freshly showered in jeans and a long-sleeved Henley with a suit bag over his shoulder 

“You ready to go killer?”

“Almost, I just need to get my spare bow” Blaine responds and goes to the music area

“We should leave too” Hunter adds

“Well I didn’t like to say anything” Sebastian smirks

Blaine reappears, his violin now on his back too, complete with spear bow, “I’m ready”

“So are we” Kitty stands, “We’ll walk down with you”

The four head down together, parting ways when Blaine and Sebastian head to the underground parking, “What time is everyone arriving again Bas?” Blaine asks on their drive

“Wes and Trent are arriving in about an hour and a half, then Patrick, Natasha, Tabatha, my dad and Sarah are landing in about two hours so they’re going to come to ours for a bit, then as is becoming tradition, everyone is going to meet at ours to go to NYU together.”

“Are you okay with that?”

“I will be, and I can always get the guys round a little earlier”

“Okay, I just don’t want it to get too much for you, though I know things with your dad have been going a lot better”

“Plus Patrick will be there…I can see why he and Wes helped you so much”

“I love hearing that” Blaine smiles as Sebastian pulls over, “Can you do me a favour? I think the girls are a little worried about what to wear tonight…”

“I’ll talk to Satan, or get Tabatha too”

“Sounds like a good idea” Blaine leans over and gives his boyfriend a kiss

When Sebastian gets home he changes the guest bed and tidies up the apartment a little before jumping in the shower so he only has to get changed before they have to leave for the concert. Time passes quicker than he realises and just as he’s finished getting dressed does the doorbell go. 

“Hi Sebastian!” Patrick greets brightly

“Hey, I hope you all had a good flight” Sebastian replies as he shows the guests into the apartment, “I’m guessing you could all do with a drink” after receiving drinks orders Sebastian goes into the kitchen, with Tabatha helping him. When they enter the living room again they see the parent units looking at some of the pictures that adorn the sideboards more closely.

“When was this one taken?” Patrick asks pointing at the picture of Blaine standing at the top of the large tree in the Montgomery’s back garden, hands over his head in a v, with his face tilted towards the sky.

“Oh that’s from the Blam birthday celebration…Artie took it” Sebastian replies

“It’s an amazing picture” Tabatha gushes

“But what was he doing up there?” Natasha asks

“Let’s just say there’s a reason not to give him energy drinks” Sebastian smiles fondly at the memory, even if it scared him half to death at the time.

“What about that one? When was that taken?” Xavier asks pointing to a photo of Blaine and Sebastian smiling brightly at each other in front of the pond with the fountain at Blaine’s grandparent’s property, clearly unaware the picture was being taken at the time.

“Camille, Blaine’s grandmother took that when we were at their home in Italy, we were all sat having lunch together” Sebastian then points to a picture of the two of them with Blaine’s grandparents, all dressed up and ready for the opera, and other that was taken of the four of them by Rosetta one dinner on their terrace. “Those are…were…B’s grandparents”

“Blaine has her eyes” Sarah comments

“I absolutely love this picture, is there any chance we could have a print?” Natasha asks pointing at a picture of the couple in front of the Eiffel Tower, Sebastian stood behind Blaine, giving him a kiss on the cheek that caused the fully blinding smile on Blaine’s face, who has his arms stretched out, clearly being the one to take the picture.

“I can email you the file” Sebastian offers, a little shocked that the photo has been requested

“That would be fab, thank you”

They continue to asks questions about the rest of the photographs on display in the living room, including photos with their friends, until the door goes.

“Did you all plan to arrive at the same time?” Sebastian asks with amusement, “Oh my god you actually did!” he laughs when their faces change and confirm that they did and lets them in where the entire group, including Wes and Trent, greet those already there.

“It goes without saying that whatever we eat tonight can’t be messy” Santana says as everyone other than Sebastian is ready for the night

“I told you, you could get changed here” Sebastian replies flatly, “Though I’m impressed Satan, you actually don’t look like a Lima Heights cage dancer” he teases

“Slag” Santana jokes back

“Whore!” Sebastian fires at her, teasing insults being common place between the two

“And nothing too heavy” Rachel adds going back to the food

“Screw that” Kitty cuts in, “I want New York pizza, I think you’ve all forgotten how terrible Breadstix is, and if you can’t eat pizza without getting in a mess then I suggest you give up on life”

“That’s actually kind of a fair point” Sam muses

After they’ve eaten Sebastian changes and they all get ready to go, car service having been booked for them all to save them from travelling on the subway in their evening wear.

“Are you going to go see him dude?” Sam asks Sebastian when they arrive

“Nope…I can’t as their doing final tuning checks and he actually doesn’t really need me too”

Cooper then comes strolling up to join them in the foyer, “Hey!” he greets everyone and they all reply

“Have you had a chance to eat Cooper?” Natasha asks

“Don’t mention food, I’m starving!”

Natasha pulls out a thin Tupperware container with a few slices of pizza she had in her purse, “I didn’t think you’d get the chance so here you go”

“You’re like the improved version of Mary Poppins!” Cooper gushes and accepts the pizza

“You polish up pretty well” Kitty tells the older Anderson

“I could say the same to you” he replies then looks around the group, “Though that would be obvious, we’re clearly the best looking group here”

“It’s things like that, that make me question if you and Blaine are actually related you know?” Jeff half jokes but Cooper just shrugs as he eats his last piece of pizza

They’re all then called to their seats. The concert is very traditional, the orchestra, bar Blaine as first violin are all seated. Blaine, who’s wearing a pair of his thick-framed glasses, is then introduced and takes his place standing up at a stand in front at the rest of the orchestra, something that only happens when a single player is leading most of the pieces. The conductor is then introduced and takes his place, and introduces the concerto they’ll be playing that evening. On his signal the orchestra ready. After Blaine nods to confirm his ready they start.

It’s a piece Tabatha of course knows and Xavier, Sarah, Patrick and Natasha recognise. Sebastian knows the music because of Blaine’s practising at home, but he’d never heard the full orchestra version before. It’s a concerto that’s lead very much by the solo first violin, but with the whole orchestra playing their part throughout the five movements.  
It’s safe to say everyone bar Sebastian, Wes, Patrick, Natasha and Tabatha are shocked and in awe by the standard of Blaine’s playing. They of course all assumed that he must be good, he is at everything else he plays and he’d earned first violin of course, but they honestly hadn’t expected to witness what they are, the music making them all sore. The five movements of the concerto last just over an hour and the orchestra and Blaine receive a long standing ovation at the end, Blaine’s smile showing how much it means to him to be there. 

A little while later the group are waiting for Blaine in the foyer. Sebastian is of course the first to spot him and walks to greet his boyfriend, presenting him with a single purple rose, “You blew my breath away tonight killer B”

“I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you Bastian” Blaine accepts the rose and kisses his boyfriend, everyone else having enough sense to let the couple have this moment, “Come on, you’ve got a lot of gushing to listen to” Sebastian tugs on Blaine’s hand to lead him back to the group as he rolls his eyes fondly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this seemed like it stopped in a weird place! The next chapter will pick up basically directly from here, but I wanted to get this posted to avoid a long delay this week - there is method with my madness! ;-) I just hope it worked from a reader point of view! :-)


	125. Permanent blush

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well this went in a different direction than I originally intended!

As Cooper sees the couple turn and move to join the rest of the group he rushes forward to his baby brother and engulfs him in a hug, luckily Sebastian having already taken Blaine’s violin from him. “There’s nothing you can’t do, huh squirt? I’m so happy I got to be here, to see you perform. And I’m sorry I haven’t been as contactable lately, but I’ve wrapped now so I’ll be better again, I promise.”

“It’s okay Coop, you replied to messages when you could and that meant more than you know”

“That must be the first time you haven’t told me off for calling you squirt”

“Don’t think it means you can get away with it from now on” Blaine laughs, “Is there something you want to talk to me about?”

“Later…I promise…let’s just celebrate for now”

Blaine furrows his brows slightly, “Ooookay” but before he can push Tabatha has grappled him from Cooper’s grasp

“I knew you could do it! Are you sure you don’t want to come back to London, I’m pretty sure we could get you a place on the orchestra”, she gushes making Blaine blush

“Hey!” Sebastian intervenes so pulls Blaine into him again

“Relax Bas I’m not going anywhere” Blaine then turns to the girls, “You look amazing”

“We know” Santana smirks as her, Brittany and Rachel wrap Blaine in a three-way hug, making him blush again. 

When the hug breaks Blaine takes a closer look at Brittany, who looks like she’s trying to keep something down that wants to bubble up, Rachel also has a certain twinkle in her eye, even Santana does, “Right what is it?”

“We don’t know what you mean” Rachel answers

“It’s a good job you’re a better actor than liar Rach” Blaine replies flatly

After a few moments Brittany lets out an excited squeal, “We got college letters today!!!”

“And?” Blaine asks excitedly

“I’m on the math program and have an audition for the dance one” Brittany bounces with excitement

“I’ve got an audition with Julliard too!” Rachel bursts out

“Tana….” Blaine encourages the Latina

Santana pretends to inspect her nails, “Let’s just say I could be seeing Lurch, Thad and Hunter around more”

Blaine’s smile takes over his face, “You got in to Columbia?!”

“I freaking got into Columbia! Shove that to everyone who thought I’d never be anything!”

There are various rounds of congratulations, to the girls and to Blaine on his performance. 

“Right that’s definitely it…we have to celebrate!” Patrick announces and everyone agrees

“We need to go home first though, I need to take my violin back” Blaine replies

“Why don’t we make use of our roof space?” Sebastian questions, “We have the heaters…everyone has coats.”

“We can stop off at the store on our way…the one down from you is still open at this time right?” Natasha asks Sebastian

“It is” 

“That sounds like a plan to me” Xavier agrees, eager to see the mystery roof space he didn’t know existed

The group piles into cabs and head on their way. When they arrive at the apartment Blaine goes and puts his violin away and grabs his warmer parker coat. Yes the evenings were slowly starting to get warmer, but he will always be sensitive to the cold. Cooper follows his brother inside while everyone else heads up.

“Are you going to talk to me now?” Blaine asks, clearly a little anxious as he leans on the back of the couch

Cooper takes a deep breath and joins his brother, “When I leave here in a couple of days, I’m going to Italy”

“Oh”

“So I was wondering if there’s anything you’d like me to bring back for you…there’s nothing to say that if mum and dad give me something, that I can’t pass it to you”

“Can I have a think and make a list? Though I know you won’t necessarily be able to bring everything back”

“I’ll do what I can buddy” The brothers share a quick hug before leaving the apartment where the see Xavier, Patrick, Sarah and Natasha heading their way with bags

“Can we help?” Blaine immediately asks 

“Just grab some plates and glasses” Patrick replies so Blaine nips back to the large cupboard in the foyer area of their apartment and grabs a box of outdoor dining supplies they have.

“I’ve got it” Cooper takes the box from Blaine

“I could manage” Blaine retorts

“But you don’t have to” Cooper smiles at his brother in such a way that makes Blaine let it go, the older clearly wanting to help and feel useful. And if Blaine’s honest, he quite likes the more protective side of his older brother.

“There you are” Sebastian wraps his arms around his boyfriend as soon as he sees him

“Miss me?” Blaine giggles

“Always” Sebastian replies with a kiss making Blaine’s cheeks dusk lightly with pink, “What is it?”

“Later” Blaine smiles, “Honestly, I’m okay and it’s nothing major, just…” Blaine changes his mind about the later part and pulls Sebastian to the side, “Coop’s going to Italy when he leaves here, so I’m going to have a think about if there’s anything I’d like him to bring back for me and make a list…he said it shouldn’t be a problem as there’s nothing to say my parents can’t gift anything to him and then him to me, but…”

“It’s making you miss your grandparents and the house and wish you could go” Sebastian wraps Blaine in a protective, all consuming hug and catches his dad’s eye, letting him know he’d like to talk later.

Meanwhile the others had been helping pour drinks and put the selection of savoury and sweet bites out to eat, including some of Blaine and Sebastian’s favourite mini French, Portuguese and Italian pastries. Sam passes the couple a glass of Champagne each.

When everyone has a glass Patrick leads the toast, “To all of your achievements, may you continue to support each other and celebrate many more successes together”

Blaine picks some soft jazz and puts it on to play low on the portable speaker they keep in the storage cupboard on the roof and flicks the switch to turn on all the fairy lights he and Sebastian have put up, like the ones on the roof of Adrianne’s apartment, making everyone gush in awe and delight as it transforms the space. 

Xavier makes an effort to go and talk to Blaine, “I never realised you had this space up here too…it’s nice though, peaceful”

“We think so, you can almost forget you’re in the middle of the city, thanks for coming tonight, it was good of you to fly out here again.”

“It was one of the best classical concerts I’ve been to in quite a long time, you really are a remarkable talent Blaine, I should never have doubted you when we first met, and I’m glad to be getting to know you and Sebastian more.”

“We’re glad too” Blaine smiles sincerely 

“I know your brother is only here for a couple of days, but if your plans allow Sarah and I would love to spend some time with you and Sebastian tomorrow before our red eye back, I know you’ll need to speak with Sebastian about it”

“Speak with me about what?” Sebastian asks as he wraps his arms around Blaine’s waist from behind

“If you would like slash have the time so do something with Sarah and I tomorrow” 

“Yeah…sounds good…Cooper might have to come too….or he and Sam could continue to shove pastries in each other’s mouths”

Blaine and Xavier immediately follow Sebastian’s eye line and see the duo doing just that as Brittany approaches, “Narwhal, will you dance with me?”

Blaine smiles, “You know the answer to that Britt” so takes her offered hand and after turning the music up a little starts dancing with the blonde.

“I’m so happy for all of us” Brittany smiles as Blaine twirls her

“Me too Britt, me too” Blaine replies as he tugs her close again and they spin together. It’s not long before others pair up and dance.

After a little while Natasha circles up to Blaine who’s still dancing with Brittany, “Mind if I cut in?”

“No…I’ve been greedy with him tonight” Brittany politely steps aside but is then offered a hand by Xavier, “You’re not as good a dancer as Sebastian, but you are a good dancer” she tells him matter of factly.

“I’ll take the compliment that’s in there” Xavier laughs

“He’s a special dancer, he’s going to help me with tap ahead of my audition as I’ve never really done it before”

“Is that so?” Xavier replies distractedly as he looks at Sebastian who is dancing with Santana, and makes a mental note that there’s yet another thing he wants to find out more about.

“I’m so proud of you” Natasha coos at Blaine, “I want to get a picture of you, Wes and Tabatha tonight”

“That we can do, and thank you” Blaine blushes

Natasha giggles, “It’s like you’ve had a permanent blush on tonight…honestly though Patrick and I are so so proud of you Blaine. At one point we thought we’d lost you, and I don’t mean with what happened in the New Year…I mean with the eight months we didn’t see you and only heard from you via email. You’re part of our family Blaine. I know we can never replace what you’ve lost, but…and I mean this from the bottom of my heart…we would be honoured if you could just believe that we think of you as one of our own, and that we will always be here, in whatever way you need us.”

Blaine stops dancing, his eyes starting to water, “Apart from my grandparents, you’re the closest I’ve known to what it’s like to have parents, to be a part of that family unit, and I guess I’ve never been able to believe how lucky I was to find you.”

“Oh but honey, we found you…Wes did that day in the library and told us about this boy with the broken arm who tried to hide from the world…we loved you before we met you. Then when we did and you looked like you could actually be Wes and Tabatha’s younger brother, it was more than coincidence, it was fate…even if you’re actually the tallest one now...and for what it’s worth, we promised your grandparents that we would always look after their bumble bee, and you know we don’t break our promises, so don’t you dare ever try to push us away again.” 

Blaine hugs Natasha fiercely, which Sebastian sees but watches from a distance and spots Patrick make his way over, who Blaine turns around and gives an equally gripping hug, which is automatically reciprocated.

“We got you kiddo, not that you need us…I mean look at everything you’ve achieved” Patrick soothes as he rubs Blaine’s back

“I wouldn’t have if you all hadn’t helped me come back to life”

“We can’t take all the credit, you’re the one who took the chance, plus there’s a certain someone with a pair of green eyes that really brought your spark back in a way nobody else could.”

“I love you”

“I love you too son”

Blaine then looks up over Patrick’s should and immediately locks eyes with Sebastian, the couple being drawn together and not caring about the wolf whistles of their friends or on looking family members as they crash their lips together, Blaine’s arms wrapping around Sebastian’s neck with the taller supporting him at the waist as he goes on tiptoes. Blaine knew in that moment that he was feeling exactly how is was to be loved in every way, by family, friends and the person he knows will be his for life. 

“You’ll tell me later?” Sebastian asks as the kiss breaks

“I’ll tell you later” Blaine promises


	126. Family, friends and nice plans

After breaking their kiss Blaine and Sebastian dance together for a little while until Blaine looks into his boyfriend’s eyes.

“Getting cold killer?” Sebastian smirks

Blaine pouts, “Yes”

“I know you love it when I do that” Sebastian claims smugly

“Maybe I do” Blaine leans up on his toes to give Sebastian a quick kiss

“Come on losers let’s go back down stairs” Sebastian calls out to everyone, though of course directing the comment to their friends and Cooper

“He getting cold?” Sam laughs

“It is chilly” Brittany counters

“Yeah but he’s wearing loads more layers than you” Sam retorts playfully

“Well I’m getting cold too so let’s go” Kitty orders and jokingly pushes Hunter towards the door, “Come on lips, I’m pretty sure we can get him to make hot chocolate”

“Why do you all talk about me like I’m not here” Blaine grumps slightly

Rachel comes up to Blaine’s side and tucks herself in so he undoes his coat so she can go under it too, “Ignore them!” Rachel squeezes him.

“If he wasn’t gay I can admit I’d be a bit insecure right now” Jesse comments to Thad who just laughs in return.

When they’ve turned off all the lights and heaters and are back in the apartment Blaine changes into warmer, more comfortable lounge wear while Sebastian just takes his jacket   
off and loosens his tie. 

“So is it stupid to ask who wants hot chocolate?” Blaine asks the group and receives blank stares 

“Don’t worry about me Blaine if it makes a difference, I’m not really keen on it” Xavier replies

“That’s what I thought, but you will be” Hunter laughs

“Bas, come help me” Blaine half requests, half orders his boyfriend and the friends are clued on enough to subtly tell everyone else to leave them be for now as Blaine obviously wants some time just to themselves.

The couple start making a large vat of hot chocolate together, “So are you going to talk to me or keep internalising everything?” Sebastian asks quietly and gently, without reproach.

“Natasha said that she and Patrick would be honoured if I could accept that they think of me like their own. They know they’ll never replaced what I’ve lost but they want to be there…they said they promised my grandparents to look after their bumble bee. I didn’t know that…she said they thought they had lost me when I transferred to McKinley and they didn’t see me for eight months and only heard by email…she said not to push them away.” 

Sebastian wraps his arms around his boyfriend, “We’re both good at doing that killer…what did you say?”

“That apart from my grandparents they’re the closest thing I’ve known to having actual parents and being part of what people identify as that family unit…I feel like I’ve treated them really badly.”

“What why?” Sebastian asks a little shocked as he hadn’t expected that, he thought Blaine was just emotionally overwhelmed

“By pushing them away…and being ungrateful I guess”

“Like I said, we’re both good at pushing people away, even if we don’t always mean too, it’s a defence mechanism….and killer, nobody can ever think of you as ungrateful, you cannot tell me you didn’t want to be a burden on them.”

“I didn’t”

“Then that’s the opposite of being ungrateful”

“But Cooper…”

“Won’t care if part of you kind of sees Patrick and Natasha as parental figures, I’d say he’d be glad, and you’re still his brother, nothing will change that….talk to him tomorrow, it will make you feel better.”

“But we’re seeing your dad and Sarah tomorrow”

“Not for all of it, and there’s nothing to say Cooper can’t come…in fact I think he should”

“Mmm okay” Blaine agrees, wanting to spend time with his brother. Blaine presses a kiss to Sebastian’s chest then they both finish making the hot chocolate, being glad they have as many mugs as they do before passing them around.

“I’ve never tasted hot chocolate like it…and I lived in Paris” Xavier happily comments

“It’s a Filipino-Italian hybrid so I’d be surprised if you had” Blaine laughs

“Hey Blaine…” Trent starts

“Yesss”

“Is that a new cello?”

“Yeah, I urm, couldn’t give that one away” Blaine smiles bashfully

“Can I have a look?”

“Of course” Blaine puts his mug down and goes to the music area with Trent, most of the others watching curiously

“Did you restore it?”

“Yep, I couldn’t let it go to waste”

“It’s gorgeous!” Trent practically caresses the instrument

“You should both play us something!” Tabatha encourages

“Like what?” Trent laughs

“Something magic” Brittany smiles excitedly

“That’s befitting for Warblers” Jeff adds

Blaine tilts his head to the side, “You always say that” before picking up his other cello. He picks up spike guards for both he and Trent and bows for the both of them too. “How   
do you feel going off the cuff?” 

“What do you have in mind?”

“There’s one song I really want Bas and Santana to sing together” Blaine whispers into Trent’s ear

“I’m in…can I take the base line though?”

“Sure” with that Blaine plucks a few notes and looks to Trent with question, “And don’t worry, I don’t expect the bows to be anything but shredded by the end”

“Agreed” Trent confirms that they’re the notes he’ll use for the base line

“I haven’t agreed to sing killer” Sebastian raises his eyebrows and crosses his arms 

“He’s got me intrigued” Santana smirks while Blaine gives Sebastian full on puppy dog eyes until his resolve crumbles

“I think you should have to register as a secret weapon” Sam tells Blaine completely seriously, “And next edition we are definitely going to explore Nightbird’s mind control rays”

“To be fair that would be a good edition” Artie adds

“Nightbird?” Natasha asks

“Nightbird and the Blond Chameleon, we’ve got our own comic book and everything” Sam then finds a picture of the super hero club and shows it to everyone, naming all the different super heroes that were there, “But of course we were the originals and the best…we actually did missions”

“Stealing choc ices doesn’t count as a mission” Sebastian adds dryly

“Stealing?” Patrick asks warningly

“Think of it more as a Robin Hood act” Blaine smiles cheekily as he finishes tuning his instrument

“And we did serious stuff too…we took down Sue and JBL” Sam defends

“He was such a creep” Rachel shudders

“You never got to see his Rachel Berry alter” Blaine and Sam both snigger which makes Santana crack up

“So what are we singing?” the Latina asks when she’s composed herself

“You’ll recognise it” Blaine grins, “Just don’t block Trent and I’s eye contact from each other”

“Why?” Brittany asks inquisitively

“Because that’s the way we’ll be communicating and letting each other know what we are about to do and what the other should do…like when you and Mike used to dance together spontaneously” Blaine explains kindly and the blonde nods excitedly

When the baseline for Smooth Criminal starts everyone in the room smiles and Sebastian shakes his head at his boyfriend, but he’s too focused already, clearly leading the piece and using the tricks he knows to create different effects on the strings. Sebastian leads the singing, he and Santana completely getting into the song and playing up to it, circling each other round the Blaine and Trent. By the end of the song, everyone applauds the singers and the cello players and Sam snaps a picture of Trent and Blaine with their shredded bows, pulling silly faces.

“That was brilliant!” Rachel squeals

“Absolutely fantastic” Jeff adds

“See if everyone could have got along we would have been unstoppable” Blaine smugly smiles as he puts the instruments away

“Hey we tried last year…it was the stupid show choir people who stopped us” Kitty points out

“Very true Kitty cat” Blaine agrees

The group sit talking while everyone finishes their hot drinks before heading back to their hotels and own apartments.

“Hey Coop?” Blaine asks as he enters the guest room where Cooper has headed for the night once the last of the guests have gone

“What’s up champ?

“Is there anything you want to do tomorrow?”

“Why’d you ask?” Cooper questions as he changes into a t-shirt to sleep in

“Because me and Bas have agreed to see Xavier and Sarah for a bit tomorrow and it would be really great if you could come too cos I really want to get to spend as much time with   
you as I can but I get it if you’d rather not…”

“Hey Blaine” Cooper cuts off his building ramble, “Breathe…and of course I’d like to come if it means spending more time with my little squirtle”

“Squirtle?” Blaine frowns

“Yeah…you have the same big round eyes as that Pokemon”

“Very funny” Blaine replies sarcastically

“I thought so too” Cooper grins smugly, “But in all seriousness, I’d love to spend the day with you…so what are we doing?”

“Going to the Met” Blaine winces

“The museum?”

“That’s the one”

“Never been there before” Cooper shrugs

“No, that’s shocking!” Blaine replies mockingly so gets tickled in retaliation, but manages to escape to his bedroom for safety, “Night Cooper!” he shouts through just before he closes his bedroom door

“Night Squirt, Sebby boy! And if you can’t keep your hands off each other, at least keep it down!”

“He’s so annoying” Blaine groans as he strips and slips into bed on top of his boyfriend, who pulls the duvet up around them

“He is…but you’re also smiling…and we’ve been told we have crazy good insulation, so I don’t think we have to worry that much” Sebastian smirks before kissing Blaine deeply and running his hands down to his ass, cupping and squeezing at both full cheeks, making Blaine moan and takes the opportunity to roll them over, pinning him underneath.

“Bastian” Blaine moans as Sebastian sucks at his neck, just behind his ear, Blaine’s own hands wondering wherever they can touch on his boyfriend’s body

Sebastian captures Blaine’s lips again as he reaches over and grabs the lube. It’s only moments before his fingers are massaging at Blaine’s ring of muscles before slipping in. 

Blaine gasps as Sebastian breaches him with two fingers immediately, instead of starting with one.

“Sorry” Sebastian says lowly into Blaine’s ear

“No your n not” Blaine stutters as Sebastian strokes his prostate 

“No…I’m not” Sebastian smirks sexily as he uses his body to pin Blaine down as much as he can, knowing it drives his boyfriend wild and loving feeling of Blaine’s muscles twitching in response to what he’s doing. “I want to try with just two for prep” Sebastian states, though Blaine knows he’s really asking a question.

“Do it” Blaine immediately agrees so Sebastian slicks up his length and lines up

“Breathe killer” Sebastian encourages as he breaches the first ring of muscles, “What does it feel like?”

“Like you’re stretching me more than ever before” Blaine gasps and writhes, “Bas” he whimpers when Sebastian has bottomed up

“Shhh, you’re doing so well” Sebastian peppers kisses over Blaine as he adjusts

“Move…god move”

“I don’t need telling twice” Sebastian smoulders before pounding relentlessly into his boyfriend, not even pausing as he throws Blaine’s legs over his shoulders

“Huh…huh…huh” Blaine pants, “Bas…I’m close” and goes to reach down to his neglected length, only for his hand to be slapped away

“No…just with me” Sebastian grits out and changes his angle slightly so he knows he’s better hitting Blaine’s prostate

With the new angle it doesn’t take Blaine long to spill over, making him tighten around Sebastian who then spills over himself and collapses on top of Blaine, until the two catch their breath.

“I want to stay in you tonight” Sebastian says softly when they both have their breathing back at a steady rate

“Good…because I want you to” Blaine smiles and kisses his boyfriend

Sebastian gently rolls so they’re on their sides, still connected. They smile at each other and continue to share soft, gentle kisses until they both drift to sleep.


	127. Dates have been set

The next day Sebastian, Blaine and Cooper meet Sarah and Xavier outside the Met museum and head in together.

“I may have underestimated how big this place is and how long we’ll be here for” Cooper murmurs quietly to Blaine as they make their way into the second room together.

“Is that your way of trying to duck out?” Blaine asks cautiously

“Not at all…I said I’d come and spend the day with you Blainey and that’s exactly what I plan on doing, but maybe you can help liven things up for me a little bit” Cooper throws his arm over Blaine’s shoulders

“I don’t know Coop…try actually looking at some of the paintings, make up stories about them or something”

“What do you mean?”

“Look” Blaine guides his brother to a painting, “What do you think she was doing when the artist decided to capture this moment. Not all art is people posing, some paintings are like photographs of moments before cameras were around to take them”

“I think she was checking out whoever she’s looking at that we can’t see” Cooper grins

“Why?” Blaine pushes and Cooper starts to get it

Sebastian smiles over at his boyfriend, still under his brothers arm, the two clearly actually discussing a piece of art, and he’d been starting to doubt that Cooper would be able to make it the whole way round.

Sarah gently nudges her husband towards his son and goes to join the brothers who have moved onto a statue which they are now making up a story about.

“Standing behind someone is on the creepy side of things” Sebastian says flatly to his dad without turning away from the painting he’s looking at, Van Gogh’s Café at night.

“Point taken” Xavier steps closer to his son, “Have you seen this before?” He gestures towards the painting, “Given that its usual home is Paris”

“I have, but I think you can usually find something else in his paintings each time you see them.”

“Like what?” Xavier asks

“Well what are you seeing? I know you’ll know this painting too”

“I see the outside of the café he likes to frequent on a peaceful night, one where madness doesn’t grip him. The yellow is happy yet peaceful, but also gives a feeling of a hum of energy against the dark blues that make up the night time…you?”

“The last supper” Sebastian replies

“Talk me through it?”

“Look” Sebastian points towards the figures at the table and the waiter, “They’re arranged how Jesus and his disciples were in Da Vinci’s painting of the last supper…and it would make sense if that’s what he had intended, or even if it was subconsciously, he was deeply religious after all, even if a life in the church didn’t suit him…I still prefer photography   
though.” He adds dryly

The group slowly filter through to the next room when they are finished with the Van Gogh exhibit. 

“How did you get into photography?” Xavier asks curiously yet aware it could be a sensitive subject

“There’s a lot to be said for observing the world”

“I can’t disagree with that, and as a lawyer it’s one of the best skills you can have, but you can’t miss out on life either”

“That’s something I’ve found out…and wouldn’t be allowed to do again” Sebastian admits and glances to his boyfriend. He still finds it difficult to be in his dad’s company but Patrick and Natasha’s words, to him and to Blaine have both struck a chord with him, even if he isn’t sure what exactly.

Sarah picks up that there’s something Blaine clearly wants to talk to his brother about so casually drifts off to another artefact to leave them to it.

“Hey Coop” Blaine starts shyly

“That voice means you’re nervous to tell me something or talk to me…that hasn’t changed since you told me you broke my video camera”

“I didn’t exactly break it and can you blame me? You kept enough of my toys and things hostage anyway…I mean you never gave me back my Optimus Prime, ever!”

“God I don’t even know what I did with that thing…anyway that’s not what we’re talking about, so what’s up?”

“You know I love you right and that I would never want anything to change between us now? I mean I am so thankful that I still have you, and that we’re close. I mean I’ve really needed my big brother and you’ve been there, however you can, and I hope you know it goes the other way too because I never want to lose you as my brother or my friend.”  
Cooper cuts in, “Well you never will, and I can say that as a promise and a guarantee, and you have been there for me too Blaine, just in different ways. I love getting to be a big brother to you, a real big brother and nothing’s ever going to stop me from being just that…so what is it? It’s not cos of the picture thing again is it? Because I thought we agreed that yeah I shouldn’t have basically confronted you like that but that it was a talk worth having considering.”

“Nope nothing about that and I still think it’s best we don’t talk about that” Blaine blushes fiercely

“Oh come on, you can’t be brave enough to do those things then go and blush like that” Cooper laughs before composing himself, “So what do you want to talk to me about?”

“Natasha and Patrick said it’d mean a lot to them if I could accept that they think of me like their own”

“Right? Don’t you?”

“I kind of do now, but I didn’t” Blaine admits

“But why?”

“It felt too good to be true” Blaine shrugs

“Yeah but you must think of them like parents in quite a few ways right?”

“I can admit that to myself now, but doesn’t that bother you?”

“Why would it? Even if it gets to a point where you call them mum and dad Blaine, I’ll still always be your big brother…I told you, nothing is ever going to change that” Blaine looks down, clearly deep in thought, “You know you over think things sometimes right? I know you could say that I don’t think about some things enough, but ultimately I love you and if they being your parent figures, particularly with Nona and Grandpa gone, can give you some balance and happiness then if anything I welcome it…so stop over analysing things and finding random answers where they don’t belong…see like that old bowl” Cooper points to one of the Roman bowls, “I’m pretty sure you could make some sort of fantasy up about it, about how come it survived all this time, why someone chose to protect that one bowl, must make it important right? Well how about, it was nothing, just a bowl that some rich dude had grapes in occasionally, he wouldn’t have missed it if it smashed, it’s just luck that it’s still here in one piece and was found. Not everything has to be something bigger, there’s nothing wrong with somethings, just being the things.”

Blaine smiles thoughtfully, “It’s the little things in life that are important, it’s what makes up life, if you lose sight of them always looking for the bigger things, it will all pass you by”

“Yeah exactly! But what?”

“It’s what Nona always said”

“She was right, don’t always read so much into things squirt, and like I said, you being happy, makes me happy.”

Blaine hugs his brother, “I love you Coop”

“I love you too”

Just over halfway round the museum, Xavier receive a phone call that gives him an update on how Blaine’s cases are progressing. Sebastian picks up that something is going on, even if his dad’s demeanour is barely any different, but it’s enough to make him keen to go back to theirs after the museum and get some form of takeout rather than eating out that night.

It turns out to be a good choice as Xavier asks to speak with Blaine when they return to the apartment, “What’s it about?” Blaine asks as he closes the door to the office where they’ve gone for some privacy.

“I have two dates for you”

“You mean?” 

“Yes…court dates for both of the attacks you were a victim of”

Blaine goes wide-eyed, a shock of disbelief on his face and turns, leaving the office to go back to the lounge, Xavier following him, not completely shocked by this reaction.

“Bas!”

Sebastian immediately stands and wraps his arms around his boyfriend, “What is it killer?”

“Blaine?” Cooper adds when Blaine doesn’t immediately answer

“We’ve got two dates” Blaine tells them so Sebastian looks to his dad

Xavier answers as it’s clear Blaine is wanting to share the news, “The court dates for both attacks have been set”

Xavier then goes on to tell them the dates and everyone immediately starts trying to organise the time away from college and work they’d need to attend. The trials are only two weeks apart, which Blaine decides he prefers as he’d rather get them out of the way with.

Of course they’ll be preparation to do and time to worry and stress, but for now they celebrate the step forward and enjoy each other’s company, inviting the Montgomery’s and Sam around to join them, not wanting to pull anyone else in yet in risk of Blaine becoming overwhelmed and questions being asked there are no answers to yet.

First though, they all have the next weekend to look forward to, where once again the remaining Lima bound members of the new New Directions will be joining them.


	128. See you soon

The next morning the Montgomerys and Smythes go round to the apartment to say good bye to the boys as they’re all leaving New York, including Tabatha, who’s London bound once more, and Wes and Trent who have to go back to college. As they approach the apartment door they all hear loud laughter, which is explained when Blaine opens the door.

“What happened to you?” Wes laughs as Blaine opens the door, hair wet with foamy bubbles

Just then a hand towel lands on Blaine’s head, “Bas happened…and Cooper” he laughs as he drapes the towel over his shoulders and Sebastian appears behind him.

Everyone enters the apartment and sees Cooper with wet patches on his t-shirt. 

“How come Sebastian is the only dry one?” Tabatha asks

“Squirt wasn’t quick enough to get him” Cooper replies so Blaine whips him with his towel, “Son of a!” Cooper chases his brother but Blaine jumps over the couch and uses Sebastian as a shield, immediately stopping Cooper in his tracks. 

“Are we still getting brunch?” Patrick laughs

“Oh yeah…it’s ready” Blaine smiles and Sebastian guides everyone into the kitchen/diner

“Blaine you didn’t have to do all this” Natasha says as she takes in the spread on the table

“Bas helped” Blaine beams

“You can cook?” Sarah asks Sebastian

“Of course I can” Sebastian replies smugly then notices Blaine’s raised eyebrows, “Hey just because I’ve got better since I started dating you, doesn’t mean I couldn’t cook before”

“I’ll give you that” Blaine agrees

“How generous you are killer” Sebastian deadpans

“Then what did Cooper do?” Patrick asks

“He was meant to be on clean-up duty” Blaine replies

“Hey it’s not my fault if you kept getting in the way” Cooper defends

“Well you were doing it wrong”

“How can a person clean-up wrongly?”

“I don’t know but you managed it” Blaine fires back

Cooper pulls out his phone and calls Sam, immediately putting him on speaker, “Hey man, you have an audience, but can you answer one question for me?”

“I guess” Sam’s confused voice comes through 

“Can you clean-up wrong?” 

“Well I guess if you make more of a mess then that’s kind of the opposite”

“Okay let me rephrase that, if you’re cleaning and tidying up and making good progress can you be doing it wrong?”

Sam laughs, “Blaine’s OCD tendencies coming out again? What did you do?”

“I used the sponge for the pans to wipe down the side”

“Bad move man, bad move” Sam continues to laugh, “There are separate sponges for those jobs...Hey can you save me a plate?”

“Yes!” Blaine answers

“And that’s why I love you BD”

“Love you too” 

“Right enough of your weird bromance” Cooper declares then cuts the call

They finish having brunch together and use the rest of their time to have a coffee where Xavier makes sure to speak privately to Blaine, “I know a court date has been set for your first attack, but we didn’t really get much time to talk about it last night. I need you to know that I’m still working on the case and pushing so you won’t have to go to court and testify.”

“Is that really possible?”

“With the evidence available yes”

“There’s that much?” Blaine asks, pushing the thought of his parents aside

“We need more eye witness testimonials…I’d like to put an appeal out into the local press”

“Will I need to do anything?”

“Give me the okay to use a picture of you, and provide one of you at that age”

“You have my permission and Patrick will be able to help with anything you need…hey Patrick?” Blaine calls over and goes onto explain the situation. “Is that okay?”

“I’ll do whatever you need me to, you know that”

“Yeah…I do” Blaine smiles and Patrick understands the meaning behind his words 

After finalising some details Xavier leaves Patrick and Blaine to talk in private, “So how are you doing with everything?” Patrick asks.

“Better than I thought I would…it helps having all of you from the beginning this time”

“I’m pleased to hear it”

“Plus Cooper helped me process everything” Blaine admits

“Yeah?”

“Yeah…I didn’t want anything between him and me to become awkward”

That is enough for Patrick to click and he begins to understand why Blaine had been holding back, “I see…and I can’t believe I hadn’t thought of that before, hadn’t realised that you would be worried about ostracising yourself from Cooper when I should have…just promise you’ll call any time, whether it’s for a chat or you want someone to talk to, a sounding board, anything at all. I know you and Sebastian work through things together, and you have Sam, but hey you have us too.”

Blaine hugs Patrick in response. Time means that everyone needs to leave to catch their flights or trains. When Tabatha says goodbye to Blaine and Sebastian she pulls them both into a hug. Wes and Trent will be back the following week so it’s more of a ‘see you later’ from them. 

“Thanks for coming” Sebastian says to his dad

“Thanks for having me…it was good to see you again Sebastian and not that you need it, but if I can ever help with school work or getting tickets to a basketball game or anything, you know where I am. That goes for if you just want a talk too.”

“You know depending on how you handle it, getting a call from you once a week or something wouldn’t be the worst thing. Just keep doing what you can for B”

“You have my word, and I’ll remember that” the two share a hug slightly less awkward than the last time.

When everyone has gone Blaine collapses on the couch with his boyfriend with Cooper sat in one of the arm chairs, “So I hate to ask Blainers, but have you thought about what you might like me to bring back from Italy for you?” 

“Give me a sec” Blaine stands and goes to get the list he’d put together over the last couple of days then passes it to his brother, “Is there anything on there that doesn’t make sense?”

Cooper looks over the list, “No…it’s all good…I’ll do what I can, I promise”

“I know”

They continue to talk until Cooper has to leave for the airport to catch his overnight flight to Italy, the brothers sharing a slightly emotional goodbye, even though Cooper would be visiting on his return trip as he has some down time between projects.

“Is it wrong that I like it being just us again?” Blaine asks Sebastian where he’s lying on top of him on the couch as they watch a movie

“If it is then we’re both wrong…it feels peaceful again, just us”

“Exactly...it's when I'm most at peace and happiest...I love you Bastian”

“I love you too killer B”

They both drift to sleep where they are that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So how does it make you feel to know there's a bit of a twist coming in the next chapter? Nothing to do with Cooper's trip to Italy, but there's a certain someone who hasn't made an appearance in a while...


	129. Pressure's on

The next day Blaine informs the others that court dates have been set for both attacks, which they of course try and arrange so they can make it to support their friend. Blaine also informs them that Xavier is doing what he can to force the defendants hands into accepting a guilty plea without Blaine having to testify and explains about the appeal for information. He then has a separate conversation with Kitty who contacts all the new New Directions members in Lima to tell them that Blaine will talk to them about whatever they see in the news when they visit the coming weekend and not to contact him before. Ryder and Spencer of course know what it’s about and re-emphasise the point of not contacting Blaine before they see him.

A few days later Burt sees Leroy and Hiram in Lima having just read the paper where he saw the young picture of Blaine and the appeal. Being curious he calls over to them where they are on the other side of the street and crosses over as soon as he can, “Hey, long time no see how are you both?” 

Leroy and Hiram share a quick look, things have been a bit awkward between them considering everything that’s happened between Rachel and Kurt, let alone after the night she ranted and cried about what Kurt had done to Blaine. “We’re good thanks” Hiram replies, “How are you?”

“Can’t complain, so what have you been up to?”

“Work mostly, but we’re actually on our way to an appointment at the moment, sorry Burt” Leroy answers kindly

“That’s okay” Burt starts walking with them though, “Can I ask you something?”

“Of course” Hiram replies

“Did you know anything about this?” Burt shows them the paper where he’s got it left on the page with the appeal on

“We were warned that we could expect to see something involving Blaine in the local press if that’s what you mean”

“But you didn’t know about it before?”

“Well we both recognise the attack they’re referring to as it made the news when it happened, but we didn’t know it was Blaine who was the victim if that’s what you’re asking.”  
Hiram answers quite firmly, not enjoying the fact that Burt is clearly pushing for information.

“I’d have expected you to know over us though” Leroy continues, “I mean Kurt and Blaine were boyfriends, it’s more likely that he would have told him than Rachel”

Leroy’s words confirm what Burt was thinking himself and it’s clear the conversation is over, “Anyway, sorry to bother you, hopefully we’ll see you soon.”

Meanwhile Kurt was on the phone to Mercedes who had called him while on a visit to her parents. 

“What do you mean there’s an appeal in the paper about Blaine?” Kurt asks scandalised

“Exactly that Kurt! It says they’re appealing for witness statements from a historic attack. It then goes on to say that Blaine Anderson and the other victim were waiting to be picked up after attending a school dance together when they were attacked and savagely beaten. It then lists all the injuries Blaine suffered. I never had any idea he’d been through something like this! You know you could have spoken to me about it.”

“I would if I’d known” Kurt scoffs, clearly still not impressed that he hadn’t been told

“Wait seriously?”

“I knew he’d been attacked and he said something about a metal plate in his head when he screamed at me in the park, but he never gave me a chance to process anything or ask questions, so no I never knew…and I still can’t believe he didn’t tell me when we were together, apparently though that was my fault, though I don’t see how considering I was dealing with Karofsky at the time. Frankly, he should have been more understanding.”

“When was the last time you saw him?”

Kurt sighs, “In the hospital”

“After he found out about his grandparents?”

Great so there’s something else Kurt doesn’t know about, “He hadn’t woken up yet”

“I can’t imagine how difficult it would have been for him to wake up and then be told they died in a car crash”

Kurt doesn’t want to give it away that he didn’t know something else, “This it’s why it’s important that he knows he can still come to me. I know he needed my support but Sebastian got his dad to issue that restraining order.”

“I was shocked when you told me that” Mercedes confesses, “Though it sounds like Blaine didn’t revoke it, though I guess he had other things on his mind. I mean after what happened at Thanksgiving with his parents and then the attack and his grandparents, he would have had a lot to sort out, I wouldn’t take it personally Kurt.”

“Well I’m starting to! What happened at Thanksgiving?!” he screeches 

“Oh Kurt I thought you would have known by now”

“What?! And I can’t believe you haven’t told me sooner!”

“His parents disowned him”

“So he doesn’t know if he’s going to get money from his grandparents, is that it?!”

Mercedes frowns at this, it’s the first time she’s witnessed anything of this side of Kurt for herself, “I don’t think that’s the key thing here Kurt.”

“Of course not" Kurt too easily dismisses, "Who told you all this and why haven’t I been told sooner?” he demands

“I really shouldn’t have said anything” Mercedes replies, actually starting to regret telling him

“But who told you?”

“Blaine didn’t if that’s what you’re wondering…truthfully I shouldn’t really know. Promise me you won’t do anything rash Kurt.”

“Well Sebastian’s made sure I don’t have a way to contact him so it’s not as if I can…I’m just worried”

“I can understand Kurt, I know you still love him so of course you want to be there for him and comfort him.”

Kurt then sees a call from his dad coming through, “I better go, thank you Mercedes, for everything. You’re the only school friend I have left now.”

That strikes a chord with Mercedes as she doesn’t like the fact that all the other members chose Blaine over Kurt, but she’s also aware that she may have just ruined her last connections with the group too.

“Hey dad”

“Hey Kurt…I was just wondering how you’re doing?”

“Honestly…I’ve been better”

“Oh…I’m sorry to hear that” Burt replies as he arrives home and enters the living room where Carole is and gestures so she knows who he’s on the phone to. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

Kurt laughs without humour, “Unless you can undo my so called friends completely betraying me then no”

That immediately makes Burt worry, “Kurt, what’s happened?”

“I’ve just spoken to Mercedes, at least she finally told me everything now but she shouldn’t have kept it from me.”

“What Kurt?”

“Well she originally called to ask me about the appeal that’s appearing in the local media, about Blaine if you haven’t seen it”

“Actually I have…it was one of the reasons why I called you, I can’t believe it was him those years ago, how come you never told me? It can’t have been easy for you to find out about”

“To be honest, I only found out something had happened to him after we broke up when he practically screamed at me in Central Park. What’s in the news is more than I’ve ever known.”

“Oh…I’m sorry Kurt” Burt frowns, “With as close as you two were I was sure you would have known”

“That’s not the worst of it! Can you believe that I’ve only just found out that he was disowned at Thanksgiving and that his grandparents died when he was in hospital! Not that I ever met them but still, that’s a big thing and I should have been told about it.”

“Well Kurt you weren’t together when those two things happened, you weren’t even on speaking terms so with all due respect, you didn’t have a right to find that out.”

“Even if that is the case, which I’m not agreeing it is, the people I thought were my friends should have told me.”

“What good would it have done?”

“I know Sebastian is the reason why Blaine has no contact with me”

“Not this again Kurt” Blaine replies, finding the conversation increasingly frustrating and stressful

“Well it’s the truth, even if nobody else can see it. If I had known I would have done things differently! Things would be different now!”

“So you’re saying that if you’d known about these things you would be on speaking terms with Blaine” Burt sighs

“At the very least, I’m the person who knows how to handle him best”

“Kurt I don’t think it’s healthy for you to think like that…for one you’re making him out like he’s an object, not a person, and quite frankly that’s a very bold claim for you to make.”

“I’ve lost so many friends because of him, but I still love him. I had a right to know about the attack, it’s just another thing we have to talk about.”

“Kurt I thought we agreed you won’t be talking to Blaine any time soon”

“No you said I should give him some time and I have, but I can’t move on until I’ve spoken to him, we have unfinished business and I deserve that much after our time together.”

“Kurt you’ve been broken up for over a year and a half, coming up two! It’s time to move on regardless.”  
“You know I can’t”

From there the call continues to spiral until the chest pains Burt’s been experiencing become critical and he drops the phone, ending the call at the same time. Kurt’s fuming, he  
can’t believe his dad has just hung up on him, yet he’s more determined than ever to speak to Blaine once and for all, this has all gone on for too long.

Carole meanwhile has sprung into action and is using her nurse training to help her husband until the ambulance arrives. Later when she’s sat by Burt’s bedside and it’s been acknowledge the stress of the call was the trigger for the heart attack Carole decides she has to do something about the situation, so when Burt is asleep again, she slips out of the room and makes a call.

Rachel’s sat watching soaps with Jesse, Santana and Brittany when her phone starts ringing, “It’s Carole” she frowns so Santana mutes the TV. “Hello?”

“Hi Rachel”

“Is everything okay?” Rachel asks concerned after hearing the tone of Carole’s voice

“No not really…I need to contact Blaine”

“I’m sorry but I can’t give you any of his details, but I could uh, take a message?”

“Burt’s had another heart attack. The trigger this time was a stressful phone call with Kurt”

“Oh my gosh I’m so sorry to hear that Carole, but I take it was about Blaine as you’re trying to contact him”

“It was about Blaine” Carole confirms through a sigh, “You know I’m not one to get involved, but I genuinely think the only way this is going to get cleared up is if Kurt and Blaine sit down to talk. I can’t see an end to it if they don’t”

“But for Blaine there is no situation, he’s over it” Rachel tries to explain

“I can respect that but please please just ask him if he’d consider it. Kurt and Burt’s relationship is getting worse and worse, which is adding more stress to Burt’s life even when they aren’t yelling at each other on the phone….you know his health history Rachel, his body can’t take it.” Rachel doesn’t reply, “Rachel?”

“Oh sorry, I’m still here”

“So will you help me?” 

“I’ll ask him Carole, but that’s all I can do”

“Okay, thank you”

“I hope Burt gets better soon”

“Me too, thank you Rachel….Bye”

“Bye Carole”

“What the hell was that about?” Santana asks as soon as the call has disconnected.

“Burt’s has another heart attack” Rachel replies then goes on to recount the conversation.

“You need to talk to Blaine when Sebastian is there” Brittany advises

“I don’t know how I’m going to talk to him about this at all”

“Don’t ask him the way Carole has asked you to, explain the situation instead so he can make an informed decision” Santana replies

“Definitely” Brittany agrees

“I don’t know who I feel worse for at the moment, Burt or Blaine” Jesse comments and the girls hum in response.

Rachel then lets out a big breath and drops her head to Jesse’s shoulder. This is not something she wants to do, but with the situation as bad as it is she doesn’t feel she has a choice. Plus it sounds like the Kurt situation is a ticking time bomb as far as Blaine is concerned, and it’s important he isn’t blind sighted should they come into contact.  
Before Rachel can message Blaine to ask him if she can go round, not wanting to have this conversation in a public place all of their phones go off at once, making them all read the message at once. It’s from Sebastian. ‘We’re going off the grid for the day, do not contact us unless you are dying.’

Another message then follows, this time from Blaine, ‘What Bas meant was we haven’t had a day together as just us for too long, so please respect that and don’t come round or try to contact us unless it’s a genuine major emergency.’

“I love them together” Brittany smiles to herself and then looks to Rachel, “So that’s that, you can’t contact them today.”

“And none of us can say anything at all to anyone else” Santana says so firmly the other three immediately agree, “My Mexican eye is twitching” she doesn’t know why but she just has this feeling that something must have set Kurt off to result in a phone call with Burt on such a scale that would trigger a heart attack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry, we get some Seblaine time next ;)


	130. Blissful

After sending the messages to their friends Sebastian packs an overnight bag for the two of them.

“Overnight bags?” Blaine asks quizzically

“Yes…I’m making the most of my time with you before I have to share you again”

Blaine wraps his arms around his boyfriend’s neck and presses up onto his toes, “You know I’m all yours though right?” 

“I do” Sebastian smirks and kisses Blaine, “But we don’t need to go into college for the next few days, but I know we’ve both got some studying to do, so pack what you need   
because we won’t be coming back until late tomorrow.”

“Then why not make it two nights?” Blaine questions, eyes sparkling

“Really? Even though it will mean we only have a day here before everyone descends?”

“Two nights there, come back after a late brunch so we have late afternoon and evening plus one whole day before everyone arrives the next”

“That is more than fine by me”

The two finish packing everything they need, plus an acoustic guitar each before heading down to Sebastian’s car.

“Where are we even going?” Blaine asks as they put their seatbelts on

“A little getaway”

“Where?” Blaine pushes again

“Somewhere you’ll love” Sebastian smiles and steals one last kiss before pulling out into the New York traffic. 

About an hour into their drive Blaine gets a message from Rachel, “Who’s that killer?”

“Rachel asking if we can have lunch tomorrow”

“What part of going off grid did she not understand?” Sebastian mutters under his breath

“All of it apparently” Blaine smiles wryly, making his boyfriend laugh, “What if she came over for dinner when we’re back?”

“Only if she brings it” Sebastian replies, making Blaine giggle as he fires off a response to Rachel.

“What did he say Rach?” Santana asks the shorter brunette when her phone signals a message.

“They’re going away for a couple of nights, but he’s offered for us to go round for dinner when they’re back….as long as I take something round”

“Can I come with you?” Santana asks, “For Sebastian” she offers as an explanation to the questioning look

“That’s a good idea” Brittany agrees, “I won’t come though, it won’t look good if there’s three of us and two of them”

“You’re right” Santana quickly agrees, as does Rachel

A couple of hours later Blaine is looking intently out the windows, “So we’re going to the Hamptons?”

“We are”

“Where?” 

“Soon B” Sebastian then turns down a track, which lasts a lot longer than Blaine anticipated, but it’s definitely worth it.

The couple pull up to a small, traditional English style cottage that’s very secluded and overlooking its own stretch of private beach.

“This is stunning Bastian” Blaine gasps when the car stops

“I had a good recommendation” Sebastian smiles 

They both get out the car and grab their things before going to the door, where they find the key in the hidden nearby key safe which Sebastian knows the code to. On opening the door the cottage screams coziness and has a wood burning stove in the living room. Upstairs there are two bedrooms, the second is sweet with twin beds but the master is beautiful with a vaulted wooden-beamed ceiling with windows overlooking the beach and a heavy wooden framed bed made with a checked pattern duvet, thick soft blankets and more feather down pillows than you could sleep with.

Blaine puts down his bag then runs and jumps backwards onto the bed so he lands on his back and laughs as he lands amongst the pillows, “It’s like being on a cloud!” he grins widely

“Hmmm…let’s see about that” Sebastian puts his bag down then pounces on top of Blaine, the two of them bouncing with the springiness of the mattress. Immediately Blaine wraps his arms around Sebastian’s neck and pulls him down for a kiss, which quickly turns heated. 

Blaine breaks the kiss after a while, both of them straining against their pants, “I’m assuming you brought lube” he pants

“Of course I did” Sebastian scoffs, then smoulders, “I’m your boy scout remember?” As Sebastian rifles through his bag Blaine starts taking his clothes off, “Eager killer?” Sebastian asks when he turns back around to see a nearly naked Blaine.

“When I’m about to be fucked by my incredibly handsome boyfriend? I’d say I’m more than eager” Blaine smirks naughtily before standing on the bed, side on to his boyfriend, and slowly peels his boxer briefs off, purposefully bending more than he needs to making Sebastian’s eyes darken instantly.

It doesn’t take Sebastian long to remove his clothes and he’s soon wrestling Blaine on the bed, the two trading blistering hot kisses as their bodies move together in a tangle, the couple enjoying the feeling of skin on skin before their movements still enough for Sebastian to prep Blaine, which he does tantalisingly slowly, finger by finger until Blaine is nothing more than a writhing wreck.

When Blaine is about to come Sebastian stops his movements before thrusting his entire length in, in one movement making Blaine moan obscenely loudly. From then Sebastian takes his time, making Blaine edge until he’s begging for release.

“Please Bas…please”

“Not yet” Sebastian kisses him, completely dominating the moment

“I…I need to” Blaine whimpers when the kiss breaks

“Only when I tell you to” Sebastian kisses his boyfriend again, a long kiss full of battling tongues, “Come for me killer” he commands when he lets the kiss break

Blaine immediately spills over moaning loudly, “Sebastian!” the force of his orgasm makes his body spasm and clamp so so tightly around Sebastian, but he doesn’t give in and instead rapidly slams over and over again into his oversensitive boyfriend, only spilling over when his body can’t be denied any longer, coming with a loud cry.

“I fucking love you” Sebastian mutters into Blaine’s neck where he’s collapsed on top of him, still burried inside

“Are you sure you don’t mean ‘I love fucking you’?” Blaine laughs gently as his hands run up and down Sebastian's back

“Well that too” Sebastian chuckles then peppers kisses on the skin he can reach without moving

“For the record, I love you too”

“I loved you seeming so free again…my naughty school boy really came out to play”

“You always know what I need” 

“That goes both ways”

“Not to ruin this moment, but do we have to go out for food?” Blaine asks

“No…the fridge should have what we need”

“Good, because I am not getting dressed again”

“I’m going to keep you to that” Sebastian looks at Blaine with such love, not because of the promise of a naked evening, and maybe even short break, but because this is what he’s been missing with as busy as they’ve been recently. “How about I go and get us some wine?”

“How about we take some of these pillows and blankets and make a bed in front of the fire…it looked like it had been set to go, we should only have to put a match in.”

“I’d say that sounds perfect”

They each stand and wrap a blanket around them before gathering the pillows and extra blankets in the cupboard and heading downstairs – Sebastian being sure to grab the lube on his way. After using the pillows, sofa cushions and blankets to make a nest, they get the fire going and investigate what’s been left. In the fridge they find white and rose wine, steak, stuffed chicken breasts wrapped in bacon and a selection of vegetables, prepared potatoes, all ready to cook, and red wine, bread and some preserves on the side. They settle for steak, dauphinoise potatoes and sugar snap peas for food and the red wine to start. When their good is ready they settle in front of the fire and trade gentle conversation as they eat, treasuring this moment together. 

When they’ve finished they simply put their plates in the sink and grab another bottle of wine so they don’t have to move again before snuggling into their nest, cuddling onto each other and enjoying the relaxing flicker of the fire. At the end of the second bottle Blaine is decidedly tipsy and Sebastian is also feeling the effects of the alcohol a little. This time they truly make love, being slow and full of a different kind of passion, the crackles of the burning wood providing a soft background noise. They fall asleep in front of the glowing embers that evening, wrapped in each other’s arms, feeling as though they’re the only ones in the world, fully at peace and utterly relaxed.


	131. Beauty and the beast

The next morning Blaine unusually wakes up before Sebastian, his head pillowed on his boyfriend’s chest with the sound of his steady heartbeat bringing another sense of peace to him. Blaine gently stretches then starts peppering kisses to Sebastian’s chest, only looking up when he feels strong arms tighten around him.

Blaine creeps up and presses a kiss to Sebastian’s lips, “Morning”

“Morning killer” Sebastian purrs, “How did you sleep?”

“Amazingly…better than I have in quite a while…what about you?” Blaine asks as he leans up so his arms are bracketing Sebastian’s head, both hands disappearing into soft brown hair

“The same….so what do you feel like doing today?” Sebastian asks as his hands make their way down over Blaine’s ass to his back, though not in a suggestive manner.

“I think breakfast” Blaine presses a kiss to Sebastian’s jaw, “Then a walk along the beach” Blaine presses another kiss to the other side of Sebastian’s jaw, “Then I think another night like last would be perfect.”

“I think you’re perfect” Sebastian says before stealing a kiss from Blaine’s lips

“Sap” Blaine teases gently

“What can I say? I learnt from the sappiest sap of all” Sebastian grins cheekily

It’s a while before they finally make it out of their nest of cushions, pillows and blankets for the day, their breakfast pastries, strawberries and coffee being enjoyed cuddled under a blanket together.

As they’re pulling on their coast Sebastian looks over to his boyfriend, “You know it’s going to be pretty cold still on the water’s edge right?”

“I know, but it looks so beautiful out, the sun is shining and even if the wind whips round, walking on the beach with you still sounds perfect to me”

Sebastian pulls two beanies from his pocket, puts one on himself and then the blue one on Blaine, leaving a few curls poking out around his face, “There, ready” he steals another kiss before they leave the cottage, hand in hand.

True to form Sebastian has his camera hanging around his neck and stops periodically to take pictures, Blaine sometimes pausing with him, other times walking slowly ahead. On these occasions Sebastian takes the opportunity to snap a few photos of Blaine, his body language so relaxed it makes him happy to see. 

Blaine’s standing on a large flat stone amongst a cluster of rocks, gazing at the ocean and waiting for Sebastian when he hears the camera shutter go and turns to his side to see Sebastian crouched down low, in time for him to take another picture.

“Don’t you have enough pictures of me?” Blaine playfully chastises

“Never” Sebastian stands and takes Blaine’s outstretched hand and snaps another picture of their entwined fingers making his boyfriend laugh

Sebastian stands behind Blaine, rests his chin on his shoulder and holds his camera out in front of the two of them to take a picture of the ocean. He then turns the camera around and takes a picture of the two of them, slightly windswept but both smiling blindingly. 

They continue to walk a little longer before turning back, the brewing clouds making them not want to push their luck, and with the sun disappearing more and more frequently as the clouds cross its path, the temperature is also starting to suffer.

The rain starts pouring before they get back to the cottage, the two sprinting the last hundred meters or so. Although they weren’t caught out in the weather for long they are both soaked through so strip out of their clothes and hang them on an airer to dry before jumping in a hot shower together, the two laughing and trading heated kisses the entire time. They then stumble downstairs and light the fire before their bodies become one on their nest once more, where they stay for the rest of the day.

Blaine wakes up slowly, aware of a once again hard length inside him, moving very slowly, “Bastian” he moans

“Thank god you’re awake” Sebastian replies as he starts to move more, “I love falling asleep inside of you” and leans over to kiss Blaine, never losing their connection. It’s not long before Blaine is letting out the little pants that signal he is closing in on his release so Sebastian starts snapping his hips more frantically, the two spilling over calling the other’s name. 

Blaine slowly moves off Sebastian’s length before rolling over so he’s lying on his side, chest to chest with his boyfriend, Sebastian’s arms coming round and hands cupping under his ass to act as a catch for any come that spills out. 

“I don’t want to leave” Blaine admits

“Me neither”

“But we have to”

“We do…what?” Sebastian asks curiously when Blaine’s expression changes

“Can I drive back?” 

“Of course you can…thinking about it, we should leave a bit earlier than we’d planned”

“What, why?” 

“Well…you’re driving now” Sebastian laughs and Blaine swats his chest 

A couple of hours later they reluctantly leave the cottage with Blaine behind the wheel of Sebastian’s Audi.

As they walk up to their apartment Sebastian turns to his boyfriend, “Well it’s safe to say you made up some time killer”

“Well, I learnt how to drive stick from you, so it’s your fault really” Blaine hip bumps his boyfriend

The two unpack and put washing on before doing a light bit of cleaning and collapsing on the couch together and are pulled into an accidental nap, still feeling completely relaxed from the last couple of days. They’re only woken by the sound of their doorbell.

“Damn it, they would be early” Sebastian mutters then goes to answer to give Blaine a few more moments to wake up.

“Sorry we should have called ahead as we’re early” Santana says as soon as she sees a freshly woken Sebastian, but he can tell there is something wrong from her tone of voice

“Why are you both so early, and where’s Britt?” he practically demands 

“She couldn’t make it, and we really wanted to see you both” Rachel tries to answer brightly

“You’re a terrible liar Rachel” Sebastian answers flatly, “But you’re both here now I guess” he lets them into their apartment

“I’m awake” Blaine says as soon as he sees the girls and stands to give them a hug each in greeting.

“Well it’s a good job we ordered dinner to be delivered on our way here” Santana laughs at him

“What did you order?”

“Chinese from that place down the road, we assumed that’s where you normally go to”

“It is”

“So what’s going on?” Sebastian asks frankly

“We just wanted to see the two of you” Rachel falsely gushes

“No Bas is right…what’s going on? Because yeah you might have wanted to see us and we wanted to see you to, but you wanted to see us for more than a catch-up, there’s something going on.”

The two girls look at each other but Sebastian’s patience is now non-existent, “Sit” he orders and they both comply, sitting on the couch along from Blaine, who in turn moves to   
sit on one of the arm chairs with Sebastian, so they’re at ninety degrees from the girls.

“Rach?” Blaine asks more gently 

Rachel takes a big breath and after receiving a reassuring smile from Santana looks to the couple, “I had a call from Carole the other night…Burt’s had another heart attack.”

“Is he okay?” Blaine asks, genuinely concerned 

“So why did Carole call you?” Sebastian asks, seeing where this is going and being able to separate his emotions from a situation, unlike his boyfriend

“Bas” Blaine chastises 

“What? The reason why is clearly why they’re here” Sebastian retorts

“Sebastian is right Blaine” Santana soothes, everyone’s eyes finding Rachel once again

“So” Rachel continues, “Carole called because Burt was talking to Kurt when the heart attack happened, apparently their relationship has been strained lately and they’ve been arguing a lot.”

 

“So” Sebastian mutters, only being heard by Blaine

“It’s been making Burt really stressed and they were having a big argument that triggered the heart attack” Rachel continues

“Okaaaay” Blaine drawers out

“What were they arguing about then Berry, or is it obvious?” Sebastian snaps, though not unkindly towards her, knowing she’s obviously just the messenger in this situation

Rachel sighs, “They were arguing about Blaine…Carole wanted my help, but I said all I’d do is ask the question, it’s up to you what you do from here and I want you to know I’ll respect whatever you decide.”

“Decide what?” Blaine asks flatly, dread pooling in his stomach

Rachel takes a deep breath, “Carole asked if you would consider meeting with Kurt because it’s the only way she can see the situation between the two of you ending and Kurt and Burt’s relationship getting better.”

“Absolutely not” Sebastian snaps

Rachel looks down, “I’m sorry, I said I’d ask and that’s all I’d do, so I’ll let Carole know” 

“It’s not your fault Rach…you’ve been put in a difficult position” Blaine reassures her, “And let me think about it”

“Killer, no”

“Bas…Burt’s had another heart attack, because of a situation that I’m partly responsible for, I can’t just ignore that!”

“It’s not your fault that Hummel’s screwing things up with his dad and you’re not seeing him again, period”

Blaine stands up, “Woah, are you ordering me what to do”?

Santana grabs Rachel’s elbow, “We should go.”

“Yes” Sebastian snaps at the same time Blaine says, “No”

“Honestly, we were prepared to leave, we purposefully didn’t order much food because of it” Santana smiles then leads Rachel out of the apartment

Only when the front door has closed again do Blaine and Sebastian look at each other once more, “Don’t ever tell me what to do like that again” Blaine firmly tells his boyfriend, “Don’t turn into another person who does that”

Sebastian takes a deep breath, closes his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose before locking eyes with his boyfriend again, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that” he placates, knowing that’s what Blaine’s parents used to do to him. “I just don’t want you to see him again.” Sebastian admits with tears in his eyes.

“Me neither, but Burt’s a good guy and this is really serious Bas, I need to think about it.”

“I know you’ll do it, because that’s who you are and I love you for it, but the idea of you being somewhere with him again…I…” Sebastian’s breath hitches

“It won’t change anything Bas…I’m with you…I love you and that’s not going to change because of a meeting with Kurt…and maybe this will put an end to having to look over our shoulders.”

“B, each time you see him, it drags stuff up and you get hurt all over again, and that…it kills me each time”

“Bastian” Blaine says softly and walks towards his boyfriend

Sebastian gives Blaine a quick hug but then pulls back, “I need some air, just do me a favour and don’t tell Rachel you’ll do it yet”

“I haven’t decided to go through with it for definite Bas”

“Yes you have, because of the way you care about people of course you have” Sebastian grabs his jacket, slips on his trainers and leaves to go on a walk to clear his head a little.  
Blaine loves the fact that his boyfriend knows him better than he knows himself sometimes, but in this moment, not so much. After taking a deep breath he pulls out his phone and calls someone he knows will be able to stay neutral and give some unbiased advice in this messed up situation.

“Blaine hi!” Patrick answers brightly

“Hi” Blaine replies shakily “So this is one of the times I could do with talking to someone” he admits, voice still shaky

“Are you okay? Is Sebastian there with you?”

“No…he…he had to go get some air, I can’t blame him…I could do with an unbiased opinion”

“I’ll do what I can” Patrick replies soothingly, encouragingly, knowing it takes a lot for Blaine to open up how he’s about to.

Blaine goes on to tell Patrick everything, who listens patiently, “So what do you think? Would meeting him make things worse or better…for everyone involved?”

“I can see why Sebastian feels the way he does” 

“Me too”

“But for the meeting bit, I think we should as the psychiatrist of the family, are you up for that?”

“Okay” Blaine agrees so Patrick gets Natasha and puts the phone on speaker and goes over what Blaine just told him. 

“Can you tell me about how previous meetings with him have gone?” Natasha asks gently, “Just to give me a bit of background”

“Erm okay…I guess” Blaine then tells her about the times he’s come into contact with Kurt since moving to the city.

“So my protective mother’s opinion is the same as Sebastian’s…my professional opinion is that a form of mediation could very well be beneficial. But when I say mediation I want to make it clear that it means someone is there with you. Not Sebastian, someone who could be neutral, but who you would feel comfortable with being completely honest in front of.”

“So you think it could help?”

“It’s hard to say without meeting him and doing an assessment, but yes I do. However, the alternative is that things will get worse.”

“Great” Blaine sighs, “Why can’t something be simple for once”

“I’m sorry sweetie, but you need to know it could go either way”

“I know…thank you”

“It’s okay…If you think it would be useful for Sebastian to talk to us, you know he can right?” 

“I know”

Patrick takes over, “If you want one of us to come out to New York to mediate, or just simply be there, you know we will, but we also appreciate there are certain things you might not want us knowing”

“I need to think about everything” 

“Of course you do, but I also know that Sebastian is right, your caring nature will compel you to agree to meet with Kurt. Just remember, be somewhere neutral and have a mediator...and stick to what you want. If you meet with the goal of you being able to part ways and not bother each other should you pass on the street, stick to it, don’t let him make you feel like you’ve got to try to be friends again”

“In fact that would complicate things a lot more” Natasha adds

“Thank you”

“No need to thank us for anything. We’re just super glad you reached out” 

Blaine hears Sebastian come back, “I’ve got to go…Bas is back”

“Okay…we love you kid” Patrick says

“Love you too” Blaine disconnects the call then turns to see Sebastian come through, “Bastian?”

Sebastian returns a watery smile but opens his arms. Blaine vaults the couch and leaps into a bone crushing embrace with his boyfriend. “I’m sorry” Sebastian sniffs

“You don’t have anything to be sorry about” Blaine says with conviction

“Who were you on the phone to?”

“Patrick and Natasha…to get a professional opinion” Blaine tries to joke

“What did they think?”

“That it would either improve the situation, or make it worse, but to do it in a neutral location with a mediator…and to stick to what I want, to be able to stop looking over our shoulder, not to let him make me feel like we’ve got to try to be friends again. Because if I do this, it’s so he leaves us alone once and for all.”

“It’s not an ‘if’ really though is it?”

“No” Blaine admits, “Burt’s sick Bas…I’ve got to try. If I don’t and he gets worse”

“You’ll never forgive yourself” Sebastian finishes

“Exactly…I know it might sound dumb”

“No…it sounds like you…who will you ask to mediate?”

“I’m thinking Wes…he knows a lot of what happened when we were together and everything since really. Plus he’ll keep everything private and will be able to stay cool, keep a level head and actually mediate.”

“Make sense”

“Not the welcome back to the city we were hoping for hey” Sebastian smirks

“Not at all…I just want this all to be done with…I’m sick of it”

“You’re preaching to the choir killer…what will you do if it makes things worse?”

“I don’t know…what could be done?”

“If he starts turning up at NYU and basically stalking you then a restraining order, and if it’s needed I want you to be prepared to take one out, please.”

Blaine thinks for a few moments, “Okay…that sounds reasonable and like a compromise”

“Thank you” Sebastian kisses the top of Blaine’s head, “Will you talk to Wes this weekend?”

“Yes…and I won’t give my decision to Rachel until I have”

“Good idea”

“Bed?” Blaine asks

“Bed” Sebastian agrees, the two feeling emotionally drained


	132. Easter reunion - I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay in posting. I ended up having to do some last minute travel for work!
> 
> I'm keeping with the style of splitting things up a little more - unlike the mammoth Thanksgiving chapter - as from feedback that's what you guys seem to prefer :) I hope you like the start of the Easter reunion. A trigger warning. Ryder and Kitty both tell the group what happened to them.

Blaine speaks to Rachel the next morning to let her know that he’s still thinking about things and likely won’t have an answer until everyone goes home after the Easter visit. Of course Rachel completely understands and feels terrible for having put Blaine in this position, part of her wishes she’d just told Carole no, but she also knows that Blaine wouldn’t have wanted her to make the decision for him, something Brittany and Santana are sure to remind her. 

Before they know it they are greeting Wes, David, Jake, Ryder and Spencer, who will be staying with them for the weekend. Marley and Unique head straight for the guys apartment where they will be staying in Sam’s room, who will be sharing with Jeff, and Trent and Beat who will be staying on their sofa bed and finally Tina and Quinn head to the girls apartment where they will be staying. Unfortunately Puck and Mike weren’t able to make it to the city on this occasion, but as there were already talks of another summer trip to the Hamptons they weren’t too disappointed. 

“It’s good to see you all” Blaine beams as he greets everyone with a hug, “Are you sure you’re okay on the pull out in the living room Jake?”

“Yeah…Kitty said it’s comfier than her bed at home so it’s more than fine by me”

“You’re looking good Blaine” David tells him sincerely, “Happy, it’s good to see” and gives Blaine an extra hug

“You’ve got some time to get settled if anyone wants a shower or something before we go out” Sebastian says 

Blaine continues, “Ryder, Spencer, you’re in the guest room, Wes, David, you’re on the sofa bed in the office, we hope that’s okay with everyone.”

“More than fine Blaine” Wes rolls his eyes fondly, “Come and make coffee with me” and guides the younger boy to the kitchen. “Is everything okay? I’m only asking because it seems like someone’s turned down your dimmer switch, something I haven’t seen since before you and Sebastian got together, even with everything that’s happened.”

“Actually there’s something I really need to talk to you about but it’s private, so maybe later?”

“Why don’t you come and talk to me in mine and David’s room before bed, just like old times?” Wes smiles lopsidedly 

“As long as Bas can come too”

“Whatever you need Blaine…you know that” Wes tells him and gives him a hug

They finish making coffee and carry mugs through, Blaine taking a tray with a selection of different flavoured creamers so hopefully there’s something everyone will like. Neither Ryder or Spencer are in the living room so Blaine goes to the guest bedroom and gently knocks on the door.

“Hey” Spencer opens the door

“I brought coffee for you both, but if you don’t want it I won’t be offended”

“No coffee sounds great, but actually can you come in here, Ry needs to talk to you”

Blaine goes into the room to see a slightly ashen looking Ryder with swollen eyes, “What’s wrong?” he immediately asks and puts the drinks down on the side before sitting opposite the boy, cross legged on the bed.

“I need to tell everyone about…about…her” Ryder forces out

“What do you mean…you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to”

“No Blaine” Ryder cuts him off, “I do, somebody’s found out, and no matter what we’ve tried I just can’t trust that the information won’t get out there, so I’d rather put it out   
there…so everyone knows the truth instead of some alternative version.”

“I’m sorry this has happened, is there anything I can do? Or anything Bas and Hunter can do?”

It’s a genuine question but it makes Ryder laugh a little, “No…this is what I need to do. Plus I’ve found out that her parole hearing is coming up so depending what happens…” he trails off

“You could need everyone around you” Blaine finishes and Ryder nods, “Okay, well you know I’m meant to be explaining exactly what the witness statement request is about…would you like me to hold off?”

“Actually I was kind of hoping you would go first…and that maybe we could do it here, tonight…”  
Blaine nods, “I’ll make it happen” and gives Ryder a hug before going to speak to Sebastian so they can get the plan changed for everyone to come round to their apartment, rather than going out like they had originally planned. Ryder also gives Kitty the heads up, knowing it could affect her and it’s not long before she and Hunter arrive.

“What’s going on?” David asks Blaine

“It’s not really my place to say”

“Does this mean you’re explaining to the Lima members what the witness statement request is about?” Wes questions

“I was always going to on this visit Wes, it’s just there’s a reason to bring it forward, but I really can’t say”

“That’s fine…I respect that”

“Thank you” Blaine smiles 

When everyone arrives, all the New Yorkers and all the visitors, and is settled in the living room with a drink Blaine begins, “So I think you’ve all seen the witness statement request, so you’ll know I was a victim of a hate crime in my freshman year of high school. Ultimately it was the crescendo of the bullying that started when my old friends outed me. I don’t want to go into details as I think the request summed things up in terms of the level of injuries I suffered, but what maybe didn’t come across was how close I came to not making it. Ultimately, that attack is why I transferred to Dalton. It’s not something I like to talk about though so I’d appreciate it if none of you try to make it a conversation topic.”

“He’s being polite” Sebastian interrupts, “Ever bring it up to him or ever go digging around for more information and your life will become a living hell” he promises darkly.

“And” Blaine starts again, shakier, “It’s very similar to what happened in January when I went off the grid for a while…it was another attack…I erm…I was walking to the subway and a group approached, turns out it was the same group who’d attacked another guy on part of their goal to get rid of anyone who’s gay…” Blaine trails off

“If he wasn’t found when he was he wouldn’t be here” Sebastian finishes and there are gasps around the room

“I don’t want any pity” Blaine says quickly, “I’m wary of some things more than I was still but I don’t want anyone to point it out or make a big deal, I’m getting better and that’s   
what counts.”

After a few moments of silence Marley speaks up, “That is the only thing that counts…and I respect your right to privacy over details…we all do” she looks round and everyone nods, “and of course we’ll treat you normally….but is there any chance I can grab an extra hug?” 

Blaine laughs slightly bashfully, “Thank you…and you know the answer to that, standing to give her a hug” everyone else also takes the chance to get another one, the group making it out into a game with Sam and Beat keeping Tina from getting too emotional or clingy.

When everyone settles in the circle again Ryder clears his throat, “I actually have something I need to tell you all too…it’s actually the reason why plans for tonight were changed because if I don’t do it now I might chicken out and I can’t do that. I want you all to know because someone found out who is likely to spread it around, but god knows what version, so I want you all to know from me…plus I might need you guys soon…but it’s pretty hard to talk about.”

Jake frowns in concern for his friend, “It’s cool bro…you can let it out.”

Ryder takes a deep breath, “Okay so you need to know that not even my parents know what I’m about to tell you…but…okay” he takes another deep breath, “When I was eleven I was molested by my babysitter…she just walked in on me in the shower and she touched me a bit…”

“Wait hold up” Artie interrupts, “Did you just say she? Like as in a teenage girl?”

“Yeah she was like seventeen, eighteen” Ryder says quickly and quietly

“Dude!” Sam starts, “You were eleven and some hot eighteen year old played with your junk!? I would have killed for that!”

“Why are you ashamed of this?” Artie asks

Ryder shrugs his shoulders, “I dunno, it kind of messed me up a bit…like I have trust issues…particularly with girls.”

“This isn’t something to high five about” Blaine throws at Artie and Sam, feeling completely disgusted by his friends in this moment

“What happened to her?” Marley asks gently

“She got locked up, she was caught doing it to some other kid” Ryder answers

“I’m sorry but why is it a crime?” Sam questions “I mean that’s every teenage boys fantasy! I mean just like those eighties movies about it, My Tutor, Private Lesson”

“We get it Sam” Jake bites at him

“Guys this is so uncool!” Tina says angrily to Sam and Artie

“It’s his truth, not yours” Marley adds, just as strongly

“It’s cool okay” Ryder speaks up, “The guys are right…I dunno what I was thinking, err I’m like the luckiest guy in here” he then stands and heads to the guest bedroom, Spencer following.

“He clearly has superior game” Artie comments, which sends Kitty and therefore Hunter off after Ryder too

That’s the last straw for Blaine who abruptly stands and storms over to where Artie and Sam are sat, “Get out” he says lowly, darkly, practically growling

“What?” Sam asks confused

“Get out” Blaine repeats, “I can’t stand to look at either of you right now and Ryder is staying here so you need to leave now...move!”

“But he was cool” Artie defends

Blaine clenches both fists a couple of times before wheeling Artie out of the apartment and into the corridor before marching back and grabbing Sam’s t-shirt and pulling him out and onto the corridor too.

“What the fuck is wrong with you two?” Blaine demands, “Ryder was trying to tell you something that’s incredibly difficult for him to talk about, or think about and you’ve just been the worst friends, worst people you could possibly be. How could you be supportive of me but not him?! He was assaulted guys, it’s nothing to be cheering about.”

“Oh I get it” Sam begins, “look Blaine I get it’s different for you but like for us guys that’s a total fantasy! And I mean it would be for Ryder as well cos you know he likes girls too”

Blaine laughs but he’s clearly not amused, “Are you shitting me right now?” his voice starting to rise in volume, “Can you hear what you’re saying? Understand what you’re saying? So if when I was eleven she’d done that to me it would be assault because I’m gay…but if a man did it to me then that would be fine right? Or what if a woman did that to Santana at that age, that would be okay then? Or if an eighteen year old boy did that to one of the girls…that would be okay too yeah?”

“Well no” Sam replies, “That would be wrong…a man touching you like that or one of the girls…or a girl doing that to Santana wouldn’t be right”

“Exactly Sam” Blaine throws back

“Oh I hadn’t thought of it that way…but”

“There is no but…what she did was wrong end of, and even if let’s say Ryder had thought at that age that he might have wanted that, what eleven year old is aware enough to make that kind of decision and regardless, it was against his will.”

“We’re sorry” Artie finally speaks up

“Whatever…it’s not me you need to be sorry to…just go” Blaine goes to turn but Sam reaches out and grabs his shoulder, “Don’t touch me Sam” he aggressively shrugs the hand off

“But dude” Sam reaches out again

“Seriously touch me again and I’ll put you on your ass!” Blaine shouts so loudly everyone in the living area of the apartment hears him

Wes goes to stand but Sebastian stops him also having been disgusted by Sam and Artie, “Leave them” he orders

A moment later the front door slams and Blaine goes striding through to the guest bedroom where a tearful Ryder and Kitty both grab hold of him in bone crushing hugs, “I’m so so sorry…they’ve gone” he tries to comfort them

Meanwhile Tina has gone storming out after Sam and Artie, “You two are such jerks, you’re unbelievable!”

“We’ve already had it from Blaine, Tina” Artie sighs

“Yeah…we kind of get it now…it wasn’t cool to say what we did” Sam adds

“I just never would have expected something like that from either of you” she shakes her head in disappointment, having run out of steam and heads back to the apartment. 

When Tina returns Wes addresses the room but focuses on the younger Lima members, “Would it be best if we left or should we stay but make ourselves useful?” he asks

“If we leave…it might seem like we’re disgusted, when we’re not” Marley replies immediately, grabbing Sebastian’s attention, the more he saw of her he found the more he respected her.

“Maybe we could sort something for dinner?” Jake offers as a suggestion

“That sounds like a good idea” Unique agrees

“What’s Ryder’s favourite?” Jeff asks

“A big bacon cheeseburger with fries, onion rings, salad and a milkshake” Jake replies

“I know a place that does the best burgers and sides I’ve ever tasted” Thad tells them, “Would you all be happy with something like that? We could order pizza and chicken or something too?”

“That sounds great” Marley smiles

When there’s no movement for a while Sebastian goes to check on the small group in the guest room and finds Blaine in the middle with Ryder and Kitty either side of him, the three clinging to each other with still drying tears while Hunter and Spencer are also being grasped strongly by their partners. “Can I get you anything?” he asks softly

Kitty rubs her eyes once more, “No…we’re good now I think”

“Yeah we are” Ryder sniffs

“It probably doesn’t help much but everyone else really cares Ryder…they’re not disgusted at all and will support you…that’s clear” Sebastian tries to comfort

“Really?” Ryder asks

“Really…I wouldn’t say it if it wasn’t true”

“He wouldn’t” Kitty supports, “So…what do you think Ryder…shall we make this a full night of confessions?”

“Are you sure?” Hunter questions

“Why?” Ryder asks her

“Because I don’t think I can hide it anymore from them…and I always said we’re in this together right? Well let me make it so we are”

“You know I’ll support you no matter what” Ryder says to his friend

“As will I…you know that too right?” Hunter looks into Kitty’s eyes

“I do” Kitty replies honestly

“We all will” Blaine adds and Spencer and Sebastian agree so they all head back to the living room to hear Thad finish placing the food order

“Have you just taken care of dinner Harwood?” Sebastian questions

“I have…for all of us”

“It’s a surprise” Marley smiles at Ryder when it's obvious he's going to ask what they're having

“I’ve got something I want to say to you all” Kitty addresses the room. When everyone is settled again she sits on Hunter’s knee, his arms wrapping around her as Ryder and Blaine flank her protectively, just like Blaine and Kitty had for Ryder. “So before this looser I had terrible luck with guys” she starts, “I don’t know why…maybe it was because I would act all confident and slutty but then I’d freeze up right away and get distant and I even dropped weird hints that my vagina has teeth…but I didn’t want to tell you all about the razor sharp barbs guarding my cervix. You all might try to understand what Ryder’s going through…what he went through, but you never will….but I do."

Kitty takes a deep breath before continuing, "It was my friend Julie’s older brother. One night Julie had a sleepover and in the middle of the night he came down into the basement and crawled into my sleeping bag. At first I thought it was a joke. I didn’t know what was happening…but then he started um to feel me in places. In the morning I went straight home without saying goodbye and I couldn’t tell my parents for a while. I was afraid of upsetting them or something. So when I did tell them they were really confused. They didn’t understand why I waited so long to say something about it. My mum called his parents and all I could hear them say was how good he was and how she didn’t know how something like that could happen…and then Julie stopped talking to me and told everyone in school how I was spreading rumours about her brother and she told all my friends to stop talking to me. I eventually changed schools.”

Marley speaks with swollen eyes, “Thank you…both of you…for trusting us. If there’s anything any of us can ever do”

“You know that includes us right?” Santana starts

“We’re one group…one family” Quinn continues

“If there’s ever anything any of us can do for any of you, we will” Rachel adds

“We may not have gone to school together” Nick speaks

“But that doesn’t matter” Thad says

“Nor does the distance…no matter what we’re here for you” Jeff adds

“Could be as simple as help for homework…or wanting to speak to someone who is maybe an outside to a situation you’re in” Beat picks up

“Who won’t judge you” Wes says

“You have all of us…and we all have each other” Brittany smiles then stands, “Group hug?”

Ryder and Kitty share a look before standing, “Group hug” the next thing they know, they’re in the middle of a bone crushing hug of love

The door goes and Thad answers, “Some help guys!” he calls through so Jeff and Nick go to him. The three come back laden down with bags of food plus one of the delivery drivers following with a few pizza boxes and another with multiple drinks carries with milkshakes

“How many people did you think you were feeding?” Blaine asks with wide eyes as he walks into the kitchen where they’re spreading the food containers out

Wes shows the delivery drivers out and gives them a tip before returning to the group who are now all in the kitchen.

“This is amazing…thank you guys” Ryder says earnestly

“It was Jake’s suggestion” Unique tells him so Ryder and Jake share a quick smile and nod

When everyone’s plates are loaded with what they want they spread out in the living room, some on the floor, “Okay this burger is the best I’ve ever had” Ryder smiles

“I knew you had to try it when Jake said it’s your favourite” Thad replies

They continue to talk as they eat. The group keen to show Kitty and Ryder that they don’t see them differently, that they won’t treat them differently, but they’ll be there if they need them. Both Sam and Artie message Ryder apologies, but it’s too early, he’s not ready to speak to them or accept them. If they want to apologise, they need to do it face to face, but not tonight.


	133. Easter reunion - II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is a bit of a shorter one, but for the sake of keeping things going here we are :-)

Later than evening when Blaine and Sebastian have locked up and their guests are in bed, they both head into the office where Wes and David are sleeping and find them both reading. Wes is the first to fold a corner in his book and put it to the side.

“How are you doing Blaine?” Wes asks

“Okay” Blaine replies as he and Sebastian settle on the end of the double bed

“You’re a terrible liar” David comments, finally putting his book down

“Tonight must have been tough, particularly with Sam I know that..” Wes starts  
Blaine cuts him off “I don’t want to talk about that. Yes telling the rest was hard, yes seeing Ryder and Kitty tell the others was hard, but that’s not what I needed to talk to you about tonight.”

“Okay” Wes nods and notices Sebastian’s arms wrap around Blaine more protectively

“Burt, as in Kurt’s dad, has had a second heart attack. Apparently they were arguing about me when it happened. Carole’s asked if I’d meet with Kurt as she doesn’t see the situation resolving any time soon unless I do…I erm…I spoke to your mum and dad about it. Your mum said it could help…or it might do the opposite. But that the meeting should be on neutral territory and with a mediator, that I shouldn’t be on my own with him, not that I want to be, and for obvious reasons Bas shouldn’t be there….so I was hoping, you’d do it, but I understand if you’d rather not.” Blaine looks down and wrings his hands nervously

“Are you ever going to stop being nervous about asking me for stuff?” Wes playfully chastises

“Probably not” Blaine smiles bashfully

“How do you feel about this Sebastian?” 

“I know that B needs to do it, and I understand why. Obviously I’m not thrilled, but I also can’t think of someone better to be there for him”

“One suggestion” David speaks up, “If this is happening and Wes is mediating, there’s still a chance Kurt will think it’s two against one, so shouldn’t he also have someone there, who he deems as being his friend only too. Otherwise he probably won’t take notice of anything that’s said.”

“I completely agree” Sebastian says

“Actually so do I” Wes comments, “So given that…how do you feel Blaine?”

“Not good, but I want to confront this situation head on in a bid to try and get rid of it. I’d rather not keep looking over our shoulders.”

“I don’t blame you” Wes smiles softly, “I guess the next question is when…before or after court?”

“What do you think Bas?”

“I know part of you probably wants to deal with Hummel before but I think you should wait until after, just in case he gets pissy enough to do something stupid on the stand. But I think you should get Rachel to relay a message back that says you’ll see him but after then so he’s doing all he can to help you on that day.”

“I like your style” David tells Sebastian, who smirks in response

“We should get an update from my dad again killer, so hopefully you won’t be having to go out to Lima and can get everything wrapped up on all shitty sides.”

“Wait...what?” David asks

“Bas’s Dad is working on it to make it so I won’t have to go to court. There’s a real chance that with the amount of evidence they have, that the DA office could deal with it separately, but don’t say anything to any of the others.” Blaine replies

“So that’s still going well then?” Wes questions

“As well as my dad could hope at this point” Sebastian answers

Wes nods, “Good…well let’s see what Xavier comes back with in terms of your second court date then go from there in terms of Kurt, because I think when you go to Rachel with a message you should suggest a day, time and place and of course the details about mediators. That way you’re in control of the situation from the go.”

“Bas and I have actually spoken about the same thing” Blaine laughs softly then yawns

“Today must have taken it out of you on some level” Wes comments kindly

“You could say that” Blaine chuckles shyly

“Get some sleep Blaine, busy day tomorrow” David smiles

Blaine shuffles further up the bed and gives them both a hug, being sure to thank them at the same time. Of course both older boys roll their eyes fondly and tell him they don’t need thanking. 

When they’re in their own room, Sebastian pulls Blaine into bed once they’ve both stripped off and forms a cocoon around him. Emotions can be tiring, and heighted emotions always seem to affect his boyfriend. Despite Blaine refusing to talk about it at the moment, Sebastian is also acutely aware that Sam’s comment and their resulting fight is playing heavily on his boyfriend’s mine.

Blaine falls asleep quite quickly, Sebastian isn’t exactly sure when he falls asleep himself but in the night he is woken by a restless Blaine. It’s clear Blaine is having a bad dream, he’s tossing and turning and muttering, his movements and speech become more desperate and his eyes begin to flutter violently against his closed lids.   
Sebastian knows better than to startle him awake by shaking him so speaks to him instead, “Blaine, it’s me…you’re safe with me. We are in our room…nobody else is here. You are safe. I am here and nothing can harm you with me, in our home, in our bed, I promise. Come on B…my beautiful killer B I need you to open your eyes. Come back to me and open your eyes Blaine.”

With a frightened gasp and small cry Blaine eyes open and he bolts upright before he curls into Sebastian, “I’m sorry I woke you”

“Don’t be an idiot…god your heart is going a mile a minute, shhhh it’s okay” Sebastian soothes as he runs his hands up and down Blaine’s back, “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Not really…you know what it was anyway”

“Sadie Hawkins or January?”

“Both” Blaine shudders

After a while Sebastian speaks again, “Something to do with your fight with Sam too?” 

“How did you know?” Blaine sniffs

“Because he must have said more to you out in the corridor for you to threaten to put him on his ass” Blaine takes a deep breath then goes on to finally tell his boyfriend everything that was said. Somehow Sebastian manages to stop himself from tensing, knowing it will make Blaine feel worse. “It will be okay B”

“How?” 

“I’m not sure yet, but it will”

“That’s the first time he’s made me feel different for being gay”

“I know…come on, you need to get some sleep, everything will feel a bit brighter in the morning…and remember how much I love you”

“I love you too…so so much” Blaine leans up and kisses Sebastian before they both settle down to try and get some more sleep.


	134. Easter reunion - III

The next morning when Sebastian wakes and sees the time he groans. He really really doesn’t want to wake Blaine up, but he’s going to have to if they’re going to be ready to go on time to meet the others – the whole group having planned to go up the Empire State Building that day. 

There’s a very gentle knock at the door, which then gingerly opens enough for Wes to poke his head into the room, “Do you want coffee?” he whispers when he sees only Sebastian is awake.

Sebastian sits up a little, being sure the duvet still covers him and Blaine, “Coffee is definitely needed”. Wes pushes the door open a little more and goes into the bedroom with two mugs of steaming hot black coffee and puts them both down on Sebastian’s bedside table. “Thanks”

“No problem” Wes smiles

“So ask…I know you want to” Sebastian smirks cheekily

Wes rolls his eyes with amusement, “How is he?”

“Could be better”

“I spoke to Jeff…Sam and Artie aren’t coming today”

“Good” Sebastian practically growls

“What happened in the corridor?” Wes asks

“Don’t ask me questions that aren’t mine to answer…you know better than that Wes”

“Can’t blame me for trying”

“As it’s you I can’t…some of the others though, they might care but they can get a bit too nosy and invested in things to do with him and us.”

“Something I’m well aware of…and do point out”

“It’s appreciated” Just then Blaine starts to stir, “No offence Wesley but you better go or he’ll wake up embarrassed”

“What?” Wes frowns in confusion and Sebastian simply gestures to their bodies in the bed. “Oh…bit different from his Star Wars pyjamas” he laughs

“He still has them, but he’s not wearing them at the moment”

“So I’m out of here” Wes leaves the room, closing the door behind him so Blaine can wake up and the couple can have a few more moments of peace

“Have plans changed, cos I would have thought Blaine would have been up by now, just going by how he was at school” Ryder asks Wes

“Not at all…he’s coming to now”

“So nothing about today has changed?” Spencer questions pointedly

“Sam and Artie aren’t coming” David replies, “We spoke to Jeff this morning. It seems like Marley and Unique had some more words for Sam when they got back but he’d already barricaded himself in his room…which isn’t surprising given how his and Blaine’s fight sounded in the corridor”

“What?” Ryder asks a little shocked

“We don’t know” Wes replies and gives David a look that shows he may have said too much

“But Blam!” Ryder responds

“Sam, and Artie were asses last night Ry” Spencer says to his boyfriend

“Funnily enough, I remember” Ryder shoots back and heads to their room

“And now I’m being one” Spencer sighs then follows Ryder

A freshly showered and dressed Blaine and Sebastian then appear and both Wes and David immediately pick up that Blaine obviously hadn’t slept that well, and it becomes more   
apparent that Sebastian hadn’t either. 

“I’ll go get dressed” Jake excuses himself

“Maybe you should talk to Sam, Blaine” David suggests

“Not yet” Blaine replies quite shortly

“Only when you’re ready B” Sebastian says as he kisses Blaine’s forehead and gives David a dark look

It’s not long before they leave for the day, the whole group meeting at the Empire State Building. 

Meanwhile Artie has gone to see Sam, only after he knows the rest would have left for the day.

“You look awful” Artie greets as soon as Sam opens the apartment door

“Well I feel it…don’t you?”

“Yeah…but until we can see Ryder to apologise there isn’t really anything we can do…and it’s not like we haven’t both sent him messages, but again we can’t do anything until we stop being ignored.”

“Yeah well he’s not the only one” Sam throws himself dramatically onto the couch

“Ah…Blaine?”

Sam throws an arm across his face so it’s covering his eyes, “I can’t blame him…and I’m going to need to make it up with Ryder if I have a chance with Blaine”

Artie doesn’t remember seeing Sam so low, not even when he was down in their senior year of high school and obsessing over eating and working out more than ever in a bid to try and make something of himself. “Do you want to watch a movie or something? We could watch Avatar or the Avengers or something?”

“No…that’s what I do with Blaine” Sam rolls over in a sulk so he’s facing the back of the couch

“Jeez it’s like you’re going through a break up” Artie mutters but Sam hears him

“Do you know what? Just leave…losing Blaine would be worse than any break up and until you have a friend like that you won’t get it…so just go”

“Look Sam...”

“Please Artie…I kind of want to be alone anyway” 

Reluctantly Artie leaves Sam.

At the top of the Empire State Building Sebastian is stood behind Blaine, arms stretched out in front of them both so he can take some breath-taking pictures across the city.

“You don’t have to have me in the way you know” Blaine tells his boyfriend

“You’re not in my way…and tell that to your arms considering you’re stretching them backwards to wrap them around me”

When a light blush tints Blaine’s cheeks Sebastian laughs softly and kisses them, “I just…” Blaine starts

“I know Killer B” Sebastian lowers his camera and simply hugs Blaine from behind as they continue to look at the city, their home. “How are you feeling about talking to Sam now?”

“Is it weird that in my head I need things between Sam and Ryder to be settled before I think I can talk to him, or forgive him?”

“Not at all”

“Even though he’s been amazing and this one fight could ruin our friendship?”

“It won’t ruin Blam” Sebastian reassures

“How do you know?”

“Because I know you both”

Blaine turns around and wraps his arms around Sebastian’s neck, going up on his tip toes, “You are frigging amazing…I love you more than anything”

“I love you more than anything too” Sebastian smiles then captures Blaine’s lips in a passionate kiss, which Brittany just so happens to capture a picture of on her phone and messages it to both of them.

When both of their phones go off the couple break apart and look at the picture, the two of them stood kissing in front of the amazing view. Immediately Blaine saves it as his new lock screen.

“Thanks Britt” Sebastian calls over to her. “Are we already to head back down?” he asks the group

“Yes, thank you so much for helping me take that picture on my mum’s camera for her” Marley gushes

“No problem” Sebastian smiles back, receiving a proud, admiring gaze from his boyfriend

The group continue to park and have a lovely day together, but everyone feels as though something is missing, and well in truth it is.


	135. Easter reunion - IV

True to form that evening everyone gathers in the Seblaine apartment and are debating what food to order when Ryder sits down next to Blaine, “I want to talk to Sam and Artie”

“You know you don’t have to?”

“But I want to give them at least a chance to apologise, like they’ve both messaged they want to, and see what they’ve got to say. If I go home without doing it, then I’ll regret it.”

“Have you spoken to Spencer about it?” Blaine asks, flopping his head to lean against Ryder slightly 

“Yeah and he gets it…Is it okay if I ask them to come round here…or do you think that would be like putting them into a pit of snakes?”

“Like who into a pit of snakes?” Sebastian asks as he sits on Blaine’s other side and moves his head so it’s resting on his shoulder instead. 

“Sam and Artie” Ryder answers, “I need to see them to give them a chance to sort things out before I go home”

“Wise move” Sebastian agrees, “So what are you going to do killer?”

“See what they’ve got to say to Ryder first…which you already knew” Blaine teases his boyfriend 

“But you do have a habit of keeping me on my toes” Sebastian bends down and kisses Blaine, “And Ryder” he continues once the kiss breaks, “Invite them round, but talk to them separately from everyone “

“That was my hope”

When Sam receives Ryder’s message he’s nervous, super nervous and time seems to both rush passed and stop still. He meets Artie outside Blaine and Sebastian’s building then they head up together and find Ryder and Spencer waiting outside, unbeknown to them, Blaine is pressing his ear against the wall as Sebastian, Hunter and Kitty keep everyone else away. The blonde girl prepared to follow Ryder’s lead on this. 

“To be honest, I don’t have anything to say to you two at the moment, but I’m prepared to listen” Ryder says flatly, but he also takes a moment to stop and really look at them and can’t help but notice how rough Sam is looking. 

“Saying sorry isn’t enough but I really mean it” Sam’s voice croaks

“I do too, we got carried away in some fantasy and were disrespectful” Artie adds

“What we said…what I said…was disgusting and I don’t expect your forgiveness but I can see how truly wrong and sick our comments…my comments were. Not only that but I completely failed to support you as a friend, which I won’t forgive myself for….that’s all I’ve got to say really…I truly am sorry Ryder.” At this point Sam’s eyes are swollen again, and they were already puffy and red before.

“I’m truly sorry too. You should never try and force your own version and opinions on someone else’s truth…let alone one like that” Artie says  
Ryder can see both of them really mean it and doesn’t want to hold a grudge, not that he has necessarily completely forgiven them, but if he loses them as friends, to him it’s the babysitter that’s taken yet another thing away from him. 

“Do you want to join us?” Ryder offers, an obvious olive branch

“I’d love to” Artie smiles and makes his way in, passed Blaine who’s stepped back from the door

Sam squirms outside however, “I don’t think I should”

“I think you should” Blaine steps out of the apartment so Ryder and Spencer leave them to it

“Yeah?” Sam asks, face full of hope

“You look awful” Blaine tells him

“I feel it…though I deserved to…I am so so sorry man” Sam starts crying

It takes no time at all for Blaine’s own tears to start flowing either at the sight of Sam crying, “Good…you should be” he sniffs

“I never meant to make you feel different for being gay…I don’t know why I thought and said what I did, but I was an idiot and I understand if you don’t want to be my best bro anymore but I love you so much and I don’t want to lose you. I’ll do anything to make it right.”

“I can see you’re sorry, and you’ve made it right with Ryder…that’s what counts. I still need you. I’m definitely going to over the next few weeks.”

“I love you BD”

“I love you too Sammy”

The duo crash together in a bone crushing hug, making Sebastian, who’d been watching the whole exchange, roll his eyes, but he also can’t help the smile that creeps across his face.

“Are you two losers going to join us?” Sebastian drawls 

“Yeah” Blaine sniffs and tries to pull back but Sam can’t bear to let go quite yet so throws an arm around Blaine’s shoulders.

“And the balance is restored” Kitty teases them, but everyone is relieved to see the best friends being them again. 

Later that evening Sebastian corners Sam, “Don’t fuck up like that again Evans. If you do and B doesn’t but you on your ass…I’ll be sure to” he promises

“Oh god I missed you too” Sam says earnestly and goes for a hug but Sebastian steps back and shakes his head with amusement

“You’re not staying for a sleepover night if that’s what you’re thinking”

“Damn it” Sam mutters, “Well I can live with that for tonight, cos we’ve got many more to come dude.”

“Most people wouldn’t have to share their bed with their boyfriend’s best friend.”

“But you aren’t going out with most people” Sam smiles over to where Blaine and Kitty are messing around on the dance game on the Kinect, nobody looking forward to the short reunion being over already.

“No…I’m not” Sebastian agrees, looking at his boyfriend with pure love in his eyes, and gleefully thinking about how he’ll get laid tonight with Blaine in such a good, and competitive, mood.


	136. Blueprints and plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A break from the drama...

Before the group can part ways for the evening, Blaine and Sam turn the music off to get everyone’s attention.

“What the hell are you two up to now?” Unique asks when she sees them stood together by the music player with a look she recognises all too well from the previous school year.

“Are we about to find out why I stole the blueprints for you?” Kitty questions

Jake looks a little dumfounded, “What?” 

“So before we go any further…this has to stay as top secret…and you could get in trouble so if you don’t want to risk it, leave now” Blaine says seriously 

“And we are assuming you still want the glee club back…if that’s changed tell us before we go any further” Sam adds

“You mean there’s a way we can get it back?” Marley asks hopefully

“Absolutely, but it will need all of you” Blaine tells them

Ryder steps forward, “I’m in” 

“Me too” Jakes adds

“Of course I am” Marley gushes

“And me” Unique steps up

“So am I” Spencer goes to his boyfriend and they all turn to look at Kitty

“You don’t seriously have to ask do you?” Kitty scoffs, “So what’s your plan losers?” 

“There’s an important governors visit the week before the cheerleading nationals, so Sue will be majorly stressed, which is when she makes most mistakes” Blaine explains

“And it’s during the visit that we will give you the signal” Sam tells them

Blaine continues, “When you see it, meet in the auditorium…all you have to worry about between now and then is having a routine prepared, but don’t be over-rehearsed, it has to look natural, almost off-the-cuff.” 

“And preferably an original” Sam adds

“We were thinking Outcast”

“It shows you can all, well I guess mostly Marley, do, or at least have a good go at the music stuff Blaine used to do” Sam throws an arm around his best friend

“You have it in you to do the arrangements, and I’ll of course help if you need me” Blaine adds

“Wait so what signal are we waiting for?” Spencer questions

“Oh…you’ll know it when you see it” Blaine smirks

“And what about Sue’s drones?” Kitty queries, “If she picks up on us heading to the auditorium, we’ll be busted before your plan can even begin”

“Leave that to us” Sam replies with a sly grin, “Honestly, we just need you guys to get to the auditorium as quickly as you can when you see and or hear our signal”

“Look we’re purposefully not going to tell you anything else as the least you know, the better. Just be ready for that week with a performance and look for our signal, we’ll take care of everything else” Blaine smiles

“Do we get to know?” Brittany asks Blam

“Not yet” they reply in unison

“I bet Sebastian knows” Santana pushes

“Of course he does, so does one other person, and neither will tell you anything so give up now, we just needed to give everyone time to prepare considering they’ll be doing it in   
secret so they needed heads up now.” Blaine answers.

“God all your geekiness rubbed off on me” Unique groans, “I’m actually excited about this”

“Hey maybe we can get the superhero club back up and running” Ryder gushes

“Let’s maybe not take it that far” Jake replies

“Oh come on man you totally got into the club” Sam throws at Jake then finds the picture of them all in their costumes, which Spencer grabs from him so he can see his boyfriend dressed up and raises an eyebrow at him.

“Okay…so prepare a not too rehearsed, spontaneous looking routine and wait for some dorky signal” Kitty yawns, “We can do that…and I’m going to have to love you and leave you fuzz because I’m exhausted and we have an early flight back tomorrow.” Kitty gives Blaine a tight hug.

“Actually we should all go” Marley adds, “I didn’t realise how late it had got…but it’s been wonderful seeing all of you again.”

“See how come Marley says all of us while Kitty just directs affection at Blaine” Jeff mock plays hurt

“Awww Jeffrey…I’d say I’m sorry for hurting your feelings, but I just don’t care” Kitty plays back, making Hunter laugh

“You two are a dangerous combination” Rachel giggles, her and Kitty having got on particularly well that evening, clearly the start of a tight friendship 

With that, there are lots of goodbyes that go on for a long time as anyone not living in New York will be leaving first thing in the morning so won’t see anyone other than who they’re staying with the next day.

Before he goes to bed Wes pulls Blaine to the side, “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I don’t want to see you in the morning, there’s no need for you to be up that early…and just keep me up to date with the mediation stuff.”

“Of course I will” Blaine gives Wes a hug, “Thank you”

“You never need to thank me…but I understand where the words are coming from” Wes jokingly pushes Blaine away after he’s given David a hug goodbye too, “Now go to bed…all that plotting has made you tired, your eyes are doing that long blinking thing”

Blaine laughs then goes into his bedroom but Wes waits for Sebastian who had just been locking up, “Sebastian…I know you will, but I need to say it…look after him”

“If saying it makes you feel better, that’s fine, but I never need to be told that” Sebastian replies earnestly

“I know” Wes smiles, “Good night”

“Night” Sebastian returns the smile then goes to join his boyfriend who he finds naked and under their covers already. Sebastian simply smirks at Blaine before going to brush his teeth but when he re-enters their room, Blaine isn’t on their bed anymore. “B?” Sebastian asks as he steps further into the room and that’s when Blaine jumps out from behind the now open en suite door and tackles Sebastian to their bed with a laugh. “You’re going to get it, you know that?” 

“I was counting on it” Blaine grins cheekily, “But I think you should take your clothes off too”

Sebastian raises his eyebrows, stands and ever so slowly undresses, teasing Blaine with his actions so he’s distracted. As soon as Blaine’s guard is lowered, Sebastian pounces on him and uses his extra height and weight to pin him down. Blaine squirms, and tries to flip them but Sebastian has him pinned well. 

“Ah ah killer, I know your tricks” 

“Not quite all of them” Blaine grunts and then with a massive effort manages to flip them over so he’s straddling his boyfriend’s legs

Sebastian smirks, “Show off…don’t I at least get a kiss for taking defeat graciously?”

Blaine pretends to think for a moment but then bends down, resting his hands either side of Sebastian’s head and kisses him deeply, the problem is though he’s let himself get distracted again and finds both his wrists handcuffed to the head board.

“Damn it” Blaine curses

Sebastian lets out a dark, playful laugh, “You got too cocky killer…and yes pun intended”

“So what are you going to do with me now then?” Blaine challenges and clenches his thighs to squeeze Sebastian’s waist, “Punish me?”

“I think you should be careful saying things like that” Sebastian moves himself from underneath Blaine and picks out one of his ties. Blaine’s hands are cuffed in such a way that he can’t look out into their room without craning is head, but when he sees Sebastian strolling back towards him, running a tie through his fingers, he knows he’s in trouble in the best possible way and gulps in reaction.

Sebastian uses the tie to gag Blaine, putting the strip of material in his mouth so it holds his tongue down and knotting it at the back of his head, “What’s the code for me to stop?” Sebastian asks and Blaine knows he won’t go any further forward until he receives the answer so gives three clear knocks on the headboard with his knuckles. “That’s my B” Sebastian coos lovingly and kisses Blaine’s curls before pulling out their blindfold, “I want to use this too, okay?” Blaine nods quickly in response, more than happy for it to be used, his heart starting to race in anticipation. 

Blaine’s body is arranged so he’s face down on their bed, still gagged, still cuffed and now blindfolded. He hears Sebastian go into their box and then the pop of a bottle of lube. The next thing he knows, a small, lubed bead is being pressed into his hole, Sebastian obviously purposefully not touching him for now. Soon the next, slightly larger bead follows, each bead on the stick gradually getting bigger, but Sebastian stops after only the first three, confusing Blaine as the beads are removed.

“Do you trust me killer?” again Blaine nods with conviction and it’s then he feels cold metal being steadily inserted into his ass and he squirms with anticipation. They’ve spoken about this before, but this will be their first time trying it. The fact there are other people in their home is both a frustration and another turn on for Blaine, but he knows Sebastian will be getting off on the idea completely, that he’s dominating him in such a way when there are others nearby will truly be giving him a buzz.   
Finally the full metal length is inserted, but nothing else happens for a moment, until a hand lands on his left ass cheek, stinging a surely making the skin go red, another lands on the right, matching the left. Blaine can’t help the way his hips snap into the mattress with each blow, trying desperately to get some friction. After Sebastian is clearly satisfied his cheeks are suitably tinted the metal probe starts to slowly open, showing its function as a spreader. 

“How are you doing?” Sebastian asks when Blaine’s spread the equivalent of three fingers and receives one knock for green and a thumbs up. This is the side of Blaine Anderson nobody else has ever seen and nobody else will. The fact that the kinky side of the golden boy will never be even considered, not to their extent, even though they’re far from hard core, makes Sebastian’s cock twitch. He continues to open the spreader and he knows he’s about to stretch Blaine further than he’s ever been stretched before so rubs his lower back as his love starts to take deep breaths.

In reality, Blaine is of course in complete control as if he were to tap for Sebastian to stop, he would, without a moment’s hesitation, but he knows at times Blaine loves the feeling of control being taken away from him, loves not having to think and just to feel. 

“I can see you B” Sebastian almost gasps as he sees an intimate view of his boyfriend he hasn’t before and slips his first finger in to tap at Blaine’s prostate, loving watching the muscles flinch and quiver. “This is going to be cold” Sebastian warns

Blaine is in another space, he’s not sure where, but he doesn’t want to leave any time soon. He’s brought back to reality a little when cold lube enters his stretched hole, but it only increases his levels of anticipation as Sebastian steadily removes the spreader, without reducing its width and replaces it with his cock, that is for all intense and purposes dry, only being lubed by Blaine’s coated insides. 

Sebastian has to bite down on Blaine’s shoulder to stop himself from moaning out loud at the feeling of entering his boyfriend like this. At first Sebastian thrusts into Blaine in long, hard thrusts, but they’re both too worked up so it’s not long before the snapping of hips becomes frantic as Sebastian ruts his length into Blaine rapidly over and over again, the duo spilling over with purposefully muffled groans, their breathing ragged as they’ve just experienced yet another pleasure. Before doing anything else Sebastian cleans them both up before unblindfolding, ungagging and untying Blaine, who quickly cuddles into him.

“That was amazing…and I can’t wait to do it to you” Blaine hums happily, contently

“Me neither” Sebastian places a kiss on his forehead

“I love you” Blaine replies sleepily, feeling exhausted from the day and their activities just now

“I love you too…so much…now sleep”

Blaine snuggles into Sebastian’s chest, the couple still holding tightly onto each other as they both drift off to sleep, the recent dramas far from mind.


	137. Back to business

Sebastian doesn’t wake until late the next morning and finds Blaine, still dead to the world in his arms. After carefully moving his boyfriend from his chest and onto the mattress so as not to wake him, Sebastian silently slips through the apartment to relieve his bladder and make coffee, only returning to his still sleeping love when he has two steaming mugs of black coffee, spiced, just the way they like it.

Blaine’s lying just how he was when Sebastian left him, on his front with his head turned towards Sebastian’s side of the bed, as he rests his face on his hand, with lips slightly parted and messy morning curls. In fact it’s the exact position he’d been in when he was laying on Sebastian, just now on the bed. The sight though is so god damn adorable Sebastian can’t help but snap a picture, which quickly becomes his new lock screen for his phone.

After taking a sip of his coffee, Sebastian scoots down the bed and lies on his side so his face is level with Blaine’s before gently pulling him closer and rubbing up and down his back. Only when Sebastian gently begins to sing a slower version of ‘Better Together’ does Blaine start to stir. 

Blaine blinks his eyes open owlishly the first few times as he comes too before a blinding smile lights up his whole face and the room due to the wakeup he’s receiving.   
“I love you” Blaine says, his voice laced with sleep before he leans forward and steals his first kiss of the day, “How long have you been awake? You taste of coffee”

“Not long…you’ve got a coffee too and they’re both still hot” Blaine goes to move to retrieve his coffee but Sebastian stops him, keeping him firmly in his arms. “How are you feeling killer? Last night was the furthest we’ve ever taken anything.”

“Bastian” Blaine smiles so warmly it’s as though the sun is in the room with them, “Last night was amazing…I think we both more than enjoyed it” he smirks softly, “And this morning…well…with you here in our bed…just the two of us away from the world…I feel so incredibly at peace I don’t know how to describe it.”

A dopey smile appears on Sebastian’s face in response and he gently cups Blaine’s cheek with his hand, tracing his thumb over cheekbones and lips, “And you don’t hurt?”

“Can I feel it? Yes…but like a good dull ache…no pain” Blaine reassures his boyfriend, knowing Sebastian is always worried about hurting him, particularly after doing such things, even if it doesn’t seem that way during the act, he knows his boyfriend always has his wellbeing at the front of his mind.

After stealing a kiss of his own Sebastian releases his hold on Blaine enough so they can both prop themselves up and drink their coffees before they shower together and get ready for their day ahead, both having work to do before college the next day. Time seems to rush passed and before they know it they are waking up to an alarm once again, signifying the return to classes. 

They both head down to the subway together, hand in hand, where they bump into Thad and Jeff.

“Remember killer…call me if you need to…but try not to worry…I’ll see you tonight. I love you” 

“I love you too” Blaine replies earnestly before they kiss once more then part ways until later that evening.

“Is everything alright?” Thad asks Sebastian

“Everything’s fine”

“Bull”

“Thad…I said it’s fine” Sebastian grits out

“Just tell me what’s going on” Thad tries again, coming from a good place but not taking the right approach and coming across much pushier than he means to

“There’s a lot going on and it will be up to Blaine if he wants to tell you or not and you need to respect that…and don’t you dare ask him directly.” Sebastian pulls himself tall and glowers down at Thad.

“Look man…I’m sorry” Thad apologises as it’s clear he’s riled Sebastian up, “It’s just like we’ve all told you…neither of you are alone in everything that’s going on so why don’t you talk to us?”

“Privacy…plus lots of things are up in the air and ongoing and you’ll all have questions we don’t have the answers too…and you don’t all have the right to know what’s going on all the time….and think about it Thad, you’re studying to go to law school…it’s not exactly a good idea to talk about open cases widely...and it’s not a topic either of us particularly like talking about.” The rest of their journey is in silence and when they get to their stop, Sebastian walks off.

Hunter swans up to Thad having seen the two exit the subway and Sebastian storm off, “What did you do to piss him off?”

“I think I pushed when I shouldn’t have done”

Hunter rolls his eyes, “A lot of our group, you included, are on the too nosy side of things”

“It’s because we care Hunter…it’s a human emotion you should try sometime” Thad snarks back

“Ouch…don’t get pissy at me…and you can still care and be there…just maybe more subtly”

Meanwhile on their journey to college Jeff looks to Blaine, “I know something is bothering you, and I won’t ask what, but I’m here if you need me”

“Thank you Jeff” Blaine leans against the taller boy, who throws an arm around his shoulders for the rest of their walk. See Jeff had spoken to Wes about the best way to help over the coming weeks, and the answer was simple, let Blaine know you’re there and then let him come to you. Push and Blaine and Sebastian will both close up.

All through college that day Blaine can only think about his Skype appointment with Xavier that evening. It’s tonight that they’ll basically be told whether or not they have to go to court in Lima, and to say he’s anxious is an understatement. Michael notices Blaine’s distracted behaviour so pulls him to the side after class.

“Are you okay Blaine? You’re not yourself today” Blaine nods in response, “Come on…give me more than that” Michael pushes jovially   
Blaine takes a deep breath to steady himself, “I should get to find out whether I’ll have to go to court for my first attack tonight” he replies quietly, his eyes giving away the amount of emotion he’s feeling. 

“Why don’t you go home? You’ve only got one more session left and I can talk to Sarah for you so she knows why you aren’t there.”

“Y..yes please….B.but only if that’s o.okay” Blaine stutters out after some time. Michael’s seen enough of Blaine to know he only stutters when he’s really emotional, and not in a   
good way so he knows he offered the best solution.

“It’s more than fine…I wouldn’t have offered otherwise” Michael smiles kindly, “I’ll see you tomorrow” he gently pushes Blaine out of his office.

Blaine can’t face the subway right now so he puts his headphones in and listens to some music as he walks all the way home. Originally he’d intended to only walk some of the distance, but the fresh air and open space of the park are doing him good. Due to his meandering walk making his journey home take that much more time, Blaine ends up bumping into his boyfriend in front of their building and immediately fiercely hugs him.

“It will be okay killer” Sebastian soothes gently before taking one of Blaine’s hands and pulling him into the building so they can go home, “Where did you walk from?”

“All the way” Blaine squirms, “But I feel fine! Nothing’s sore or hurting, plus I took it easy and like Patrick said I should be able to do these types of things now. It’s not like I tried to run the distance” he reassures and defends all at the same time.

“I know…I didn’t actually say anything” Sebastian laughs softly, the speed and tone of Blaine’s speech indicating he’s not in a great place. 

When they get into their apartment they both get a drink and change into comfier clothes before setting up Blaine’s laptop on the coffee table and begin their wait for news. It’s clear Blaine isn’t going to talk in the time they have to wait so Sebastian simply sits behind him on their couch, essentially forming a cradle cross cocoon around his boyfriend with his legs and arms, pressing occasional kisses into curls and humming softly.

When Blaine’s Skype on his laptop starts ringing, he tenses and holds his breath, “Breathe killer” Sebastian soothes then leans forward to accept the call.

“Hi…how are you both doing?” Xavier asks brightly yet professionally as in this instance he is their lawyer, not father and boyfriend’s father.

“I think that depends on what you’ve got to say” Sebastian replies then focuses on his boyfriend once more as in this moment it’s clear how much anxiety and nerves Blaine must have been suppressing until now. “B…are you okay to do this?”

Blaine snaps out of his revere, “Yes sorry…hi Xavier”

“That’s okay Blaine…before we talk about what’s been happening in regards to the Lima case, I have a small matter to discuss with you in regards to the New York case.”

“Okay” Blaine nods for Xavier to continue

“Now you must know I don’t make this request lightly…but it could make a significant difference to the case if you underwent an official psychological assessment. I know of psychologists who specialise in such cases in the city or we could ask Natasha if she’s got any recommendations. Unfortunately we need to officially demonstrate the effects the attack had on you.” Xavier takes in the way Sebastian’s gaze on him darkens significantly, but he manages to keep his courtroom face on – unmoving of emotion – as he knows this is the best tactic for Blaine’s case and he had promised them when Blaine was still in the hospital, not even conscious, that he would do everything in his power to get the best outcome. 

After a few moments Blaine finally looks back up from where he’d been staring at his lap, “I wouldn’t have to keep seeing them?”

“Not at all…and the judge won’t have any power over you and whether or not you go to therapy either, this is merely the gathering of more evidence if you will.”

“Then I’ll do it” Blaine agrees, “Maybe run the names of your contacts passed Natasha and see if she knows of any of them and what her thoughts are? I know it can’t be her”

“I will…and you’re right…she’s too close to you to conduct it, it would compromise your case.”

Sebastian continues to soothe Blaine with gentle rubs on his lower back and a kiss to his temple as it’s at least clear to him that the idea of needing to see a psychologist has just   
raised his anxiety levels from the way his body physically reacted. 

“So now I have some good news for you” Xavier begins 

Blaine’s eyes widen with hope, “Really…genuinely good news?”

“Well I believe so” Xavier smiles, “It’s been made official…the DAs office is going to deal with your Lima case without you having to appear in court. The bank of evidence and additional witness statements, plus the records of the perpetrators is more than enough. Despite the fact that your parent’s never wanted to press charges the police should have properly collected and stored evidence. They didn’t, and what they did get was basically chucked in a file and never really looked over, so it’s all very embarrassing for them as their misconduct was to the extent that they could be punished for treating your case with disregard. Sentencing is tomorrow. I’ll of course contact you to let you know the   
outcome.”

“How come that’s happening so fast? Or has this decision been made for a while?” Sebastian questions quickly, impressing his father with his astuteness 

“If the decision had been made earlier, I would have told you. The sentencing is happening so quickly due to the high levels of embarrassment for the office, and well let’s just say that knowing the right people and having a certain standing can pull a lot of strings.”

Sebastian smiles gratefully at his dad then looks at Blaine for the first time since they received this news and realises he’s frozen, “B?...Killer?...Killer B?....Blaine?” When Blaine still doesn’t answer Sebastian goes back to his trick of throwing him off the times tables he must be working through, “27, 36, 98”

“What?” Blaine asks dazed

“Are you okay?”

“I don’t know” he admits, “How come the witnesses didn’t come forward before?”

Xavier smiles empathetically, “Fear of what would happen to them if they did mostly, as they state, not realising the severity of the situation, and for some who admit to joining the bullying you received at school, they didn’t want to be mistakenly linked either. It of course doesn’t make any of them holding back the information right, but I think you can see where they must have been coming from considering their ages at the time. There was one who made a big difference to the case has a reason of their own. I actually have a letter for you, I said I’d forward it on to you if you were happy for me to.”

Blaine frowns, “From who? I had nobody then, who’d bother writing me a letter?”

“Charlie Saunders” Xavier replies

Blaine’s eyes immediately swell, “What?” he gasps softly

“Charlie Saunders” Xavier repeats

“B…is that Charlie who was with you that night?” Sebastian asks delicately

“I never thought I’d hear from him again” Blaine sniffs

“Do you want the letter B?” Sebastian questions

Blaine nods, “Please” then stands, “Thank you…I..erm…excuse me” and rushes off to their bedroom

Sebastian looks back to the screen, “Thank you…for everything…when everything is settled it would be good if you could walk me through your strategy, though I know you’ll need B to approve that. I’m sorry but I need to…” Sebastian looks towards their room

“No need to explain, it’s a lot for him to take in, even I can understand that. I’ll put the letter in the post tomorrow and call back in the evening with the details.”

“Thanks dad”

“No need to thank me Sebastian…I’m only being there, how I always should have been. Good night.”

“Night” Sebastian replies slightly stunned by his dad’s final comment and then goes to comfort his boyfriend. “B?” Sebastian asks softly as he climbs carefully into bed behind Blaine, spooning him.

Straightaway Blaine turns so he’s chest to chest with Sebastian and lets himself shed a few tears.

“It’s over B…that one…it’s over” Sebastian comforts

“No it’s not…there’s still the sentencing…and what about Charlie? I never thought I’d hear from him again. Part of me wondered if he’d died and the nurse was trying to spare me because there was no trace of him when I woke up…it was like he’d vanished, or never existed.”

Sebastian closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, he never knew that part of Blaine thought this Charlie, who meant a lot to his love at the time, was dead, he can’t even begin to imagine how his other half must be feeling. “Then take the positive B…you know he’s alive, and you’re going to hopefully find some answers and make peace with that part of your life. Perhaps you should consider writing a statement to the guys who did that to you? My dad would be able to read it out for you on your behalf. It might let some of what you’re feeling out and help you move on.”

“I wouldn’t know what to say”

“Yes you do…just stop thinking too much and let the words come from your heart”

They lie how they are for some time until Blaine peels himself away from his boyfriend and goes to the piano, which doesn’t surprise Sebastian at all, and he’s glad, it means that Blaine’s processing everything.

Sebastian goes to the living room and sees they’ve both got messages from some of their friends, though not at all linked to their evening, nobody knew it was a possibility that Blaine wouldn’t have to go to court, apart from for Wes or David. Even then it was only Wes who knew that tonight would be the important news and he’d sent a simple, ‘Thinking of you. I’m here if you need me’ message.

Blaine’s playing is full of emotion and turmoil and is equally breath taking, beautiful and heart breaking all at the same time. Sebastian takes the opportunity to message Cooper, knowing it won’t be picked up until the next day as the older Anderson is still in Italy so with the time difference will be sleeping, asking him to contact him before speaking to Blaine. Sebastian won’t divulge anything he shouldn’t, but he knows that in this situation prepping Cooper before he talks to his baby brother is the best thing, otherwise his emotions would likely get the best of him and him reacting would be detrimental to Blaine.


	138. Answers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not going to lie, I'm pretty nervous about this one!

Blaine stays up that night, alternating between playing the piano and scratching words on a piece of paper. Sebastian manages to get a few hours of sleep on their ridiculously comfy couch, not wanting to leave his boyfriend alone as he works through everything in his mind. Finally at 7am Sebastian wakes as silence grips their apartment and looks over to see Blaine asleep at the piano, arms crossed on the lid with his head resting on them. 

Sebastian slowly stretches and stands before moving to his boyfriend, his love. There are many pieces of paper, some with writing, and others are staves with handwritten notes on. It’s clear that Blaine’s emotions were being channelled out in words and music, his other language. Even in his sleep his face is tense, it’s clear he’s only stopped because his body couldn’t go on anymore rather than because he found peace. That he’ll find once both court cases and Hummel have been dealt with once and for all, of that Sebastian is sure. 

Having Michael’s contact details from when Blaine was in hospital, Sebastian sends him a message letting him know an overview of what’s happened and that Blaine won’t be in classes that morning, feeling grateful that his boyfriend’s current timetable meant he didn’t have classes that afternoon too, otherwise Blaine would surely panic about being behind even more, though technically he’s where he should be given that he’s doing some things in a slightly different order.

Sebastian bends down and slowly rubs Blaine’s back, “Come on B…you’re not sleeping here”

Blaine stirs groggily, “Bastian?”

“Come on” Sebastian lifts Blaine to his feet and from there picks him up, carrying him bridal style to their room, “I’ve messaged Michael, you’re not expected in classes today” he explains while undressing Blaine and putting him in bed. “So get some sleep…I’m sure everything will feel better once you do…do you want me to stay?” Sebastian asks though he knows the answer.

“I want you to go to college…everything is taking over our lives too much anyway”

Sebastian smiles softly, “You know where I am if you need me”

“I love you”

“I love you more” Sebastian replies as Blaine’s eyes close again

“Impossible” is the last word from Blaine’s lips as he enters the world of sleep once more, this time looking more at peace. Sebastian lovingly runs a hand through Blaine’s curls and presses a kiss to his forehead before getting ready for the day. Before he leaves the apartment, Sebastian places a note on his bedside table, as Blaine has fallen asleep on his side, reiterating that he’s not expected in college today just in case he was too groggy to take it all in.

When Blaine eventually wakes around midday he sees Sebastian’s note and smiles because it’s a reminder that despite everything, he has the most wonderful person to share his life with and yes, they’ve got some more hurdles to go over, but they’ll do it together and ultimately spend a lifetime of happiness together. That what they’re going through now, isn’t how it will always be. 

Sleeping was the best thing he could have done as when he looks back at all his music and notes from the evening before, Blaine knows what he wants to say so starts to write it down properly, only stopping when his phone goes off with a reminder from his boyfriend to eat something. Blaine fondly rolls his eyes before messaging back ‘Worry wart…I love you’ then goes and makes his special apple pancakes, keeping some back for Sebastian to have later on.

When Sebastian enters their building that afternoon, Malcom greets him from the front desk, “Mr Smythe!”

“You know you can call me Sebastian” Sebastian smiles

Malcom laughs, “Sorry Sebastian, this FedEx came for Mr Ander…I mean Blaine today. Can you sign for it and take it up?”

“He didn’t want to come to get it?” Sebastian asks as he signs

“I didn’t call up…I didn’t realise he was home, I’m sorry”

“Don’t be sorry” Sebastian reassures, “He wouldn’t normally have been home…Have a good evening Malcom”

“You too” 

When Sebastian enters their apartment he smells eggplant parmigiana cooking but doesn’t find Blaine in the kitchen so goes through to their bedroom and takes the open en suite door as an invitation to join his boyfriend in the shower. “Hey you” Sebastian greets as his wraps his arms around Blaine.

Blaine leans back into his boyfriend’s embrace, “Hey yourself”

“How are you doing?”

“Better for having slept like you said…I think I’ve written my statement to them”

“Really?”

“Yeah”

“Do you mind if I? I mean…actually don’t worry about it”

Blaine turns round, goes onto his tiptoes and clasps his hands together behind Sebastian’s neck, “You can read it…but I wasn’t sure if you’d want to. I don’t want any of our  
friends knowing its contents though.”

“Of course not B…you know I wouldn’t say anything anyway…it’s your call who knows what. Do any of them even know you won’t have to go to court yet?”

“No…and until we’ve heard the sentencing from your dad, have more answers and had time to process everything, they won’t.”

“That’s fair”

“But I will let Cooper, Wes, Patrick and Natasha know sooner than later” 

“Good idea…have you heard from Cooper at all?” 

“Not since his text to say he landed…I guess it would be a bit awkward for him to be in contact with me given that he’s with his parents” 

“His parents?” Sebastian raises an eyebrow in question

“Well they’ve made it clear they don’t want to be mine” Blaine mumbles then lets out a big sigh and kisses his boyfriend, not letting it get too heated before stepping out the shower “I hope you don’t mind eating early, as dinner will basically be done…don’t be long” he says as he rubs himself dry

“You’re a tease” Sebastian growls as he watches him through the glass

“I’ll make it up to you later” Blaine smiles then cheekily blows a kiss before leaving their bathroom naked 

Sebastian doesn’t waste any time in the shower and suppresses his desire in order to quickly get washed and join his boyfriend. When he goes through to the kitchen he sees Blaine holding the FedEx packet.

“Are you going to open it?”

“After dinner” Blaine replies before putting the packet down and finishing serving their food. 

“Just open it killer” Sebastian tells his boyfriend as soon as they’ve finished eating, their meal mostly silent as Blaine kept giving the packet sideways glances. 

“I don’t know if I’m ready”

“You are if you want to be” Sebastian stands and holds his hand out to Blaine, “Come on”, the couple taking the packet with them. “Do you want some privacy?” Sebastian asks after Blaine is settled on the couch

“I want…need you with me…but I need to see it first”

Sebastian nods, “Okay” Then kneels on the floor in front of where Blaine is sitting so there’s no chance of him reading over his boyfriend’s shoulder and runs his hands up Blaine’s legs where he sat cross legged before holding onto his waist.

“Thank you” Blaine smiles

“There’s no need to thank me” Sebastian presses a kiss to Blaine’s knee as he opens the cardboard packet with trembling hands

Inside there is a standard writing envelop with his name written on in curvaceous handwriting he hasn’t seen for years. 

‘Dear Blaine,

You may not want to read this letter, and I wouldn’t blame you, but I’m hoping it will give you answers to questions you may have asked. Before any of that though, I truly hope you finally get the justice you deserve, that you always should have had.

I was lucky that night, I only received a minor concussion and some superficial cuts and bruising. I woke up before the next morning but when I asked to see you, I was told it wasn’t possible at that time. I only had to stay in hospital one night and when I was getting ready to leave the next day, my parents told me we were only going home to pack, that we were moving state, to Boston. I tried to see you before we left but I was told I couldn’t, was told part of our moving was to cut contact and ties with that part of our lives.

I was so confused, as my folks had never had a problem with my sexuality so I couldn’t understand why they were expecting me to drop all my friends, to drop you. We walked passed your room on our way out of the hospital, I couldn’t help but look in. I didn’t know how you were still alive with the amount of bandages and machines you were hooked up to, but you were and that’s all that mattered. 

My mom tugged on my shoulder for us to go and when I turned I came face to face with your parents. They said they understood that we were leaving state and warned me to keep away from you, to not contact their son as you would surely be over your phase and didn’t need such a bad influence in your life. I’ve never seen my mom look as nervous as she did when faced with them, and I still don’t exactly know what happened between our parents before I woke up, but I know something did, particularly as my dad told me to drop it and started to guide me out rather than stand up for me, for us, how he always told us to and did. 

Before we left the hospital I said I’d forgotten something so I could go back to my room, but instead I found the nurse who’d been looking after me and I told her to tell you that I’m okay so you didn’t think the worst. I asked once what was going to happen to the guys who attacked us, but I was told to drop it, that it had been decided there was no reason to press charges, that I should be glad I was okay and move on. It was a closed conversation, it didn’t feel right but for a while nothing did. It was clear my parents knew more but they weren’t going to share. I could have pushed harder, maybe I didn’t really want to know what was going on. I can’t tell you, but I let something drop when I shouldn’t have, I guess that’s why they say hindsight is always twenty twenty.

So we moved, and despite the reasons why it was actually the best thing that could have happened to us. My mom managed to get a part time job, my dad was happier in his job than he had been in his old one and the school was so much better, more accepting. I tried to call your cell once, but the number had been disconnected. Then I tried to call your home but I was too chicken shit so I hung up after a few rings. 

I did think about you, wondered how you were doing, but I’ll admit the more I moved on, the less I thought about you. The therapist I saw said it was natural, that I had mourned, but is it really natural to mourn someone who’s still alive? I don’t know. I was with my boyfriend visiting Lima when the appeal was put out, completely by coincidence. I’d never told him about that night, but I did then. Our plane was leaving that afternoon but when we were back in our home in Boston, I really thought about everything that night, did we do anything to provoke it? What had you done before to make them so fixated on you? And the answer was nothing, you had never done anything wrong, and we didn't on that night. We were just a couple of gay guys going as friends, no different to anyone else who goes stag with some friends.

So I finally did the right thing, I contacted the number and eventually spoke to your lawyer and made an official statement. For the first time in years I properly thought about you and wondered what you’re up to now, how you recovered, if you made it out of Lima like you always dreamed of. It was Billy, my boyfriend, who gave me the push I needed to write this letter, and I’m glad I did, and I hope you are too.

Finally, I want to say sorry, sorry for letting myself be pulled away from you, but most of all I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to finally contact you.

I’ll understand if I don’t hear back, or if you only contact me to tell me that you never want to hear from me again, but I’ve left my contact details with Mr Smythe on the chance that you might want to.

You taught me a lot about life Blaine without ever meaning to, most of all how to act with dignity and grace even if the world literally and metaphorically walks all over you, and I can never thank you enough for that. You were an inspiration, and I’m sure you still are.

Take care,  
Charlie’

Blaine wipes his eyes then looks up to his boyfriend, “Bastian can you do me a favour? I need to have my statement over to your dad in ten minutes but I haven’t typed it yet.”

“I’ll type it as I read it and email it across.”

“Thankyou…it’s in the office” Blaine takes a pillow onto his lap and cuddles it as Sebastian presses a kiss to his curls and goes to the office to type Blaine’s statement to his attackers up. 

Sebastian knows Blaine needs a moment so focuses on his task at hand as they're on a deadline, so he starts reading, typing as he goes.

‘You don’t know me, you never really did. All you saw was the gay kid who went against the status quo. You didn’t see me as a person, just one of the gays who needed to be taught a lesson and removed from the world if we couldn’t be straightened out. 

I was alone and vulnerable when you chose to start making my life hell. Do you even remember what you did to me before that night? Do you remember laughing as you watched me fall down the stairs after you pushed me? Do you remember painting ‘fag’ on my locker every day until I eventually gave up scrubbing it off? What about cornering me and stealing my clothes as you forced me to bare myself for everyone to see in the locker room? Do you remember taking my school bag and filling it with water? Flushing my head down the toilet or trapping me in a dumpster? I’m guessing you’ve never given your actions a second thought, but guess what I did. I always thought it must be that I was doing something wrong, that it must be my fault, and I truly believed that for a long time. Even those actions still haunt me in someways, I'm not good with small spaces and I can get freaked out by crowds, and I always, always make sure to hold onto a handrail when going down stairs as an extra precaution. It may sound dumb, it may not seem like a big deal, but these are all forms of scars that you've given me that will never go away. 

I was never going to go to that school dance, I was prepared to spend the rest of my high school life hiding from people like you so that eventually I’d fade into the crowds. Though I know I could never have been like the crowds at our old school, who stood by and did nothing as you tortured me. Clearly that night was the breaking point for you, so you made it the breaking point for me. I can still hear the words you spat at me and laughter you shared when I cried out, pleading for you to stop. You showed no mercy when I fell to the ground like a hunted animal with blood starting to pour from me, or when my bones snapped and shattered. That night you stole the rest of my childhood innocence from me and completely changed my life.

When I think back on that night, it still haunts me like nothing you can imagine, nothing you can possibly comprehend unless you've experienced a similar horror. I cannot even begin to describe the feelings of terror I felt as you attacked me. You left me for dead that night. I have no doubt that had been your aim. I had to have bones pinned back together, my skull had to be repaired with a metal plate. I went through months of agony during a long recovery, I had to fight to get the strength back in my right wrist, for a while it looked like I may never be able to grip properly, to play my instruments properly. You took my outlet of music away from me when I needed it most. 

I had terrible nightmares for a long long time. I would wake up sweating and crying. I still get flashbacks sometimes even now. Every morning for far too long I had to remind myself that you weren’t there to hurt me that day, but I never stopped looking over my shoulder for fear that one day you would be, that you’d be there to finish what you started.  
I’ve been told you have a long history now of violent convictions and continue to spread your homophobic agenda, occasionally with force. I can’t bare the fact that you’ve been able to go on and treat others how you treated me, even if you didn’t go as far as to beat them mostly to death and leave them alone, in the cold to breathe their last breath. But I’m still breathing. 

I will feel guilty for the rest of my life that you were left to terrorize others. I’m sure there’s an irony in that I’m failing to grasp, given it wasn’t my decision to not press charges, and given that I’m sure you feel no guilt, no remorse, only regret that you did leave a trail that means you’ll finally spend some time in jail where you won’t be able to prey on the LGBT community or anyone who does not fit into your narrow minded view of what is right.

You destroyed my life that night and I had to work damn hard to get it back. I almost didn’t. I can admit that on more than one occasion I thought it would be better if you had actually killed me, I even considered doing the job for you. Now I won’t give you the satisfaction of holding control over me, not anymore. I’m here today stronger than ever. I’m finally strong enough to be able to deal with the flashbacks and night terrors that still sometimes plague me, even if it’s taken five years for me to get to this place.

The damage you inflicted may be irreversible, but I won’t let that hold me back anymore, not now I won’t feel the need to constantly look over my shoulder, won’t flinch anytime I see someone who looks like it could be you. I’ve only recently realised that I don’t have to feel weak, don’t have to feel ashamed of what you did to me, that you’re the ones who should be ashamed.

I will not give you the satisfaction of hating you. To respond to hatred with anger would be to give in to the same ignorance that made you what you are. 

Maybe one day you’ll feel guilt or remorse for what you’ve done, not just to me but to all your other victims, though I doubt you ever will and for that, if anything, I feel sorry for you. 

Blaine Anderson’

Sebastian presses send on the email to his dad and texts him to let him know it will be in his inbox, knowing he needs it for the sentencing. Even though he knew the facts contained in Blaine’s victim statement, reading it has left him with swollen eyes he quickly rubs away. Sebastian takes a few moments to compose himself and after receiving confirmation of receipt from his dad he goes back to his boyfriend.

“You can read it now” Blaine passes Sebastian the letter from Charlie

After reading it Sebastian looks to his love, “Do you think you’ll reach out?”

“Maybe…it’d sort of be nice to see him again, even if only once”

“I think I understand that B” Sebastian reassures as he takes his boyfriend into his arms, “What do you want to do now?”

“Have you got any work to do?”

“Some reading”

“Can you do that with my head on your lap?”

“You know it” Sebastian smiles softly then grabs the book he needs before settling on one end of the couch so Blaine can stretch out along it if he wants to after pillowing his head on Sebastian’s lap. Without thought, it doesn’t take long before Sebastian’s fingers start carding through Blaine’s curls. 

A short time later, just as Sebastian has put his book down, Blaine’s phone rings so he answers, putting the call on speaker.

“Hi Xavier, you’re on speaker so Bas can hear you but please speak freely”

“So do you want to know the sentences?” Xavier starts, not wasting time with pleasantries 

“Please”

“The shortest sentence was seven years and the longest twelve. The differences in length were based on the involvement of each member of the group according to the evidence.”

“So that’s it? It’s all done?” Blaine asks, starting to go into a state of shock

“It’s all done” Xavier confirms

“And you got to read my statement? I know you would have received it at the last minute”

“I got to read it…and it was very well written Blaine, particularly given the rapid turnaround…do you have any questions for me?” 

“Not at the moment. Thank you.”

“No need to thank me, I’m only sorry you’ll have to go to court for the next one”

“I know it can’t be helped….can you send me Charlie’s contact information please?”

“Of course, and I take it that means you got the letter”

“Yes…thank you”

“B stop thanking him” Sebastian teases to try and lighten the mood

Xavier lets out a low laugh, “If there’s nothing else, I’ll leave you both in peace for the evening, but if you do have any questions, you know where I am” The older Smythe tells them, knowing the boys need some time together to process everything and that it’s not the time for small talk.

“Are you still looking to arrive next week?” Sebastian asks before his dad goes

“I am…I can work from New York for a week on my other cases easily, but my focus will be on yours Blaine and being on the ground for the final preparations, and I've already booked my suite for the week."

“Okay” Blaine simply replies, still dazed

“We’ll speak soon then dad”

“Soon” Xavier ends the call. 

“Pinch me because I must be in a dream” Blaine mutters as he stares ahead into space so Sebastian gives him a firm pinch to the thigh, “Ow! What was that for?”

“You told me to pinch you so you know you aren’t dreaming” Sebastian grins cheekily before turning serious, “How are you doing killer? Come on, let me know what’s going on in that head of yours”

“Disbelief mostly, I’m not sure how to feel” Blaine admits as he runs his hands through his hair, “Thank you for being here for me however I needed you”

“Always” Sebastian presses a kiss to Blaine’s lips, “There’s one thing I think you could do that would make you feel better”

“What’s that?” Blaine frowns confused as he watches his boyfriend momentarily disappear

“Burn this” Sebastian replies waving Blaine’s handwritten victim’s statement, “If you ever want to see it again we have electric copies via email and my dad will have one in your file”

Slowly Blaine smiles, “Let’s do this”

On their roof they have a metal bucket filled with sand that they have a couple of garden candles stuck in so Sebastian takes these out to make the bucket into a temporary fire pit for the letter. Blaine takes a deep breath before lighting the letter and placing it on the sand, the couple watching it quickly burn, flecks of it taking off into the sky. All of a sudden Blaine lets out a sob and turns into his boyfriend’s body, Sebastian’s arms immediately squeezing him close. 

“It’s okay killer…it’s okay”

“I shouldn’t be crying…I’ve just had some good news!”

“Well I think that they’re partly happy tears, but they’re also tears from having to relive everything as you wrote your statement, and just generally emotional ones from the letter from Charlie…because you know now that he didn’t want to just leave you...that you were both pretty powerless as to how it worked out”

Blaine looks up into Sebastian’s eyes and notices that they too are watery, “Don’t cry Bas...I’m sorry”

Sebastian smiles, “You have nothing to be sorry for! Apparently when it comes to you I’ve lost all my emotional constipation. Just reading how close you were to not being here, how close you were to truly giving up on life again has made even me emotional, so you must really be a wreck.” Sebastian laughs, which in turn makes Blaine laugh, “But you’ve finally got your justice B…and maybe others those scumbags have hurt will now feel brave enough to come forward, and if they do and the evidence is there, then they’ll be behind bars even longer.”

Blaine smiles up at the person he loves most in the world, “I love you so frigging much….I only wish Nona and Grandpa could celebrate this with us”

“They are B….in their own way of that I’m sure. There’s no way two people who were as spiritual as they were aren’t partying on a cloud somewhere in true old age hippie style”

The image makes Blaine laugh again. When they’re sure the paper is all burnt out they put the candles back in the sand and head downstairs.

“Do you want to make any phone calls tonight killer?”

“No…we deserve tonight to us” Blaine says adamantly

“I’m not going to argue with you on that” Sebastian replies as he locks the door

“Do you know what I want to do right now Bastian?” Blaine asks playfully as he jumps his boyfriend, legs wrapping round Sebastian’s waist, who catches him easily, arms immediately supporting him.

“What’s that then?” Sebastian chuckles at Blaine’s lighter mood now the real good of the situation has sunk in

“Celebrate love…and do you know the best way to do that?”

“Go on…” Sebastian encourages, though he has a pretty good idea of where this is going

The amount of adoration that fills Blaine’s eyes makes Sebastian’s heart swell, “To make love to each other.”

Sebastian’s voice deepens, “That sounds like the perfect celebration of life and love to me” before their lips crash together and he walks them to their bedroom, where they stay for the rest of the evening and night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts and wishes are with the family and loved ones of the victims of the Orlando attack and to those who were lucky to survive but will never forget the trauma.


	139. Fresh air

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay! It's been an extremely busy week. The next chapter will essentially be a second part to this in case you're wondering why it ends where it does. As always, I'd love to hear what you think. :-)

The next morning Blaine and Sebastian are both feeling much lighter than they had been over the last couple of days and keep trading kisses as they finish getting ready for their days at college.

“So you’ve got Skype time with Wes, Patrick and Natasha tonight?” Sebastian asks

“I do…I really want to talk to Cooper too”

“He hasn’t replied to your text?”

“Not yet…I don’t even know when he’s due back, I know it was open when he left”

“You’ll hear from him as soon as he feels it’s safe to talk to you. The time difference won’t be helping”

“I know…I’m not afraid he’ll abandon me this time, we’re in such a different place than we were, even from when it last happened”

“I don’t think he will either Killer” Sebastian smiles as he does his laces, “Have you thought about when to talk to the others?”

“I thought group dinner tomorrow, but I really want to talk to Coop first...Remember Rach is coming over this evening so we can talk to her about Kurt”

“I remember….when have you known me to forget something?”

“It’s annoying that I can’t” Blaine pouts

“No it’s not, you love it….and get that pout off your face” Sebastian smirks and leans down to kiss the offending pout away before they both pick up their bags to make their way to the subway hand in hand. 

On a break between classes Sebastian, Hunter and Thad head to their preferred café on campus to grab some lunch. Sebastian has messaged Cooper several times to stress that they need to talk before Cooper calls his baby brother back as a lots happened since they last spoke. It’s of course typical that just after Sebastian’s taken a large mouthful of his panini that Cooper calls him. 

Sebastian gestures with his hands to Thad and Hunter that he’s quickly going to take the call and steps outside the café, “Cooper” he answers mumbled before swallowing his food

“Do I want to know what you’re doing?” Cooper laughs

“Smart ass…I’d just started to eat my lunch”

“Yeah I guess it is only lunch time…so what do you feel that you need to talk to me about before I speak to Blainey?”

“It’s been an emotional roller coaster for him Cooper…stuff has happened in regards to the Sadie Hawkins attack and Hummel, though not directly. I just want you to be prepared to keep your emotions in check when he talks to you about it all, as after last night he’s in a better place again…I’m not worried about him possibly having an anxiety attack at any moment now, and I won’t risk anything setting him back.”

“No of course not…he’s really been that bad?” Cooper asks, the concern and worry clear in his voice

“Not that he admitted, but yes”

“You’re not going to give me details are you?” Cooper huffs

“That’s for him to do, I just wanted you to be aware that he’s been processing everything, as finding it out at once could be a little overwhelming, so I figured you needed a heads up.”

“I actually really appreciate it…I know I react…it’s my dramatic background” Cooper plays

“You tell yourself that Cooper…so when are you going to talk to him?”

“I’ll be seeing you a lot sooner than you think…particularly Blainers” Cooper’s smug voice travels over the line

“What exactly do you mean?” Sebastian questions demandingly with a frown

“I’m going to take him out to lunch”

“You’re in the city?” Sebastian asks, not sounding that amused

“Surprise!”

“Good job the spare bed is good to go then”

“I have gifts for you both…but I need to do a load of washing and I’ll be with you until the court case is over…how amazing is that?”

“So you’re going to be staying with us for over two weeks?”

“See I told you it’s amazing…gotta go” Cooper ends the call before Sebastian can protest

Sebastian flops down into his seat when he rejoins Thad and Hunter and continues to eat his lunch. 

“Everything okay?” Thad asks tentatively

“Wonderful” Sebastian replies sarcastically

“Aww is something not going your way?” Hunter teases, knowing it's usually the best way to encourage their friend to open up

“More like the chance of getting any peace over the next couple of weeks has just been completely destroyed and it was low to start with anyway given everything.” Sebastian swallows his last mouthful and sighs, “Come on…we've got to get to class” and walks off without waiting for a response. 

Blaine’s just come out of a physical acting class and is walking down the corridor with Joey when, as they turn a corner, he sees his brother casually leaning against the wall in his trademark leather jacket.

“Coop!” Blaine beams then runs to his brother who engulfs him in a hug, “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming? How are you? How was Italy? How long are you staying for?”

“Woah woah…one question at a time” Cooper laughs, truly happy to see his brother so excited to see him, “So have you got time to go to lunch?”

Blaine cringes slightly, “Joey and I were actually on our way to the library, we’d only be like an hour though”

“Blaine we can rearrange” Joey offers

“Yeah, but it will bug me not getting it down now quickly”

“You and your OCD tendencies” Cooper playfully teases, “But seriously…go to the library it’s fine…I’ll come with you!”

“You know you’ve got to be pretty quiet in a library right?”

“Very funny squirt”

“Don’t call me that!”

It doesn’t take long for Cooper to fall asleep in the library as Joey and Blaine work, the younger two stifling their laughs when they first realised just why the older Anderson was being so quiet. It then dawns on Blaine that it’s likely Cooper had only got back into the country shortly before seeing him, though what he’d done with his luggage he doesn’t know. 

“Annnnnd I think we’re good” Joey declares an hour or so later

“Me too” Blaine smiles so the duo pack their things away

“I’ll let the others know you got a surprise that meant you had to skip lunch” Joey says looking between Blaine and his brother

“Thanks man” Blaine laughs then gives Joey a hug, “I’ll see you tomorrow”

“Tomorrow” with that Joey leaves so Blaine goes round to his brother

“Coop…hey Cooper” Blaine wakes his big brother gently

Cooper stretches then opens his eyes, “Hey squirt! Man that was a good nap, now I know what libraries are good for…though the chair could have been comfier” he rolls his neck

“You good for lunch now or could you do with some more sleep, you must be pretty jet lagged”

“Absolutely good for lunch…my treat…and no arguments”

Blaine rolls his eyes fondly, “Fine…where’s all your stuff?” 

“I gave it to one of the guys at the front desk at your building, said they’d hold it where they hold parcels and things for me.”

“I bet that was Malcom” Blaine smiles

As they leave Blaine turns to go to the subway but Cooper stops him, “Come on…I parked this way”

“Wait…what? Why do you have a car?”

“I don’t…you do”, When they round the corner to the small lot where Cooper had parked Blaine stops dead. “It was their Mercedes they were in…I figured Granpa would have wanted you to have his Range Rover…he loved telling me about going off-roading with you and Sebastian, and you helping with the engine.”

“How?” Blaine asks as he slowly starts to move towards the car then circles round it

“Mum and dad didn’t know what to do with it, they were starting to consider selling it so I asked for it. They officially signed it over to me, I arranged for it to be shipped back, it’s been registered here, I got the plates changed this morning which is why it’s now on US plates…..and it’s now in your name too” Cooper pulls an envelope from his inside jacket pocket and passes it to Blaine.

When Blaine opens it, he sees it’s all true, the car officially belongs to him, “This…Coop…I…it’s too”

“Don’t you dare say it’s too much” Cooper cuts Blaine off

“But how are you going to explain to mum and dad when they realise you don’t have it anymore”

“Leave that to me…but I was thinking of upgrading my own car anyway so I can just say I didn’t like it and got that instead…it won’t come back on you Blaine…I promise. Plus I figure they owe you a car anyway…and a lot of other stuff.” Blaine gives his brother a bone crushing hug, “Hey don’t cry” Cooper soothes as he hears Blaine snuffle

“It’s just…so much has happened and I’ve really needed my big brother and I’m so happy you’re here and I can’t believe you’ve done this…thank you so much…thank you isn’t enough but I don’t know what else to say”

“You more than deserve it…like I said, it’s what Grandpa would have wanted…so how about it, you drive us back to yours then we can go out to lunch?”

“Orr we could have pancakes and stay in so we can talk about everything”

“With bacon and syrup? And maybe a poached egg?” Cooper asks excitedly, clearly liking the idea of an early afternoon breakfast

“Of course” Blaine smiles knowing that’s what his brother would want, and actually it does sound pretty good

“And I got them to register the car at your building too, so you don’t have to worry about that” Cooper tells his baby brother while he’s adjusting his seat for driving

“When did you get so organized?”

“There’s this really small guy with big hair I know, I learnt a lot from him…but I’m not going to go as far as colour coordinating folders or having separate sponges for different jobs”

“Shut up” Blaine laughs, “Are you sure you don’t want to drive?”

“Positive…I’m definitely an automatic kind of guy”

“I thought I was too until driving this and Bas’s Audi” Blaine replies before reversing then pulling out into New York traffic

Due to the time of day it doesn’t take long for them to get home, Blaine and Sebastian’s second parking space now being filled with an undoubtedly beautiful car, even if it’s not that city friendly, it’s the symbol of it that means the most.

“Thank you so much” Blaine hugs Cooper after they’ve got out

“You don’t need to keep thanking me…and you drive it well…grandpa would definitely be happy” Blaine smiles bashfully and finds himself enjoying being tucked under Cooper’s shoulder as they make their way up from the car park.

“Hi Malcom” Blaine greets brightly, “Cooper’s left his luggage down here”

“Yes of course” Malcom smiles, knowingly at Cooper, but Blaine doesn’t pick up on it as he checks for mail

“Come on squirt…you can take one of these for me” 

“Did you seriously need two cases?” Blaine asks as he picks up one of the large bags

“Oh come on...I doubt you’re a light packer”

“I take what I need”

“And so did I” Cooper retorts, the friendly banter continuing until they reach the apartment

“What are those?” Blaine asks wide eyed as he looks at the two large cardboard boxes in their living room

“What you asked for…and things I thought it was only right for you to have…I got Malcom to let me bring them up here”

“How? He never breaks the rules about accessing apartments”

“You clearly underestimate how charming I am Blainers” Cooper beams proudly

“I really am glad you’re here” Blaine hugs his brother again.


	140. Catching up

After they’ve finished their pancakes and tidied Blaine and Cooper each get a drink then sit on the couch, facing each other.

“So I’m sorry I haven’t been in touch over the last couple of weeks but it was pretty difficult to, plus I was sorting everything out.” Cooper starts

“That’s okay I understand” Blaine smiles tightly

“What’s happened since I last saw you squirt?” Concern clear in Cooper’s voice

“I don’t even know where to begin” Blaine shakes his head

“I’d normally say the beginning, but I guess there isn’t really one”

“Not as such”

“Okay so pick a topic and go from there”

“Or you can pick?”

“Or I can pick…what are my choices?” Cooper asks, not giving away that he’s already spoken to Sebastian

“Kurt or Sadie Hawkins”

“Let’s get Hummel out of the way first”

Blaine takes a sip of his mocha before starting, “Burt had a second heart attack…Carole called Rachel and told her that Burt and Kurt’s relationship has been growing increasingly fraught as they’ve been arguing a lot…about me in particular…so Carole asked Rachel to ask me to speak to Kurt, so we can bury whatever the hell the situation is and his and Burt’s relationship can be repaired.”

“And because you’re you, you’ve agreed”

“Yes but they don’t know that yet…Rach is coming round tonight for me to give her my answer and to organise the meeting”

“Blaine…I really don’t think it’s a good idea”

“I’ve spoken about it a lot with Bas and Wes…and even Patrick and Natasha” Blaine ploughs on, “Wes will act as a mediator, we’ll suggest Kurt brings one too so he can’t say that things go a certain way merely because of Wes’s presence or it being two versus one or something else that he can blame…and it will be on neutral ground”

“It sounds like you’ve got it all worked out” Cooper sighs and runs a hand through his hair

“I wouldn’t say that, but if this really could be a way to end the mess and stop Bas and I having to look over our shoulders it’s worth it, plus if anything else happens to Burt and I don’t try then…”

“You’ll never forgive yourself” Cooper finishes, “You’re too nice and special for your own good sometimes you know”

“Thanks I think” Blaine brushes off bashfully

“So when will this meeting happen?”

“As it depends on when Wes can come into town, I’m going to get Rach to suggest the Saturday after the court case should be over, at the park, meeting in the morning with the expectation we will be there for a few hours.”

“Why after and not before?” Cooper questions curiously

“Because that way he will be completely onside during the court case…although he’ll be under oath if we meet before and things don’t go his way then he could be less forthcoming”

“Sebastian’s idea I take it?”

Blaine laughs, “What gave it away?”

“It’s calculating and not based on emotion” Cooper says flatly making Blaine laugh again

“I’ll have you know he has plenty of emotion…but unlike you, and me to some extent, he can bury them down to make a decision we wouldn’t be able to see” 

“Exactly…I didn’t realise you’d picked up on so much” Blaine admits

“Hey…I’m more observant than some people, you included it turns out, give me credit for” Cooper teases meaningfully, “Still can’t say I’m keen on the idea but I respect it’s your decision…what is the outcome you’re going for seeing as you said if things don’t go his way?”

“Well I want us to at the end of the meeting to part ways amicably so if we pass in the street it can be with a simple nod or some brief, amicable acknowledgement, but for that to be the most involved we are in each other’s lives.”

“As much as I hope that happens…I doubt that’s what he’ll be going for” Cooper half smiles

“I know I’m being quite naïve in hoping for it”

“I wouldn’t say naïve as you know it could be a stretch…there’s nothing wrong with hoping and dreaming Blainey” Blaine leans forward to get a hug from his big brother, Cooper of course wrapping his arms around him. “What’s this for?”

“Managing to make me feel a bit better about the situation”

“Hey…that’s what big brothers are for right? Sam gave me a one-o-one” Cooper jokes, again making Blaine laugh a little, “So is that the first topic done?”

“Until Rachel comes over later yeah that’s it done, for now at least”

“So topic number two then, Sadie Hawkins”

“I don’t have to go to court…in fact the sentencing has already happened”

 

“What?! That’s amazing! Wait…why aren’t you looking happier?”

“I am happy…really”

Cooper furrows his brows, “Then you might need to tell your face…come on tell your big brother” he goads

Blaine rolls his eyes fondly, “I got a letter from Charlie…the other guy who got beat up…I never heard from him since it happened…part of me always wondered if the nurse who told me he was discharged was trying to spare me and that he’d actually died”

“Wow…okay that must have been a lot for you to process…do you know why he never got in contact”

“Mum and dad warned him never to contact me…plus there sounds like there was more to it between all the parents but I’m not sure if he knows what. He said I should contact him if I want to.”

“I should stopped being amazing by the things they pull but I can’t believe it”

“It was in-line with their theory that the attack would have snapped me out of my phase so they didn’t want him to influence me back into it” Blaine shrugs sadly 

“Oh squirt…I really can’t believe I never picked up that things had always been that bad for you at home”

“I got good at hiding it”

“Plus I didn’t exactly spend enough time with you to be able to tell what was going on, no wonder you thought I’d react like they did” Cooper sighs and tugs on his hair, “Do you   
think you’ll contact him?”

“I think I’ll meet with him…I feel like it’s the final piece of the puzzle to getting closure on that part of my life”

“You deserve nothing less” Cooper hugs his brother once more


	141. The meeting is set

“Gosh I didn’t realize that was the time” Blaine comments when Sebastian sends him a message to tell him he’s on his way home, “Bas is on his way back” Blaine tells his brother then replies to his boyfriend, telling him to go down to the parking lot before coming up. “You okay if I grab a shower?”

“Actually can I grab one too?” Cooper stands

“Of course…there are clean towels in the main bathroom you can use”

Blaine has a quick shower before pulling on his Hogwarts lounge pants and Hogwarts crested long sleeved Henley and heading to the kitchen to start cooking the sesame marinated chicken, pak choi and steamed rice. 

“Smells good” Cooper comments as he walks through, his hair still damp too

“Thanks” Blaine smiles

“I recognize that crest…is it the Dalton one or something?”

Blaine laughs, “No…it’s the Hogwarts one, the pants are kind of a give-away”

“Oh because they’ve got a smaller crest on and a giant worded Hogwarts going down your left thigh? Yeah I can see that now…I’m jet lagged…give me a break!” Cooper laughs in mock outrage

“Is that the car I think it is?” Sebastian calls out as soon as he enters the apartment

“It is” Cooper calls back, seconds before Sebastian appears in the kitchen 

“But I thought…”

“They were in their other car” Cooper replies

“Sorry killer” Sebastian kisses his boyfriend as soon as he sees his shoulders slump

“It’s okay” Blaine hugs Sebastian, “Cooper’s signed the car over to me”

“I’m sure that’s what they would have wanted” Sebastian replies

“Exactly” Cooper agrees, “Grandpa loved taking you both driving in it so much, plus Blaine’s the only one he’d trust to look after it”

“He does a great job with my car” Sebastian winks to lighten the mood a little, not wanting Blaine to get into a slump at this part of the evening, “And the boxes?”

“Things for Blainey, and possibly you, to look through” Cooper answers

“Not tonight though Bas”

“Whenever you want B…have I got time for a shower?”

“Definitely…you need it, I swear I can still smell the field on you and can you put your lacrosse kit in the washer this time?”

“You’re like a married couple” Cooper laughs but a faint blush catches both their cheeks so he clears his throat, “So what are we having for dinner?!” he asks in an over-the-top voice

“Sesame chicken, pak choi and steamed rice…then Skyping with Patrick, Natasha and Wes, then Rach is coming round”

After they’ve eaten Sebastian and Cooper clear the dishes as Blaine grabs his laptop and loads up Skype, ready in the living room.

When Sebastian and Cooper comes through Sebastian passes Blaine a large mug of camomile tea before sitting down and cuddling up to him. “Thank you Bastian” Blaine hums as he leans back into his boyfriend, “How are you doing Coop?”

“I’ll be ready to go to bed once Rachel has gone”

“I think we all will” Sebastian replies as he nuzzles into Blaine’s curls

It’s only a few moments later when Wes has signed in and immediately starts a group call with his parents and Blaine.

After pleasantries Blaine looks to the three people on screen, “So you might have worked out that I’ve got some news for you”

“Just about” Patrick replies dryly with a smile

“So we don’t need to come to Lima so soon after the New York court case”

“You mean?” Wes starts with a smile

“It’s been settled out of court” Sebastian confirms

“The shortest sentence was seven years and the longest twelve” Blaine adds

“That’s fantastic” Wes exclaims

“We’re so so happy for you” Natasha smiles

“You can still visit if you want to you know” Patrick tells them

“We know, but actually not having to miss more college time is a blessing, as well as the rest of it”

They continue to talk for a little while longer as Blaine explains the letter from Charlie and his hopes of seeing him again. 

“Do I dare ask how you’re feeling about tomorrow?” Natasha asks gently

“Not great” Blaine squirms uncomfortably, “But Xavier said it would help so” he shrugs

“Wait what’s tomorrow?” Wes asks 

“Oh sorry sweetie” Natasha looks embarrassed 

“It’s okay…I was going to tell Wes anyway, but I’ve only just had a chance to tell Coop…basically I’m undergoing a psychological assessment to see how much the New York attack messed me up” Blaine smiles critically 

“You’re not messed up” Sebastian says with such conviction everyone know his guard is down as his focus is on Blaine

“You know what I mean” Blaine rolls his eyes

“I know what you said” the taller boy mutters

“Just let us know how you get on…please?” Patrick ends that part of the conversation

It’s not long before the doorbell goes, “That will be Rach” Blaine explains, “I’ll talk to you all tomorrow…Wes, I’ll message you later”

“Later” Wes smiles knowing what is about to happen

As Blaine goes to answer the door Sebastian grabs Cooper’s arm, “We need to talk about tomorrow later”

“That we do” Cooper agrees before switching to his charming smile as he sees Rachel, “Hi Rachel!”

“Hi Cooper! I didn’t expect to see you tonight” She greets brightly

“He was a surprise for all of us” Blaine smiles

“The best surprise anyone can have” Cooper beams

“If you say so” Sebastian teases

“So how are the audition preparations going?”

“Good….I think I have my song choice finalised, but I was wondering if I came round early tomorrow if you could run it through with me”

“Of course” Blaine smiles

“Thank you Sebastian” Rachel says as she takes the mug of tea

“You’ve eaten right?” Blaine asks the girl

“Yes…you’re such a worry wart sometimes” Rachel giggles

“Stop stalling B”

“Yes stop stalling” Rachel agrees, “For as lovely as seeing you is, and you know I’ll take as much time with you as I can get, you obviously have a reason for me coming round particularly considering this is the first time you’ve seen Cooper since his trip”

“You can say no” Blaine starts

“Blaine” Rachel chastises fondly and squeezes his knee

“I was wondering if you could arrange my meeting with Kurt?”

“You’re going to meet him?” Rachel asks shocked

“I’ve got to try…if Burt has another heart attack and I didn’t at least try…”

Rachel nods, “You’re the best of people, you know that right?”

Blaine shakes his head in dismissal, “So basically I will only meet with Kurt with a mediator type person present, for me that’s Wes, but so Kurt feels things are even, we should offer that he can have someone there too, clearly someone he feels happy discussing everything we need to in front of.”

“But what about you?” Rachel interrupts, “What if you aren’t happy to discuss everything you feel you need to in front of his choice of person”

“Don’t worry about that Rach”

“But”

“Please Rach, just trust me that this is the way to do this”

Sebastian looks to the short brunette, “Rachel, B and I have spoken about this a lot, I support how he is going about this and it was actually mine and David’s suggestion that it’s best to allow Kurt to have someone there too, or he’ll never take the meeting seriously and make up some bullshit about it being two versus one.”

“Sorry…and you’re right…I hadn’t really thought about it like that, and well, this isn’t about me so I should and do trust what you’re saying, it’s just I care”

“I know Rach” Blaine smiles reassuringly and pulls her into a hug

“I can totally see why Jesse would be insecure if Blaine wasn’t gay” Cooper says not so quietly to Sebastian, making Blaine laugh and Rachel blush

“Okay so is there anything else?” Rachel asks

“Yes…the meeting has to be on neutral ground, so I want to say the park, but I know that could be a bit weather dependent but for obvious reasons I’d prefer it not to be anywhere in close quarters with other people”

“The park makes sense and if it looks set to rain you can always change location last minute” Rachel comments

“Exactly…and the other catch is he needs to be able to meet the Saturday after court…10am and be prepared to spend a good few hours there as I want it over and done with in   
one meeting…but maybe don’t elude to that part”

“So this is it for you huh?” Rachel asks

“I want to be able to leave the meeting without feeling the need to keep looking over our shoulders…without the worry he’ll turn up at NYU again”

“I can understand that…but don’t worry, I won’t tell him that…and I don’t think you have to worry about him wanting to spend the day with you…shall I call him then?”

“Please…though I’m sorry for dragging you into this”

“Blaine…you’re my friend, and it’s right you don’t call him directly, otherwise who knows how many times you’ll have to change your number” Rachel tries to joke then takes out her cell and calls Kurt, being sure her cell is on speaker so Blaine can give her prompts depending on what Kurt says.

After a few rings Kurt picks up, “Well, I didn’t expect to be hearing from you, should I assume you misdialled?” he greets snidely

“There’s no need for that Kurt”

“Well what did you expect?”

“I’m sorry…how is your dad?”

“Seems to be recovering well…thank you” Kurt replies, softening slightly

“So…there’s a reason for my call” Rachel starts tentatively

“You’ve realised you made a huge mistake and want my forgiveness?”

“Not exactly no” Rachel tells him as Sebastian and Cooper fight to hide their snorts of laughter and indignation at his attitude. “I saw Blaine today” she continues

“Oh” Kurt says simply, but his curiosity is clearly piqued

“He would like to meet with you Kurt, the Saturday after court”

“Then why isn’t he calling me himself?”

“He doesn’t have your number anymore”

“You could have given it to him”

“That’s true I could” Rachel agrees then looks at the note Sebastian has scribbled, “But he was worried you wouldn’t pick up, and it’s better you don’t talk before court so the defence doesn’t try to use that in some way to skew the case.”

“That’s true…lawyers are bastards, but at least tell him I would have answered…so I can do that Saturday…in fact I know a great little café we should get together.”

“Kurt wait!” Rachel interrupts before he can get even more carried away, “Given everything that’s happened Blaine’s a bit nervous so he was thinking about meeting in the park”

“I guess I can work with that…though this café really is incredible and so cute and quaint…It’s just so me so I know he’d love it”

At that comment Sebastian rolls his eyes and tightens his somewhat possessive hold on his boyfriend while Blaine digs his fingers into his curls and Cooper pretends to throw up.

“But the park would allow for a more private setting” Rachel steamrolls

“That is very true…see I knew Blaine and you would come around”

“Anyway” Rachel continues, “Because it’s your first meeting in some time, Blaine thought it would be a good idea you both have someone there for support, so Wes is going to come, and you should arrange for a friend to…you need to be ready to meet at 10am as Blaine’s pre-empting the meeting going on for some time”

“I don’t see why support as you called it is necessary…but I agree that once we start talking we’ll probably be together for the rest of the day.”

“Well Blaine’s been through a lot Kurt, so it makes sense he’d want a support there…and I don’t think you should get too ahead of yourself…this meeting is really about getting closure on everything that’s happened between you two up until now.”

“You’re right…I do need closure…I’m glad he’s finally seen that”

“Yes well…I need to go…but I’ll confirm details with you closer to the time”

“Hey…maybe now you’re back on side I’ll call you sometime” Kurt’s smug voice carries over the line

“Bye Kurt” Rachel replies shortly before disconnecting the call

“Thank you Rachel” Blaine tells her 

“Are you still sure about this?” Rachel asks

“Not really” Blaine shrugs, “But that doesn’t mean I’ll change my mind”

Rachel glances at Sebastian then looks back to Blaine, “I’ll see you at group dinner tomorrow” then gives them all a hug goodbye before showing herself out

“Wait you’ve got group dinner after a psyche assessment?” Cooper questions full of concern

Blaine just groans and doubles up into a ball, hiding his face from the world.


	142. A different type of assessment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a short one today! My body clock is all screwed up from travelling so I've split my original chapter in two so I can actually post an update, even though it's now really short. Will try and get the next bit up soon. Thank you so much for all your patience, I know as a reader it can be super annoying! :-)

Despite the receptionist plying Cooper with hot drinks and magazines and quite frankly anything she could think of to make him sit down, he’s still pacing. The pacing originally started only ten minutes into Blaine’s appointment, and here he is an hour later with another twenty minutes to go. 

When Blaine finally does reappear, Cooper immediately pulls his baby brother into a fierce hug at seeing his red and swollen eyes, Blaine clinging to him as if his life depended on it. 

“It’s okay…you’ve done it Blainey” Cooper tries to soothe

“He suggested I come back” Blaine’s voice croaks after a while of the two brothers just standing there in each other’s arms

“Do you think you will?” Cooper asks gently

“I don’t know…I…” Blaine struggles to say anything

“Can I ask you something?” 

“Sure” Blaine sniffs into his brother’s shoulder

“Why do you have such a thing against going to see therapists…because I know you think there’s nothing to be ashamed about, in fact I know you’ve encouraged others to consider it when you thought they needed to…”

“Sam?”

“Yeah he told me you suggested he saw someone when he was really struggling with eating…so?” Cooper prompts

Blaine takes quite a long while to think before taking a deep breath, “I guess it comes down to all the pamphlets mom and dad had on correction therapy and how the doctors were in the hospital after Sadie Hawkins” he confesses

“What?” Cooper asks shocked and pulls back so he can look into his brother’s eyes, “Jesus Christ Blaine” and pulls him back into a hug

“I’m so tired Coop”

“Hey I’ve got an idea…have a nap in the car okay?”

“What? Why? Where are we going?”

“Trust me?”

“I trust you” Blaine replies with conviction, which fills Cooper with pride

As soon as Blaine climbs into the passenger seat of his grandad’s, his, SUV, and has done his seat belt he falls asleep and doesn’t stir until around fifty minutes later when Cooper gently nudges his shoulder.

“Hey Blainers” Cooper says softly, “We’re here champ”

“Where’s here?” Blaine asks groggily, eyes still closed

“At your surprise….tadah!” Cooper’s enthusiasm has Blaine opening his eyes and he quickly realises he’s at the massive laser tag centre at the edge of the city, “So what do you think? Feel up for it? I figured it could help get some of…well everything…out of your system…and you can nap some more on the way home if you trust me to drive again…and   
we’ll even be back in time for Sebastian getting home as I know I’d have hell to pay if you weren’t…from both of you”

Blaine shakes his head to himself as a small smile creeps onto his face, “I think you’re ridiculous…and…I also think I’m going to kick your ass”

Cooper laughs, “We’ll see about that” and the brothers race to the entrance.


	143. Stronger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So while I'm juggling a few more things than normal I figured I'd try and post smaller chapters, but more frequently, a bit like during the aftermath of Blaine's attack, though I can't commit to one a day this week! I hope that's okay wih you all. :-)

“Told you I’d win” Blaine exclaims happily through a yawn as he buckles back into the passenger seat, “That was an awesome idea…thank you so much”

“No problem squirt”

“Don’t call me that…how did you think of it?”

“Cos it’s what I used to do sometimes to blow off some steam, and I figured we’re actually not that different in some ways, plus when you were little you used to run around like a lunatic at times if you got too worked up, and the times you did, you were always better after a nap, if you napped without doing it, you’d wake up all emotional still…see maybe I know you better than you think…scary huh?”

Blaine smiles softly, his eye lids becoming heavy with sleep, “Only in the best possible way” before he dozes off, Cooper gently brushing a few sweaty curls from his forehead. 

As Sebastian’s walking the final stretch home, he sees the familiar black SUV turn onto the ramp down to their underground parking, Cooper’s silhouette behind the wheel so he heads down to meet them. “I thought you would’ve been home some time again” he calls across as Cooper gets out.

“I figured burning off some steam and getting it all out was a good idea…you can wake him up this time” Cooper replies so Sebastian strolls over

“How was he after?”

“I don’t think he knew how to feel…I’m sure he’ll tell you everything but the therapist recommended he goes back”

“Hmmm….only if he wants to” Sebastian opens the passenger side of the door carefully and undoes Blaine’s seat belt, his seat reclined back a little to a more comfy sleeping position. “Hey killer B” Sebastian gently wakes him and a blinding smile automatically crosses Blaine’s face when he sees his gorgeous boyfriend. 

“I’m still tired” Blaine yawns

“Well come and shower…because you definitely need to” Sebastian teases through a smirk, “Then you can nap some more…want me to put group dinner off?”

“No let them come”

“You sure?” Sebastian asks as he pulls Blaine out the car

“I’m sure” Blaine replies as he cuddles into his boyfriend to head up to their apartment 

Cooper leaves the couple to it, knowing they need some time together so heads into the kitchen while Sebastian leads his boyfriend into the shower. After turning the water on   
they both help each other strip before stepping under the spray together and embracing.

“I love you killer”

“I love you too”

Sebastian starts washing Blaine’s hair gently, “You ready to talk about it yet?”

Blaine sighs deeply and closes his eyes as he tilts his head back, letting his boyfriend rinse the shampoo from his curls. Blaine’s hands come up to rest on Sebastian’s waist when his hair is clear on product once more. “I have PTSD, I may always freak out in crowds or in the dark at times, I have certain emotional triggers, I have abandonment issues and separation anxiety, which kind of makes me sound like a dog, and I need to accept that flashbacks may happen and to move on when they do and not get too frustrated.”

“Do you think going back would help?”

“I don’t know…I thought I was doing well”

“You are B…don’t doubt that, not many people would have been able to keep going after all you’ve had thrown at you this year…and each obstacle that comes up, whether it be court stuff or something to do with Hummel or school, you just prove time and time again how strong you are by holding your head high and knocking it out of the park.”

Blaine presses up on his tip toes to wrap his arms around Sebastian’s neck, “I still can’t believe the way you see me sometimes”

“Then I’ll keep telling you until you do” Sebastian smiles softly before capturing Blaine’s lips

The kiss is chaste but full of love and passion for each other, they’re relationship being the one true consistent rock in their lives so far. When they part they both finish washing and dry off.

“You going to get more sleep killer?”

“I’m not sure I’ll sleep tonight if I do”

“Well if you start getting tired we can always kick them out early”

Blaine laughs, “That actually sounds like a good back up plan for if it gets too much…do you have much to do before they arrive?”

“A bit…you?”

“Yeah I’ve got some reading I need to do”

When they emerge in to the living room a freshly showered Cooper is also there, “Hey is there anything I can do for dinner tonight? I know you’ve got the group coming round but I wasn’t sure if the plan was to order in or cook”

“It’d probably easier to order in at this point” Blaine runs his fingers through his hair

“I can cook!” Cooper offers

Blaine frowns, “You can cook?” he questions skeptically 

“Well I’m sure I can cook something…in fact leave it to me!”

Blaine looks to Sebastian once his brother has gone into the kitchen and the sound of rummaging in cupboards and pots and pans clanging drifts through, “I think we should be   
worried…are you just reading?”

“I am” Sebastian looks across to where Blaine is sat at the other end of the couch; the two of them often leaning against an arm each, letting their legs tangle together along the length of the couch. “Come here” Sebastian smiles and repositions so Blaine can sit between his legs this time, but so they can both still read. “I’m guessing you could probably do with these too” he comments as he slips a pair of glasses that were in reach onto his love

Blaine tips his head right back so he can peep at his boyfriend, “I love you so frigging much”

“I love you too…even more than you know” and presses a kiss onto Blaine’s forehead, “Do you think you’ll call Patrick or Natasha to help you think things through? They’re probably the ones who can give the best advice in this…but know that if you do try going back, I won’t think any less of you…and if you try and don’t want to go again, that’s fine too. I’ll support you know matter what.”

“Until the end of the world?”

“Until the end of the world my little sci-fi geek” Sebastian winks before giving Blaine another kiss before they get their heads down to finish their reading before their friends descend on them.


	144. Supporters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi, sorry once again for the delay. I had some medical news I've been dealing with so after this there could be a couple of weeks where you don't here from me again (sorry!) but I hope you're all having super summers so far. As always I love hearing from you, the good and the bad so please bombard me with comments. :-)

Just as Blaine’s finished reading the doorbell goes, “Man I forgot Rach was coming over early to go over her audition piece.” He comments before jumping up to let her in, the two quickly disappearing into the music area.

“So what do you think?” Rachel asks, slightly breathless with a huge smile on her face when she’s finished singing ‘Don’t Rain On My Parade’

“Why did you choose that song?” Blaine asks

“To prove that I can sing it for an audition…why didn’t you like it?” Rachel frowns

“Of course I did…you’re Rachel Berry you can sing anything…but I just thought you’d do something a little different this time…and well…please don’t take this the wrong way, but   
I imagine most people will go with a Broadway song…why don’t you do something that means a lot to you? When you’re singing with true emotions, there’s no stopping you.”

“My audition is tomorrow Blaine, I don’t have time to prepare another song!” Rachel panics

“You don’t have to” Blaine quickly cuts in and stands from the piano to take hold of her forearms gently and pulls her hands down from where they’re grasping her hair, “I can understand why you might not want to sing it, but I know the perfect song”

“What?” Rachel asks softly

“With or without you…I know it makes you think of Finn, but honestly each time you sing it I get goose bumps, and want to burst into tears at the same time…in a good way.”  
Rachel takes a deep breath, “Okay…he once told me I sing at my best when thinking about people I care about, and I’ve never cared for anyone as much as I did him before, though I think Jesse is getting there” she teases with a half-smile

“Do you want to run through it?”

“Please”

Before they can get started Sebastian opens the glass door, “Would either of you like a drink?”

“No thanks” Blaine smiles

“I’m okay thank you Sebastian, but actually, would you mind listening? I’ve just had a change of song”

Sebastian’s eyebrows raise for a brief moment in surprise before he schools himself, “Of course” and perches on the back of the arm chair closest to the glass doors

Blaine starts playing, using his keyboard this time so he can use his loop pedals to build the song and the necessary effects. Rachel blows them both away with her performance, giving it her all and truly letting go, emotion pouring into it like an avalanche.

“If they don’t let you in with that, then they’re morons” Sebastian says flatly clearly meaning every word

“Bas is right Rach…that’s you back at your best, feeling your performance rather than thinking about it the whole way through…remember what that critic said? That they didn’t know where you got the emotion you did to sing, ‘who are you now?’ That’s exactly what I”

“What we” Sebastian corrects

“Felt now” Blaine finishes

Rachel lets a few tears escape, “If it wasn’t for the two of you, I really don’t know if I’d be doing this, so just, thank you, no matter what happens tomorrow, thank you”

“It’s all you Rachel Berry” Blaine smiles

“We just gave you a bit of a kick” Sebastian winks, making her giggle as she pulls the couple into a hug which ends up being her sandwiched in the middle

“Could either of you imagine us being like this two years ago?” Rachel asks when the hug breaks

Blaine laughs this time, “No…this I couldn’t have predicted”

Sebastian shrugs, “I knew you couldn’t resist me forever killer…Rach and the others are an added bonus though”

“Arrogant ass” Blaine laughs

“He has a point Blaine…you always had eyes for each other” Rachel points out good naturedly, “Has to be said, I wouldn’t have our group any other way, and I really mean that”

“Me neither” Blaine smiles

“Has Kurt tried to call you again?” Sebastian asks Rachel as they settle back on the couches

“No thankfully…I can’t be doing with that kind of negativity and level of judging again”

“And you won’t have to…I’m really sorry for dragging you into this” Blaine says earnestly

“Blaine…you didn’t drag me into anything. Besides, I’d do it one hundred times over if this gets you the peace you both deserve.”

At that the doorbell goes, signalling the arrival of the others.

“I better see how Cooper is getting on” Blaine comments as Sebastian lets the rest in. “What are you making?” Blaine asks his big brother

“Erm…gnocchi al la Cooper”

“So you have no idea?”

“Not really…but it smells good right?”

“Yeah it actually does, where are the gnocchi?”

“In the packet…you just need to heat them through though right?”

“Not really...they actually still need to be cooked” Blaine laughs before opening the packets and tipping the gnocchi into the sauce his brother has created

“Wait didn’t you want to taste it first?”

“Why should I have?” Blaine asks wide eyed, clearly a little worried

“No! I can actually cook a little you know, even if gnocchi doesn't fall into that category...I was just expecting you to OCD check up on me”

Blaine rolls his eyes fondly, “I do trust you you know…and you’ve proven that you’re not entirely useless” he teases

“Not entirely useless!” Cooper gasps overdramatically before grabbing his brother and giving him a noogie, making Blaine laugh

“You remembered Rach is vegetarian right?” Blaine asks once he’s free but Cooper’s face is the only response he needs

“Can’t we just pick out the bits of bacon from hers?”

“Coop!”

“What? She’d never know, and it’s not like she’d be eating meat, just you know like an essence of it”

“That doesn’t make it okay…shit I put all the gnocchi in there”

“See you really should have asked before you did that” Cooper crosses his arms over his chest

“Not helping Cooper” Blaine hisses as he grabs fresh lasagne sheets from the fridge

“What are you doing?” Cooper asks as he watches Blaine grab spinach, tomatoes and ricotta too

“Basically cannelloni, but not traditional”

“Hey call them lasagne rolls!”

“I can work with that” Blaine replies as he quickly makes up the filling

While the brothers are busy finishing dinner in the kitchen everyone else is in the living room, “So are you all set for tomorrow?” Jean-Baptiste asks Rachel

“I am…I have the perfect song” 

“So Blaine helped then?” Jesse checks

“He did! You should have said that you didn’t think I’d picked quite the right song for this audition”

“Jesse did” Brittany frowns

“But you went all diva and refused to talk to us for the rest of the night…it was a blessing really” Santana continues

“You need to apologise though” Brittany adds

“I’ll be right back” Rachel stands and goes to the kitchen, “Blaine can I go to the roof with Jesse? I need to talk to him”

Blaine pauses and frowns, “Is everything okay?”

“I’m not sure…things haven’t been great over the last couple of weeks in some ways…I think I’ve been…”

“Pushing him away?”

“Not intentionally but yes, I don’t know what to do” Rachel confesses

“You know loving him doesn’t take away from what you had with Finn right? It doesn’t take away that you still love him and you shouldn’t feel guilty for it”

“It’s just hard sometimes…I still miss him”

“Of course you do Rach…that’s perfectly normal…I still miss him and I’m sure everyone else in that room does too, but what you two had was special, you and Puck were the closest to Finn, so yes you’re going to miss him and yes you’re always going to love him and I’m sure if you tell Jesse that openly and honestly he’ll understand and it won’t make a difference to how he feels for you”

“How much longer till dinner?”

“Don’t worry about that” Blaine tells her as he grabs the key for the roof from the drawer and gives it to her, “Go be Rachel Berry” he winks and gently pushes her back to the living area

“You’re a good friend to have you know Blainey…in fact if it wasn’t a guarantee that you’re going to be a Grammy Tony Award winning rock Broadway star you’d make a damn good therapist, though you’d probably get too involved in your patients.”

“Bas said the same thing when I thought about pre-med, but I’ll take the compliment in there”

“Good” Cooper smiles, “Speaking of therapy…”

“Not subtle Coop” Blaine replies as he sits on the side

Just then Sebastian appears, “I was coming to see if you two needed any help...are you okay killer?” he walks over to his boyfriend at noticing the tense atmosphere, when Blaine automatically cuddles into him Sebastian knows for certain he's not entirely okay

“I’m fine, Coop was just asking about therapy”

“Okay” Sebastian replies, fixing Cooper with a stare, “You know you don’t have to have an answer yet”

“But I think I do…I’m going to go back again and go from there, I’m not saying it will be a regular thing, but I’m willing to give it a try”

“If you’re sure” Sebastian soothes

“I’m sure”

“That sounds like a good idea” Cooper grins

“This is private though, nobody else is to know” 

“Of course not killer”

“It’s nothing to be ashamed about though” Cooper frowns

“It’s not that I’m ashamed, more just limiting the amount of people who’ll ask about it…it’s private is all”

“We won’t say anything to anyone B” Sebastian once again locks eyes with Cooper

“Scouts promise” Cooper confirms, realising he’s lucky to be in Blaine’s closest inner circle considering their relationship only the year before.

Up on the roof Jesse is still waiting for Rachel to say to him what she’s clearly wanting to, “If this is the kind of talk I think it is, we can skip it if you want, I can just leave”

Rachel turns to face him with fearful eyes, “I don’t want you to leave, it’s not that kind of talk…I’m sorry I’ve not exactly been the nicest over the last couple of weeks”

“Do you have feelings for Blaine?” Jesse asks all of a sudden, needing to know once and for all

“No…not beside caring for him very much as a friend and I’m sorry if I’ve made you think otherwise…Blaine…he kind of becomes like a safety blanket for his friends, besides his energy I think that’s why so many people flock to him, he cares and makes you feel safe…but he’s been through a lot, more than you know and I appreciate that now so try to be there for him too, but I promise I only feel platonically towards him.” Rachel takes a deep breath than walks towards Jesse and takes hold of both his hands, “I’m sorry I’ve been pushing you away, but it’s not because I have feelings for someone else…I love you Jesse”

Jesse blinks a few times, letting the words sink in, “I’m sorry can you say that again?”

“I was pushing you away because I love you and I was scared of what that meant”

Jesse smiles, a huge genuine smiles, “I love you too Rachel Barbara Berry”

“But it’s important you understand that I’ll always love Finn too…I was scared that loving someone else meant that I’d forget Finn”

“You’ll never forget him…and of course a part of you will always love him…I never doubted that…but I can love you enough for the both of us…for both me and Finn…if he wouldn’t hit me for saying that”

“No he…weirdly I think he’d be happy to hear it” Rachel leans forward and gives Jesse a passionate kiss, the two embracing a short moment of time together before heading back down to join the others.

They find everyone gathering round the table and Jesse is sure to mouth a thank you to Blaine as he takes his seat, who replies with a subtle nod.

“So this is dinner al la Cooper tonight” Cooper boasts proudly as he puts the oven backed gnocchi in the centre of the table next to the salad before passing Rachel her plate of ‘lasagne rolls’

“So Blainey didn’t do anything to help you?” Brittany asks faux innocently 

“Just a little, but it was more me showing him what to do” Cooper tries to pass off

“That might be more believable if we hadn’t all had plenty of Blaine’s cooking before” Jeff replies

“And if you hadn’t burnt toast at Wes’ before being relegated to table duty” Blaine adds making everyone laugh

“How the hell do you know about that?” 

“Wes told me of course…it made us both question how you get on so well living on your own”

“Alright smart ass”

“To be fair to Coop though everyone, he did actually make the tomato sauce for the gnocchi all on his own” Blaine tells the group

“It taste gooood…cooking must be in the genes, even if it’s been dormant for a while” Santana winks at Cooper

“So erm actually I think there’s something you all need to know” Blaine starts, “To make sure none of you get blind sighted”

“What’s up Blaine?” Thad asks full of concern at how anxious Blaine seems to have become all of a sudden

“I’ve agreed to meet with Kurt”

There’s a collective shout of “What?!” Before questions are bombarded at him

“Hey! If you all just shut up and let him finish then you’d have your answers” Sebastian silences them

“Some of you know that Burt, Kurt’s dad had another heart attack”

“Seriously?” Artie asks shocked, “Is he okay?”

“He’s getting there” Rachel replies, her dads having visited Burt to make sure he’s okay and in part to make amends for their frosty behaviour that time

“So anyway” Blaine continues, “Carole via Rachel asked if I would meet with Kurt as Burt’s heart attack was triggered when they were arguing, about me…it seems their relationship has been really strained recently which is of course giving Burt lots of stress.”

Jeff takes a deep breath, “So you’re meeting Kurt because you’d never forgive yourself if you didn’t try and something worse happened to Burt”

“You know none of this is your fault right? You shouldn’t feel the need to meet with him, though I know you wouldn’t be you if you didn’t” Nick says 

“I know. I’ve spoken to Bas and Cooper about this, as well as Wes, David, Natasha and Patrick. Wes is actually going to be there. The decision is made and it’s going to happen the Saturday after court…I just wanted you guys to know in case you bump into Kurt or he talks to you at court or something.”

“We respect it’s your decision…just let us know if there’s anything we can do” Jean-Baptiste tells him

Blaine looks across to Sam who looks hurt though he’s trying to hide it and he knows it’s because this is the first Sam is hearing about this and feels terrible. It’s not that he forgot his best friend, but there were already so many factors and Sam is just as protective as Sebastian, he couldn’t face fighting with him too, but now he needs to make amends. 

When they’ve eaten the group all help tidy up so Blaine uses his chance and pulls Sam to his and Sebastian’s bedroom to talk to where they sit cross legged on the bed, facing each other. 

“I’m sorry I didn’t say anything before”

“No I get it…you’ve got Cooper now and you’re getting more comfortable and talking to Patrick and Natasha you don’t need me so much” Sam looks down at his hands in his lap

“That’s not it at all” Blaine says earnestly and takes Sam’s hands, prompting the blonde to make eye contact again, “I only really spoke to Patrick and Natasha as they haven’t been caught up in any of the Kurt related shit so could give a more unbiased opinion, plus Natasha is a teen specialist psychiatrist so I wanted her professional opinion too. Wes got spoken to because I wanted him to mentor because in Kurt’s mind Wes is more removed from me than you are and it couldn’t be Bas for obvious reasons, and well David was there…it was like things were back at Dalton when I used to talk to them both at night”

“You still could have told me dude”

“I know and I should have I’m sorry…I really am…but I was kind of a coward about telling you. Bas and I had a fight when the question first came up. He knew I would agree and it scared him, not because he thinks I’ll go back to Kurt but because of what it could do to me…and I couldn’t face fighting you either”

“You wouldn’t have”

“Really?”

“Maybe? No…I would have told you you were crazy and would need to check you’ve not been brainwashed somehow…I still kind of want to check that one though”

“I really am sorry for keeping you shut out though Sam. In truth in some ways I’d feel more comfortable with you being there than Wes but that wouldn’t work.”

“No…Kurt can’t stand the sight of me anymore…to be honest I feel the same about him though and Wes can keep level headed…not sure I could do that when he’ll spin the same bull I know he will”

“So are we okay?”

“That depends…will you keep stuff from me again because you’re not sure you won’t like my reaction or will you tell me anyway and we’ll work through it together…like we’ve always done...like Blam best bros do?”

“I’ll tell you and we’ll work it through” Blaine promises and Sam knows he means it, “God I’ve missed you…I haven’t had enough Sammy time recently” Blaine leans forward so they can hug, “Hey…stay over tonight”

“Well duh…you weren’t going to have a choice”

Sebastian opens the door to check on the friends knowing tonight had been a small test on their friendship and smiles at what he sees, “Am I right to assume it’s a sleepover night” his voice breaking them apart

“Yes! How awesome is that?” Sam grins

“It’s awesome” Sebastian laughs

“It’s totally awesome” Blaine pulls on his boyfriend so he can hug the two people who mean the most in the world to him at the same time


	145. It's not weakness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I would just like to say thank you for your patience and kind words. My medical situation is still ongoing so things will continue to be hit and miss over the next few weeks but your support and comments (the good and bad) do genuinely help give me a little boost so please do let me know what you think. I hope you continue to enjoy this story, it's not being given up on, I'm just needing to sort myself out in order to keep writing. :-)

The next week and a half pass too quickly for Blaine but he’s never been more grateful to have the people in his life he currently does. Once again Cooper is waiting for his brother in the waiting room while he sees his therapist, pleased he’s giving therapy a chance at least because although Blaine may seem fine on the surface Cooper knows there’s more going on underneath his exterior, Sebastian’s behaviour has also helped confirm his suspicions. 

When Blaine comes out he looks exhausted, “Can we just go home this time?” he asks quietly

“Of course champ” Cooper smiles and throws a protective arm around his brother as they make their way back to the SUV.

On the drive back Blaine doesn’t respond to anything Cooper says or does, instead remaining silent on the passenger seat staring out the window. When they get home Blaine gets changed into some sweatpants and Sebastian’s Superman lounge-wear top and climbs into bed. When Blaine doesn’t reappear Cooper takes him some tea and despite the closed eyes can tell his brother is awake, after all he used to be the master of pretending to be asleep so he could then sneak out. 

After receiving Cooper’s text message Sebastian doesn’t hang around when his last class finishes and instead rushes home in record time. 

“How is he?” Sebastian asks Cooper as soon as he’s through the door

“No different…do you think we should say to Patrick, Wes and Natasha not to come over tonight?”

“Not yet and seeing them might help”

“Okay just let me know if there’s anything I can do…and you know this therapist guy is probably helping him right if they’re getting him to react”

“Say what you want to say” Sebastian crosses his arms

“You didn’t seem keen on him going to therapy is all”

“That’s not at all true, I fully support him seeing someone if it helps”

“Then what’s the problem”

“There is no problem Cooper, but you shouldn’t assume therapy always helps everyone” Sebastian ends the conversation by walking away and Cooper knows he’s missing something. “Hey killer” Sebastian carefully greets his boyfriend before shucking off his jeans and pulling on some sweats before climbing in behind his boyfriend to spoon him. “I know you’re not asleep” he teases, wiggling his fingers under Blaine’s top to tickly his stomach. Blaine relents and rolls over so he’s chest to chest with his boyfriend, Sebastian immediately seeing the dried tear tracks. “Talk to me B” and places a soothing kiss to his love’s forehead.

Blaine twists and reaches into the top drawer of his bedside cabinet and pulls out a bottle of pills to show them to Sebastian, “We went through some of the questions your dad gave me in preparation of Monday…and well let’s say it wasn’t easy and may have resulted in a full on anxiety attack”

“B” Sebastian soothes and cups his cheek

“He was actually really good and gave me some good techniques to use, but given court starts on Monday and today is Friday he’s suggested I take something to help get me through the days…but then that would be it, the plan would be for me to stop taking them on the last day of court.”

Sebastian thinks for a moment, “Court can and will be brutal in cases like this…they’ve got a good lawyer to represent them as a group and she will try to make your life difficult so it could be worth taking them killer”

Blaine looks down, “If I do…what will you think?”

“What do you mean?”

“Will you think less of me?”

“No of course not!” Sebastian’s brow furrows, “How could you ask that?”

“Because you’ve been so amazing...are being so amazing…I just feel like I shouldn’t need to resort to medication, I should have a better handle on this.”

“Blaine, you’ve been beaten within an inch of your life twice, been disowned by your parents and lost both your grandparents, which I know you still feel guilty for…if anyone in this world should be completely screwed up it’s you but you’re not. You are by far the strongest person I know and taking a couple of pills so you can help put those homophobic bastards in jail is in no way going to change that. You know I reacted badly when my Grand-mere took me to see someone…that was because I wasn’t ready to deal with everything at that time, but you are and you’re doing it head on, so don’t go thinking because when I was younger I chose not to see someone makes you weak for choosing to.”

“No I know everyone deals with things differently”

“Good to know you weren’t being completely stupid then” Sebastian teases and it brings a small smile to Blaine's face

“I love you”

“I love you too” Sebastian leans forward to kiss his boyfriend; as soon as their lips connect Blaine deepens the kiss, pulling Sebastian’s body tight to his own. 

“How much time do we have until Wes, Patrick and Natasha arrive?”

“What do you need Killer B?”

“To feel close to you” Blaine replies as he tugs on his boyfriend’s top, his meaning clear 

It’s not long before skin is pressed against skin, hands roaming and lips locked together. When Sebastian feels Blaine’s erection pressing against his thigh he knows to tread gently, this moment isn’t about getting off but about finding comfort, strength and love from each other. His worries are put to rest though as Blaine’s hand takes his own before pulling it down to their straining erections, their hands joining to wrap around their cocks together. 

Sebastian knows Blaine’s getting close as the kisses become sloppier to make way for little pants, “Let go B…come for me”

It’s the tone of voice Blaine can never resist so he immediately releases with a loud moan, “Sebastian” and feels his boyfriend following quickly behind.

“Shower?” Sebastian asks after a few moments of calm as they hold onto each other

“Shower” Blaine confirms, the two slipping into their en suite hand in hand

Cooper grins when he sees the couple emerge, “It sounds like you’re feeling better squirt” 

“Shut up” Blaine blushes making his brother laugh 

Cooper composes himself, “Seriously, are you okay though?”

“I’m okay” Blaine smiles

“As you’ve had a shower come here then” Cooper comments as he wraps him in a hug, Blaine giving him a weggie in retaliation, “You little!” 

Just then the doorbell goes so Blaine goes to answer, finding the Montgomeries there plus Xavier, shocking Blaine a little.

“I can come back another time” Xavier quickly says

“No stay” Blaine smiles, hugging the other three in greeting 

“What’s going on?” Sebastian asks his dad 

“Just a couple of updates, I was going to call but…”

“We saw each other in our hotel, turns out we’re staying in the same place, so we said he should come too, I hope that’s okay, sorry we should have called to ask” Patrick admits

“No, it’s fine” Sebastian dismisses, a very different reaction to the one he gave those few months ago

“What updates?” Blaine asks as they gather drinks

“Dr Jerry McCann has confirmed he’ll be in attendance next week”

“I wonder why he didn’t mention it earlier” Blaine frowns

“He probably didn’t want to detract from your session” Natasha answers

“Plus the official channel is to come through me in regards to your case” Xavier adds and Blaine nods in understanding

“What’s for dinner?” Wes queries

“Chinese” Sebastian replies

“Is Sam coming round?” Wes asks jokingly but just then the blonde lets himself in

“Hi everyone!” Sam greets, “When’s food arriving? I’m starving!”

“In about twenty minutes” Sebastian answers

“Can you call Kitty at some point man over the weekend?” Sam asks Blaine

“What did she threaten?” Blaine questions

“Erm” Sam glances round at their company, “Nothing I want to repeat” making Blaine and Sebastian laugh

“So who wants to bring up the elephant in the room first?” Blaine looks round as he tucks himself into Sebastian’s side

“That’s the thing you say when there’s something everyone wants to bring up right?” Sam looks to his best friend

“Got it in one”

“Then since you’ve asked us you don’t mind one of us asking in front of everyone else so I’ll do it…how did today go?” Sam says sincerely but his nature makes Natasha giggle

“You know him well Sam” Patrick laughs

“Oh I know him the best…besides Sebastian”

“Hey!” Cooper interjects playfully, “I think I need to get some credit in here”

“You’re still in third...joined with Wes” Sam tells him seriously, “Anyway…BD?”

Blaine takes a deep breath, “It was hard but productive I guess…I’ve erm got some techniques to start using to better deal with anxiety and anxiety attacks”

“What about next week?” Natasha asks softly, “How are you dealing with that sweetheart?”

“Jerry gave me some back-up” Blaine replies and it’s enough for everyone in the room to understand

“Remember…nobody outside of this room knows Blaine is seeing Jerry” Sebastian reminds them

“We’ll keep it that way” Wes promises with conviction

“I used to take anxiety medication at one point” Xavier slightly randomly admits

“What?” Sebastian frowns 

Xavier shrugs, “It helped get me back on track at one point…I think sometimes the ones you’d least suspect are the ones who take it”

“That is very true” Natasha agrees


	146. Stand brave, stand tall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So things are starting to look a little better and I thought a good way to celebrate would be to get another chapter up.
> 
> I want to say a massive thank you for all your comments, feedback and kind words over the last couple of months. Your unwavering support despite the disasterous lack of update genuinely meant so very much, particularly through some of the rougher days. I would also like to say sorry for not directly replying to any of your comments, which is very rude of me but I hadn't really been in a position to. Nevertheless it doesn't take away from how much they meant.
> 
> Lastly, things aren't quite back to normal but I hope you enjoy this one.

“Deep breaths B” Sebastian soothes as he fastens Blaine’s tie, “Have you taken your medication yet?” Blaine shakes his head and closes his eyes, “I’ll get you some water so you can” Sebastian carefully places a kiss on his forehead and steps out of their bedroom, Blaine not moving an inch.

“Thank you” Blaine whispers before taking the water from Sebastian and swallowing a tablet from the small brown bottle his therapist had given him. He then cuddles into 

Sebastian, “I can do this, I know I can…they aren’t going to get away with what they did”

“And there’s my killer” Sebastian smirks and presses a kiss into Blaine’s curls, which have been tamed more today for going before the judge

There’s a gentle knock at the door, “Can I come in?” Cooper’s voice says through the door

“Yes” Blaine replies and sees his brother suited

“So are those scumbags going to get it today?”

Blaine nods, “They’re going to get it” and gives his brother a hug

“Your dad is meeting us at court right?” Cooper asks Sebastian

“Correct, today he’s solely B’s legal representative so he’s going through all the motions, which will include a private meeting with Blaine before session starts.”

“That makes sense I just wanted to be sure I hadn’t missed anything”

Sebastian looks at the time, “We need to leave killer” 

“I know” Blaine replies, “So let’s do this”

On the way to the court house Blaine, Sebastian, Sam and Cooper are in one car with the rest of the bachelor apartment having already left in another. Everyone else in the group is making their own way there, being sure to arrive before Blaine so they can greet him outside; truly showing him how much support he has. 

When Blaine steps out of the car he quickly takes Sebastian’s hand, the couple being flanked by Sam and Cooper who almost look as if they are body guards.  
Blaine pauses, “I can’t believe it” he whispers as he looks up the stairs and not only sees Patrick, Natasha and Wes, but also Tabatha with them. His eyes then shift to take in all his New York based friends, plus Kitty who is stood next to Hunter with a steely look of determination and pride in her eyes Blaine recognises as being her pre-competition mind set and finds his own strength in it. He then looks across and sees, Mike, Quinn, Puck, Tina and Beat, Trent and David. More support follows in the form of Michael, Shelby and Sue also being there.

Blaine gives Kitty a hug, “You should have told me you were coming”

“I would have if you called me back” Kitty pinches his ass, “I’ll take that as payment of being ignored” she winks

“You really should have told me though” Blaine continues onto Tabatha

“Where would the fun in that be?” Tabatha teases, “Plus it was a little touch and go at one point as our rehearsal schedule kept moving around so I didn’t want to say I would be   
here just in case I then had to let you down”

Blaine nods in acknowledgement before turning to Sue, “Coach”

“Young Burt Reynolds”

“Do I want to ask?”

“You know some things you’re better off not knowing” Sue replies with a sly smile, in turn getting a small one from Blaine

“But if you and Kitty are here, why isn’t everyone else?” Sam asks Sue with a confused frown

Blaine replies instead, “Because if they were all out at once it would raise suspicion” 

“In some ways I think we should all be thankful you’re innately good” Sue tells her former Cheerios captain

Blaine looks to Shelby, “I didn’t expect to see you here either…where’s Beth?”

“She’s at a music group the preschool run”

“I’m sure she’ll be enjoying herself then”

Just then Xavier steps out, “It’s best if you all head inside now, Blaine, Sebastian, it’s time for our meeting” the couple follow Xavier, who’s clearly on work mode, in and see Sarah, who’s flown in to be his assistant on this case. After exchanging quick greetings they get to it, Xavier reiterating the briefing he’d already given Blaine on questions he’s likely to be asked and on how the defence may try to trip him up and make it sound as though he provoked his attackers. He also reiterates how the couple need to behave in the court room as Sebastian will be sat next to Blaine to provide support before stepping out and speaking to those in attendance to support Blaine about how they need to behave so as not to impact on the trial.

Xavier re-enters the room, “It’s time”

The couple stand and Sebastian makes sure to gain Blaine’s eye contact, “You can do this”

Blaine nods, “I can do this”

Once the judge has entered, addressed the jury and everyone is settled again the hearing begins. 

The judge looks to Xavier, “Mr Smythe, your first witness”

Xavier stands, “Thank you your honour, my first witness to the stand is the victim, Blaine Anderson.” Once Blaine is sworn in Xavier begins, “Mr Anderson, please can you describe to the court the events that happened that night, leading up to and including the attack, being sure to include all the details you can remember.”  
Blaine nods, “Yes” He’d gone over this answer with Xavier previously and knows to speak the absolute truth, being sure to include details so everything is out in the open in the first place to limit the wiggle room of the prosecution, and so it didn’t turn out with him looking like he’s hiding something. Following his therapist’s advice Blaine looks at Xavier’s forehead so it looks as though he’s speaking directly to him, but is avoiding the eye contact, which can cause his emotions to swirl. “I’d been at my friend’s apartment that evening, I was there making part of my boyfriend, erm Sebastian Smythe’s, birthday present. I was walking from their apartment to the subway station, it’s only about a ten minute walk. About halfway there Kurt Hummel, my ex-boyfriend must have seen me walking as he called out my name and ran to catch me up. Kurt wanted to talk about our relationship, which ended badly almost two years before that day. I didn’t want to talk though, we argued for a moment as Kurt wouldn’t let go of my arm and that’s when they approached.”

“Please confirm who they are”

“The men who attacked me”

“And they are the men sat on the defence bench?” Xavier pushes

Blaine looks over to the bench, “They are” and then looks immediately back to Xavier

“What happened when they approached?” Xavier resumes his questioning

“They mocked us for having a lover’s tiff” Blaine answers

“Do you remember what they said Mr Anderson?”

“Yes they said, ‘What do we have here, a lover’s tiff?’ I told them we didn’t want any trouble; that I just wanted to go home and apologised for any offence we caused…they said that wasn’t possible. Kurt snapped at them and I asked him not to, which they mocked. The group then surrounded so I took my satchel off, knowing what was about to happen. One lunged at me and I dodged and pushed back. At that time Kurt ran away as there was a gap in their line. From then they all started attacking me. I used to box and have some martial arts training, which I used to defend myself, but it was four versus one. I took a blow to my temple that was aided by a knuckle duster that sent me to the ground. From there they dragged me into the alleyway and held my limbs so I couldn’t curl into a protective roll. I don’t remember much from there as I lost consciousness.” Blaine’s voice is shaky by the end of his account but he’s held it together remarkably well. 

“Thank you Mr Anderson” Xavier nods to Blaine, “At this moment I would like to present the surveillance footage and manuscript from the surveillance footage of the takeout   
restaurant who’s dumpster Mr Anderson was thrown into that shows his account to be accurate”

“Thank you Mr Smythe” The judge replies as he takes the evidence from the orderly.

“So Mr Anderson” Xavier continues, “Given your account would you say you could have in anyway provoked your attackers with your behaviour?”

“Objection your honour, this calls for speculation” Ms Sharpe, the defence lawyer tries

“Your honour, I’m simply asking Mr Anderson to clarify whether he was in anyway provocative in his behaviour, merely a confirmation of the facts he’s presented”

“Allowed, please answer Mr Smythe’s question Mr Anderson”

“No…I tried to placate them, not provoke and if that had the opposite effect then I’m truly sorry as I didn’t mean any offence…I just wanted to go home.”

“I have no more questions for Mr Anderson at the time but I would like to have the right to recall him as a rebuttal witness.”

“Granted Mr Smythe. Ms Sharpe, if you would like to proceed with the witness.”

“You say you did nothing to provoke my clients” Ms Sharpe comments as she walks forward a little towards Blaine and then looks at him  
Xavier stands and ducks his head towards the judge after this has continued for some time, “Your honour, may I suggest Ms Sharpe asks my client a question instead of merely making statements to him, or else he won’t know what he’s meant to be answering….unless of course it’s been deemed that he should be considered a hostile witness.”

“Mr Smythe makes a valid point Ms Sharpe, how is the witness to answer if you ask them no questions? As it stands so far you have only made a statement and appear to be staring him out. At this time I would like to remember the room that all witnesses will be treated with full respect and should not be subjected to intimidation techniques.” The judge replies, Xavier having used his contacts to find out what he could about Judge Morris, which included his dislike for some of the more theatrical techniques of law.

“Mr Anderson, are you sure you did nothing to provoke my clients?” 

“Yes I’m sure”

“Then why do you suppose they entered a fight with you?”

Blaine frowns, “I didn’t invite them to a fight, they chose to attack and if you are asking me to speculate upon their motives, which I’d rather not do, I’d say it was because they discovered that I’m gay as previous to that, they had paid no attention to me on the street and before they approached me I hadn’t paid them any attention either.”

“You seem sure”

“I am sure…if I could go back in time so it never happened I would”

“Yet this isn’t the first time you’ve found yourself in this position Mr Anderson”

Xavier stands, “Objection your honour, previous instances of such incidents play no part in this case”

“I’m merely trying to establish behaviour patterns your honour” Ms Sharper refutes, “I have a point to this line of questioning”

“Then I suggest you make it” the Judge answers sternly

“Mr Anderson, I see you have been the ‘victim’ of another attack that was supposedly a hate crime”

“Objection” Xavier stands once more, “A judgement has been passed on the incident Ms Sharpe is referring to, in which the perpetrators have all been charged with committing a   
hate crime, there is nothing ‘supposed’ about it.”

“Ms Sharpe please make your point or cease this route of questioning” The judge orders

“Yes your honour, Mr Anderson, thankfully it is incredibly rare for somebody to be a victim of a hate crime, yet you have been the victim of two. Would you say this is having the habit of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, or are you actually provocative in your behaviour? I ask as in both cases you are the common factor.”  
Xavier stands but the judge beats him to it, “Before Mr Smythe can object again I would like to remind you Ms Sharpe that we are not examining the first attack on Mr Anderson and that your question is demanding a high level of speculation, this is your last chance at this line of questioning or I’ll excuse Mr Anderson from the stand.”

“Can…can I” Blaine starts quietly, stuttering each attempt at his words before taking a deep breath then looking to the judge, “Can I say something?”

The judge looks at Blaine, clearly assessing him for a moment, but he nods, “Go ahead Mr Anderson”

Blaine then turns to Ms Sharpe, “You think that maybe that I started each attack? That I provoked my attackers on each occasion?”

“Well did you?”

“No…If you’ve read the file you’ll know that the first attack happened when I was fourteen when I was waiting outside with my friend for his dad to pick us up after the Sadie Hawkins dance. I was fourteen, it was my first high school formal and I nearly didn’t go, but my friend convinced me to. We were just two boys who happened to be gay who went together as friends, nothing more nothing less, but apparently that deserved being beaten to the point where I almost died. In neither case did I volunteer my sexuality. I was outed by people I thought were my friends at high school and as for the attack we’re here for today, I didn’t run down the street shouting ‘I’m gay’. Your clients only came over to attack myself and Mr Hummel after overhearing a, to be fair heated, conversation between my ex-boyfriend and I. The only way I can think I was provocative in either case was by my sexuality being discovered as gay, which I don’t think is reason to beat someone.” Blaine then looks to the judge, “I’m sorry your honour, that’s all I wanted to say.”

“Thank you Mr Anderson. Ms Sharpe, any other questions?”

“No your honour”

“You’re excused from the stand Mr Anderson” 

Blaine nods politely, “Thank you” then goes and sits next to Sebastian, immediately taking his hand underneath the desk

Xavier then takes the defence by surprise by calling the first of the attackers to the stand instead of Kurt like Mr Sharpe had expected him to do. After he’s been sworn in Xavier looks to the man, “Mr Filby, please can you describe the events of the night in question.”

“I was walking home with my friends, we’d just got off at the Subway station.” Jack Filby, one of the group members Xavier had identified as not being the brightest, shrugs.

“Care to add a little more detail?” 

“Can’t really remember anything else”

“Do you remember my client, Mr Anderson?”

Jack looks across and locks eyes with Blaine, who shifts in his seat in response, “Yeah…I remember him”

“Ah we have some progress then” Xavier smiles, “Can you remember what made you approach my client?” 

“The other one”

“I’m sorry but can you clarify what you mean by ‘the other one’?”

“Yeah…it wasn’t him that got my attention…it was the one he was with”

“Do you mean Mr Hummel, the gentleman sitting over there?” Xavier gestures to Kurt

“That’s him”

“What was it about Mr Hummel that got your attention?” 

“He was shouting at your client…telling him he still loved him”

“And why did that get your attention?”

“It’s not normal”

“Not normal to see on the street?” Xavier asks

“Well yeah, two guys telling each other they love them like that…it’s just not normal”

“I’m being a bit slow today” Xavier plays overly politely, “When you say not normal, what exactly do you mean?”

“Two men can’t love each other…it’s wrong”

“So if Mr Hummel hadn’t shouted that he still loved Mr Anderson you would have left them alone?”

“I guess”

“Sorry Mr Filby, but can you confirm yes or no?”

“Well we wouldn’t have gone over if we didn’t know they were gay, we wouldn’t have had reason to” At that moment there’s a short outburst and scuffle from the desk where the   
other defendants are seated.

“Ms Sharpe, please keep the rest of your clients under control, I will not have such behaviour in my court” The judge order

“Sorry your honour”

“Continue Mr Smythe” the judge orders

“So Mr Filby, you admit the only reason why you approached Mr Anderson and Mr Hummel was because their sexuality became known to you”

“Ummmm…well…ermmm” Jack replies, finally seeming to have realised he’s made a mistake and looking to Ms Sharpe for help

The judge steps in, “Mr Filby may I remind you that you are under oath and as such should only reply with the absolute truth, otherwise you can be charged”

Jack looks between the judge, Ms Sharpe and the rest of his friends for a few moments before lowering his head to his chest, “Yeah we only went over cos they’re fags”

“You mean homosexuals” Xavier corrects

“Same thing” Jack shrugs

“Okay so you only approached because of their sexuality…but what happened after? Who started the fight? Did Mr Anderson start the fight against all of you?”  
Jack snorts, “No a fag wouldn’t dare” causing another scuffle at the defendant desk

Ms Sharpe stands, “Your honour may I request an early recess?” 

“Request denied, continue Mr Smythe”

“So if Mr Anderson didn’t start the fight, who did? I see from reports it seems you suffered from a blow to the face”

“He got lucky” Jack spits back

“Who got lucky?” 

“Your one, the other one had already run off like a girl by then” Jack replies continuing to be wound up by the stress of being on the stand and the information Xavier has already pulled from him, causing him to slip up even more

“So Mr Anderson took you off guard?” Xavier asks quickly, keeping the pressure on

“Well I didn’t expect him to hit back”

“Hit back? So someone hit him first?” Xavier questions firmly

“Erm…well yeah I guess…where did a fucking fag learn where to fight? Normally they just go down”

“So you’ve done this to more homosexuals then? It just so happened Mr Anderson was harder to do over than the others, which is how he landed a blow to your face?”

“Didn’t last long though…we got him didn’t we?”

Xavier immediately composes himself, “Thank you your honour, I have no more questions”

From there the rest of the court session descends into Kurt, and the two takeout owners providing statements that support Blaine’s and the rest of the defendants practically turning on each other in an attempt to reduce their sentences knowing Jack has already sealed their fate.

By the time the session ends Blaine is clearly exhausted from the long, emotional day as he and Sebastian step into a side room to speak with Xavier, while Cooper talks to the Montogmerys in the corridor and the rest of their support party wait outside.

“Right I’m definitely going to book a restaurant for tomorrow night!” Rachel beams excitedly

“Wait what?” Sam asks immediately

“Well the sentencing is tomorrow, we all know they’re going down now so we should go out and celebrate, but it can be a surprise for Blaine and Sebastian”

“No!” Sam practically shouts at her

“What do you mean no?” Rachel crosses her arms

“Jesus you can be so dumb, that is like the worst idea in the world right now and you seriously don’t know why?” Kitty steps in

“Rachel” Wes steps in, “Sam and Kitty, and whoever else agrees with them are right. Do not book anything for tomorrow, in fact don’t expect to see or even speak to Blaine over the next couple of nights”

At that moment car service appears, causing Cooper briefly to stick his head outside, Sam and Wes immediately picking up on what’s about to happen as Blaine and Sebastian appear with Blaine quickly disappearing into the waiting car.

“Sam…Wes” Sebastian says to them so they get into the car too alongside Cooper.

Almost as soon as that car pulls away does another appear. Patrick looks to the group, “I’m sure you probably all want to speak to Blaine, perhaps even want to celebrate with him, but please, in this situation let him reach out first, he knows you’re all here, but he needs to be able to process everything in his own time and peace if he feels that’s what he needs.”

Xavier stands by Patrick, “Needless to say that also means you shouldn’t bombard Sebastian, let him focus on Blaine.”

“Of course” Jeff replies

“Thank you” Natasha replies earnestly, “I know you’ll all do what’s best for your friends, can you all get home or to wherever you’re heading okay?”

“We’ll be fine” Hunter smiles, holding onto Kitty

With that Sarah, Xavier, Patrick, Natasha and Tabatha get into the second car.


	147. It's okay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Once again I am so sorry for not getting this fic updated sooner. My aim is to put an update up every two weeks now and steadily build up to regular updates how it used to be in the good days! 
> 
> Thank you so incredibly much for all the support and comments that have come through during my radio silence. There have been some absolutely fantastic insights and ideas and I sincerely apologise for not having replied to individual comments how I would usually as I know it's terribly rude. However they really did give me the drive to put this together and to keep going in more ways than one. I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint and is worthy of all of your ongoing support for this fic!

When they get back into the apartment, Wes, Sam and Cooper give Blaine and Sebastian plenty of space. 

“So what are we making?” Sebastian asks his boyfriend after they’ve both changed out of their suits and are in the kitchen

“Bread…and red velvet chocolate brownies”

Sebastian nods, “Bread first?”

“Bread first” Blaine confirms and the couple get to it

In the meantime Wes calls his dad, “Hi dad, are you all coming back here or?” he trails off

“We’re back at the hotel…we know Blaine well enough to know he needs space right now. You four are the ones he really needs around him at the moment. What is he doing now?”

Wes sticks his head into the kitchen briefly to see Sebastian and Blaine forcefully throwing bread dough around, “Making bread” he replies once he’s back in the living room again

“To be fair that’s probably pretty therapeutic”

“It looks it” Wes agrees

“I’m on standby if you need me Wes…we all are in case any of you need any of us”

“Okay…thanks dad”

“Any time”

Cooper comes back from the guestroom he was staying in, “So what do we do while they’re doing that?” he asks Wes and Sam

“Maybe we join them” Sam shrugs

“I don’t know” Wes cautions

A loud thump sounds from the kitchen, “Maybe when he’s moved on from bread” Sam corrects himself, “In the meantime The Avengers or Harry Potter…though I know which one   
I think will work best for this”

“Tugging into his subconscious?” Cooper asks

“Ermmmm” Sam frowns trying to remember what that means, he knows he knows what it means, but his heightened emotions at seeing and knowing his best bro is in distress make his dyslexia play up more than usual

“Getting through to him without him realising” Wes tries to clarify without making Sam feel awkward

“Oh yeah” Sam smiles, “And totally”

“So Avengers?” Cooper questions

“Duh” Sam rolls his eyes, “He’s basically Bruce Banner and Sebastian is Tony Stark”

In the kitchen Blaine is truly taking his emotions out on the bread dough, “Hey killer” Sebastian tries to soothe as he sees his boyfriend is entering a downward spiral, “B listen to me” At this point Sebastian can tell Blaine can’t really hear him so takes hold of his wrists to stop him pummelling the dough, “Stop”

“Bastian” Blaine practically whimpers

“Come with me” Blaine nods and takes his boyfriend’s hand

Sebastian shakes his head at the three in the living room when they glance in the couple’s direction so they go back to looking at the screen. As he tugs his boyfriend towards their front door Blaine snags a photo from the side and clutches it to his chest, which confirms Sebastian’s suspicions.

It’s not cold but the air has a slight chill to it still up on the roof so Sebastian pauses momentarily to grab a blanket from their large storage cupboard near their front door before continuing to guide his boyfriend up into fresh air. After they’ve settled on a chair together under the blanket on the roof does Sebastian take hold of the photograph of Blaine’s grandparents from his boyfriend’s grasp and holds it out in front of them before speaking softly, “It’s not your fault B…Blaine listen to me…it’s not your fault”

“Please don’t”

“No…you need to hear me and really listen to what I’m saying…it’s not your fault…and we both know they wouldn’t want you to keep blaming yourself…I know you still think what happened to them is your fault, but it’s not.”

“Stop” Blaine begs through the one word

“It’s…not…your…fault” Sebastian pushes, emphasising each word, tipping Blaine over the edge into tears that once they start don’t stop and quickly the shorter’s body is being wracked harshly with sobs.

Blaine still pulled tight into Sebastian’s chest when he gets his breathing under control, “I still feel responsible…if it wasn’t for me they would still be here…I killed them Bas” his monotone voice is cut off by his own tears

This is the most Blaine has said about his grandparent’s death since he admitted similar feelings while still in hospital. Sebastian fights his own tears, although he suspected, knew even, that his boyfriend had been harbouring these feelings, being confronted with it head on and seeing Blaine’s guilt and grief combined is still difficult. 

“You can’t go on thinking like that. It was a freak accident B caused by the other driver and the crash barrier being faulty.”

“They wouldn’t have been driving if it wasn’t for me!” Blaine tries to pull away but Sebastian holds tight

“You said earlier while under oath you did nothing to provoke what those bastards did to you”

“I didn’t”

“Then it’s not your fault in any way. It’s not your fault you were in hospital, the other driver and crash barrier were not and are not your fault either. Camille and Joseph wouldn’t want you to blame yourself.”

“You don’t know that…you didn’t even really know them” Blaine throws back but immediately regret what he says as he feels his boyfriend tense, “Bas…I…”

“Know you’re right I guess” Sebastian tries to dismiss but his hold still doesn’t feel as warm

“No, you got to know them well over the time you spent with them. They loved you you know. Told me not to let you go.” Blaine admits

“I didn’t think anyone was good enough for their little bumble bee” Sebastian remembers fondly

“Anyone isn’t…you on the other hand are…I just don’t know how to feel differently”

“I think talking to Jerry about it in a session might help”

“Maybe…but talking with you always helps best”

“You flatter me B”

“It’s true though”

Sebastian places a kiss into Blaine’s curls, “I also think you should let Cooper know how you feel”

“Why?” Blaine questions from his place against Sebastian’s chest

“Because I know you’ve avoided speaking to him about them…and…well, they were his grandparents too. He nearly lost you and lost them in a very small amount of time and knowing you, you’re feeling guilty for it when you shouldn’t, but unless you talk to him, neither of you will have a chance to actually speak about and properly process how you feel.”

“I wouldn’t know what to say or how to start”

“That’s okay…you don’t always have to know how to start before you do. I know you like to be able to get things out eloquently B, but sometimes just going for it pays off.”

“If you weren’t going to be a kick ass lawyer you’d be an amazing therapist”

“That’s rubbish and you know it. I know you and I love you more than anything else on this planet, that’s how I know to give you a push when you need it….maybe if you don’t feel like you can talk to Cooper yet you could spend some time in your music area.”

“I still want brownies” 

“I’ll make you brownies” Sebastian presses another kiss into the curls he loves so much, “Ready to go back down then?”

“Yes…and I’m sorry. You did know Nona and Grandpa”

“Don’t worry about it killer”

“But you did, and they knew you too”

“And yet they trusted me with you” Sebastian tries to tease

“Because they see what I see…that we’re both lucky to have each other”

“Sap”

“But I’m yours”

“And I’m yours”

The couple share a kiss before Blaine takes a deep breath and heads back down with his boyfriend.

“Squirt?” Cooper asks gently when he sees Blaine follow Sebastian in, eyes clearly puffy and watery still from crying. 

When Blaine makes eye contact with his brother he can’t hold it in anymore and breaks once again, “I killed them Coop” and starts crying once more

Cooper is up like a shot and cuddling his baby brother before anyone can blink. Sebastian silently lifts the picture of Camille and Joseph so Cooper knows exactly what thought process Blaine is on, before placing it back on the cabinet. With a nod from Sebastian, Wes and Sam follow the taller boy into the kitchen and help make brownies, giving the brothers the space they need in this moment.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry” Blaine manages to get out in breaths between sobs

“You don’t need to be Blainey”

“But I took them away”

“You didn’t do anything of the sort. If they can hear you say that they’re going to haunt you good for thinking that” Cooper manages to get Blaine onto the couch but continues to hold him. After a few minutes of silence except for Blaine’s sniffing, Cooper continues, “Is this why you’ve avoided talking to me about them? Because I knew you were, no matter how smoothly you changed subjects. I told you I know you baby brother, more than you realise.”

“I’m sorry”

“No…don’t be sorry…you have no reason to be. I just wish we could have spoken about how you’ve been feeling before. You didn’t take them away from me Blainey. It was fate.”

Blaine furrows his brow, “Fate?”

“Yeah. They knew they wouldn’t be around for that much longer” When Blaine flinches Cooper holds him tighter, “Just listen to me. They were in their nineties Blaine, they knew they wouldn’t be with us that much longer, that’s a fact of life and they didn’t shy away from it. But what they didn’t want was to be without the other. You know what they were like, you probably knew them best so you know they’d have rather gone the way they did than in bed one at a time.”

“I didn’t know they felt like that”

“Because they knew their passing would be harder on you than anyone so didn’t want to talk to you about such things, they weren’t ready to do that to their bumble bee”

“Maybe I didn’t know them that well after all”

“Stop that. You have never been self-pitying so don’t you dare start.”

“Whatever. You can’t and won’t convince me that they would have wanted to go together while rushing to the airport because they feared I was going to die”

“How many people choose how they want to die and how many people get to go that way if they do? Hmm? Think about it.” Cooper takes a deep breath as he feels Blaine flinch and strengthen his hold on him. “Look squirt I don’t mean to sound harsh or upset you more but you need to learn that not everything shit that happens is your fault.” 

Blaine takes a deep shaky breath. “I miss them…I wasn’t ready to say goodbye” 

“I miss them too but would you ever be ready to say goodbye to them?”

“No” Blaine replies slightly sulkily which actually makes Cooper feel better

“It’s not your fault Blaine” Cooper says again now he feels like his brother is ready to listen

Sebastian appears in front of them at that moment and kneels down in front of his boyfriend, “It really isn’t B, and you need to believe that”

Blaine sits up slightly from where he’d been heavily leaning on Cooper while in his brother’s protective hug and takes a moment to look at the two of them, then turns and sees Wes and Sam standing in the entrance to the kitchen who both give him a nod, before he once again locks eyes with Sebastian and Cooper.

“Blaine” Cooper starts again, “I’m not saying this to make you feel better, let’s face it, when have I ever done that? It’s not your fault...it really isn’t”

Blaine turns so his only focus is on his big brother and Cooper can’t help but notice how young Blaine looks all of a sudden and it strikes him that in the grand scheme of things he is. After all Blaine is still only eighteen and yet at the same time as being young in some ways, he’s also old beyond his years in others. This realisation sparks another that Cooper’s thought of before but perhaps never really understood the impact or meaning - in many ways Blaine didn’t really have a childhood, he had to grow up far too quickly, take care of himself and face a lot of hostilities and prejudices in the outside world and in his own home, going through most of it completely alone. No wonder he puts the blame for negatives in his life on himself, he’s never had anybody to tell or show him otherwise, instead only experienced loneliness that would have confirmed he was the source of the problems, after all why else would he be the one to be abandoned. 

“Coop?” Blaine starts shyly, nervously, clearly dreading the answer to the question he’s about to ask, “Are you sure you never thought it was my fault for even a second?”

“Not even a millisecond. Squirt the idea that what happened to them could have been your fault never even formed in my mind, simply because it’s not and cannot be your fault. What I do know though is that I’m so so happy and thankful I didn’t lose you.”

Blaine lunges forward into his brothers arms, one of the places he always wanted to be able to go when he got scared late at night when he was little and Cooper was in high school but never dared. “It’s really not my fault?”

“It’s really not” Cooper reassures

“It’s not your fault killer” Sebastian adds

“Blaine, it isn’t your fault in anyway” Wes emphasises 

“It’s really not BD” Sam soothes

Blaine takes a deep cleansing breath, “It’s not my fault” and everyone else in the room can practically see the weight of guilt lift from his shoulders.


	148. A weight has been lifted

Early the next morning Sebastian is pulled from his sleep by Blaine slipping out of bed and getting dressed. “B? You okay? We don’t need to get up yet.”

“Sorry I didn’t mean to wake you but I was going to leave you a note. I’m going to go for a walk with Patrick, you should get some more sleep Bas, or you can come too if you want. It’s up to you…I couldn’t sleep anymore and knew he’d be awake, which is why I messaged him as I know you didn’t sleep well the night before and I didn’t want to take any more of your sleep” Blaine rambles

“B…breathe” Sebastian soothes, “Even if it was because you wanted to talk to Patrick in private without me there it would be fine” 

“But it’s not that…I just need some air after last night and before today”

“Understandable” Sebastian replies as he slips out of bed

“Why are you getting up?”

“I’m not going to get anymore sleep and I want coffee”

“Come with me then?”

“If you want me to”

“Always” Blaine smiles softly, “Thank you for loving me”

“Don’t be an idiot…never thank me for that. How could I not?” Sebastian replies as he wraps his love in a warm embrace, “Thank you for letting us in last night” he continues and places a kiss to Blaine’s forehead, making his meaning clear 

“Thank you for helping me be able to” Blaine admits, “I didn’t want to see a way out at first, but then I couldn’t…and I tried to…I really did”

“Always, in the same way you help me when I can’t find the way”

The couple then get dressed and grab a travel mug of coffee each before walking to the park via a bakery, picking up pastries, and meet Patrick by the entrance nearest to their   
home.

“I wasn’t sure if I would be seeing you this morning Sebastian” Patrick greets both boys with a hug

“I was in a light sleep so woke up when B got out of bed…I hope you don’t mind me tagging along”

“Of course I don’t and out of us three, I’m definitely the third wheel” Patrick smiles before turning to Blaine, “How are you doing kiddo?”

“Breakfast first?” Blaine asks

“Breakfast first” Patrick agrees so they sit on a bench until they’ve finished their pastries and continue to walk with their coffees, Blaine and Sebastian having got top ups when they stopped on the way and got one for Patrick too.

After eating the three start an easy stroll, Blaine holding onto Sebastian’s hand on one side and Patrick walking on his other. Although Patrick had been there for him in many   
ways, opening up to his adoptive father figure was still difficult for Blaine in some ways. 

“It’s a beautiful morning” Patrick comments, feeling the tension radiating off Blaine and knowing he’s not quite ready to talk about whatever he wanted to. “I like to think of it as a   
sign for the good to come today”

“It is beautiful, but I’m not sure about that”

“Why’s that?” Patrick asks gently

“It’s harder to see the good than it was”

“That’s understandable, but don’t lose sight of it…being able to see the good, even where others can’t, is a part of what makes you you, makes you special.”

“I remember Camille saying that was one of her favourite things about you killer” Sebastian adds casually, “Her ray of sunshine” he teases lightly, trying to make memories of Camille and Joseph positive once more, knowing that was something that held him back for too long after his Grand-mere died and would have after his Grand-pere’s death if it   
hadn’t been for Blaine. 

When Blaine blushes slightly both Patrick and Sebastian are a little relieved, “I wish they were here for today” he admits

“I’m sure they are in a way” Patrick says

“They were too spiritual not to be” Sebastian agrees

Blaine then takes a big breath and closes his eyes for a moment to encourage himself to say what he’d managed to, and started to believe, last night, “I didn’t kill them”

Sebastian smiles slightly with pride, which Patrick notices so realises this revelation is recent, “Of course you didn’t” and pulls Blaine into a hug, “I told you, I got you Blaine, however you need us, Natasha and are here for you…and you too Sebastian.”

Sebastian nods in thanks, not wanting to interrupt more, “You’ve been here for me how I never knew I needed, or forgot I did at least.” Blaine confesses before pulling Sebastian into the hug, too, “Both of you” Blaine reinforces.

They continue to walk and talk for a little while longer before needing to split ways to get ready for court. 

When the couple get back to their apartment Cooper and Wes are both up. “You okay squirt?”

“Yeah…didn’t you see my note?”

“The note and the fact Sebastian was obviously with you let me know you were safe, but not if you were okay”

“There’s fresh coffee in the pot” Wes tells them

“Thanks” Blaine replies, “And I didn’t mean to worry either of you…I just needed some air”

“That’s understandable…I just worry about you little brother” Cooper smiles softly

“I know” Blaine sits down on the couch next to his brother and immediately finds himself under a protective arm, which he leans in to “Did you sleep okay?” 

“Better than I did the night before…you?”

“Same...what about you Wes?”

“I think we’re all in the same category” Wes half smiles, “How was dad?”

“Positive yet logical” Blaine replies making Wes laugh 

Sebastian comes back in with toast for him and Blaine, “Have you two already eaten?”

“We have” Wes replies

“Thought so…come on killer, got to have something other than coffee in you” Sebastian lovingly tells him while passing him a plate

It’s clear eating isn’t on Blaine’s to do list right now but he manages to eat one and a half slices which is enough for Sebastian

When they pull up at the courthouse Blaine can’t decide if he’s not ready to go in or whether he can’t wait for it to be over.

“Ready killer?” Sebastian asks gently

After a few moments Blaine looks his boyfriend dead in the eyes and replies, “Let’s do this” 

As per the previous day, Blaine holds Sebastian’s hand tightly as they make their way up to the building, Wes, Cooper and Sam, having joined them before they left, forming a protective shield around them, only letting Patrick and Xavier get close until the couple disappear into the room with the elder Smythe to discuss the day’s proceedings.

“Do you think he’ll read a victim’s statement before the judge starts the sentencing?” Rachel asks out of nowhere

“No” Cooper responds

“We know he’s not” Wes adds

“Oh…but why?” Rachel questions with a furrowed brow

“Because we’re all here” Sam answers

“Would it be better if we went?” Kitty asks, not wanting to be imposing. She’s probably the closest to being able to imagine what her curly haired friend is going through and if she were in his position, she wouldn’t want to read a statement out in front of friends and family either.

“I’m not sure I understand” Rachel continues, “We were all there, we all saw what happened and watched him get better. It’s not like the last time, he wasn’t alone.”

“Statements are very personal Rachel” Patrick tries to explain but it’s obvious she, and maybe a few of the others, aren’t quite understanding.

Before anyone can question what Patrick means Wes takes over, “We all might have been there for the aftermath immediately after it happened, but none of us should think we know what he went through, not really.”

“None of us know what Blaine, or Sebastian, really went through” Sam adds

“He’s better at letting people in than he was before” Cooper continues, “But the guys are right…what we all saw…what we were all allowed in on, isn’t the full story and if he were to read a statement it would mean he’d have to admit a lot more than perhaps he’s ready to, and there will always be things that nobody, other than Sebastian, will know…and everyone needs to respect that.”

“We absolutely will” David speaks up on behalf of himself and the old Warbler members

“Definitely” Brittany and Santana add, clearly speaking on behalf of the others there

“And if anyone doesn’t…they will answer to me” Sue states 

Tabatha moves to place a hand on Wes’s shoulder, knowing he’s finding this more difficult than he’s letting on and wanting to support him without being too obvious.

Before they know it they are all being called into the room where the judge doesn’t waste any time coming in and getting started once everyone in the room is again seated.

“Mr Anderson please rise” the judge starts, “I understand you do not wish to read out a statement today but would like to submit a written one for the accused to read.”

“Yes your honour, I know it’s not the norm so if it’s not possible I understand”

“While I cannot guarantee the accused will read the statement you have my permission to proceed in this way”

“Thank you your honour” Blaine nods to the judge

“Mr Smythe I leave you to make the arrangements” Yes your honour Xavier replies, standing as he does so

“Very well, you may both be seated”

Once Blaine and Sebastian are seated once again the judge turns to the accused, “Yesterday this court established your guilt, none of you have shown any remorse for your actions or any idea that what you did was wrong, outside of knowing you can be punished for it. How you fought amongst each other once you’d ruined your own defence was testament to that. Your attack on Mr Anderson was most brutal and, after lengthy consideration of all the evidence presented yesterday, and submitted to the court, there is no doubt in my mind that your intention was to kill him in that moment. Therefore you are all convicted of second degree of attempted murder. Due to the sheer violence and aggression behind your attack with no other motivation than finding out the victim’s sexual orientation, combined with your lack of remorse, I find it to be in the best interest of the community to sentence you all to fifteen years in jail, with twelve years of your sentence to be the minimum you must serve before chance of parole.”

There are a few murmurings from around the room and scuffles from the table as the attackers can’t believe the sentence they’ve been given. They are swiftly led away to begin their sentences. As the court rises for the judge to leave, Xavier guides Blaine, who is clearly in shock, to his feet. 

Once the judge has left and the room as settled slightly, apart from some chattering from those who are there for Blaine, the curly haired boy turns to Xavier, “Thank you, I know it’s not enough, but thank you”

“Blaine that’s more than enough” Xavier replies as he places a hand on Blaine’s shoulder, “There’s a reason why I went into prosecution, and it’s to make sure results like today happen.”

When Blaine turns to lock eyes with his boyfriend, a figure at the door of the room catches his eye before it disappears. “Excuse me” Blaine says to Xavier before walking to follow, not even pausing when he reaches Sebastian, who quickly follows him, confused by the behaviour as much as anyone else in that room.  
Kurt smiles from where he’s sat towards the back of the room, thinking Blaine will be approaching him, his face quickly falling when he fails to even glance in his direction.

“Dream on Hummel” Sebastian comments.

Blaine looks each way in the corridor of the court house before he sees the figure again who is now with another and approaches cautiously, “Charlie?” he questions softly.  
Charlie turns around to face Blaine fully, “Hi Blaine”


	149. Not all ghosts are bad - I

“What…What are you…how did you know?” Blaine trails off

“How did you know about this trial is what I think B is trying to ask” Sebastian speaks up

Blaine finds his voice, “I thought I was seeing you in a couple of weeks”

“You are…if you still want to” Charlie replies, “This is Brandon” he introduces his boyfriend

“But how did you know about today?” Sebastian pushes, as Blaine stands stunned, not being able to process this situation at all.

“One of my friends works in the courthouse, between what you’d mentioned in your message to Charlie, snippets in the news from the appeals we saw at the time, but then didn’t know it was to do with you, and from what my friend said, we put the pieces together and took a chance that it was your case undergoing sentencing today” Brandon answers as Blaine and Charlie seem to be looking at each other trying to find their own answers.

By now Blaine’s support party have formed a small congregation just down the corridor, watching the exchange between their friends and the mystery duo with curiosity. 

“I’m sorry…I should have messaged you to ask if it was okay to come, but I just…I wasn’t sure how I’d react let alone how you would and…” Charlie chuckles slightly, “I can’t even explain it myself”

“I actually understand that” Blaine replies slightly unsure of himself

“We’ve got time for a coffee” Charlie offers, “We can speak in private if that would be better” he adds glancing back at Brandon who smiles and nods in return, “Or we can keep everything until I see you when we planned to meet up”

Blaine looks back to Sebastian who gives him a nod of encouragement, “I’ll support you no matter what Blaine, you know that, I can always kill some time with Brandon”

“There’s a place that should be quiet not too far away” Blaine answers Charlie quietly after some deliberation

Charlie smiles, releasing a big breath, “I’m so happy to see you looking so well….can I?” he steps forward, his arms open slightly but clearly unsure if the action will be welcome. Blaine nods steadily before the two boys who never really knew what happened to the other crash into a hug, clearly taking the physical contact as confirmation that this isn’t a dream, that they really are both alive and walking. 

“I thought you were dead” Blaine confesses as he clutches to Charlie

“I’m so sorry” Charlie replies before they separate

Sebastian passes Blaine his coat to put on, having been holding onto it during the sentencing in case they needed to make a quick get-away – he just wasn’t expecting it to be because of this.

Cooper approaches, wanting to know what’s going on and not prepared to lose his baby brother without some form of explanation, not given everything they’ve been going through and last night in particular. 

“Squirt?” he asks tentatively and finds himself with his armfuls of an emotional Blaine, “Where are you off to? Who is this?”

“Coffee and it’s Charlie”

“What?!” Cooper pulls back from his little brother and looks at hard at the guy who nods at him in greeting, “Why didn’t you tell me he was coming?” 

“I didn’t know” Blaine confesses

“Then I’m coming too” Cooper says with determination, clearly in protective mode and scrutinizing the other boy, not once looking at his brother

“Cooper…just understand they might need some time” Sebastian tells the older Anderson, though he completely understands where he’s coming from, this is a time to let Blaine lead the situation

“You’re Cooper?” Charlie frowns before schooling his expression, “It’s good to see some things did change for the better”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Cooper pushes

“You weren’t exactly around before…and your name was never linked to something good, so it’s nice to see you here and actually supporting your brother” Charlie challenges

Cooper pulls himself up threateningly, clearly not going to let that comment go, “Coop don’t” Blaine steps in, “And Charlie…you may have a point, but you weren’t around for a long time either and you don’t know how much Cooper has done or what we’ve been through.”

“Blaine needs answers and closure” Sebastian steps in, “You need to realise a lot has changed since you last saw him and not judge people” he says directly to Charlie before turning to Cooper, “And we need to follow your brother’s lead”

“Let me grab my coat” Is Cooper’s only response before he heads back to the group where Shelby’s ended up holding his coat


	150. Not all ghosts are bad - II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm finding it hard to write for this story at the moment, I'm not sure why so apologies for the delays between chapters and the for the other story being updated more. I am absolutely not giving up on this one though. Any thoughts/comments that you feel might help kick me out of the writing funk for this please do leave them. Any particular prompts for the upcoming chapters can often do it as they make it a challenge to write in to my planned story line.
> 
> Thanks for your help!

“Wes you okay?” Patrick asks his son when the Anderson brothers, Sebastian, Charlie and Brandon have gone

“I don’t know” Wes answers honestly, “This just all seems…”

“Insane” Tabatha fills in

“Yeah…that about sums it up” Jeff agrees

In the end Blaine and the other four make their way to the park where they grab hot drinks and sit at a picnic bench.

“Why did you never contact me?” Blaine asks Charlie after a couple of minutes of silence 

“I couldn’t”

“It’s been years Charlie…what made it so you couldn’t even reach out once? I…I thought you were dead” Blaine presses on

“I asked the nurse to tell you I was okay”

“She did but then you disappeared without a trace, I thought, I thought maybe she only said that so I didn’t feel as bad”

“Shhh B” Sebastian soothes and presses a kiss to Blaine’s temple to help him calm down

“Your parents” Charlie starts, “They bought the company my dad used to work for…he lost his job but they made it so one of their contacts in Boston would hire him, on the condition we’d cut all ties with Lima, and I’d cut all ties with you”

“That feels extreme” Cooper comments, not completely disbelievingly given what he’s learnt and what his parents have done this last year to his brother alone, but showing he’s not about to accept anything Charlie says

“Towing the line?” Charlie raises an eyebrow at the older brother, “Look believe me or not that’s what happened.”

Blaine steamrollers on, “I could never find you on social media…my parents wouldn’t have known if you’d contacted me that way…I know why you couldn’t write, and my number was changed, as was yours it seemed, and you obviously couldn’t call the house phone, but you could have contacted me. If you hadn’t seen the appeal would you ever have bothered?” he questions

“Honestly I don’t know…one day I’m sure, but I had to move on and once I got to a certain point it was easier to keep going forward than ever going back.”

“I’m glad you got closure” Blaine replies, with an undertone of bitterness

“And I’m truly sorry you didn’t…in a big part because of me” Charlie admits, “It’s really good to see you looking well though”

“Well in a big part that thanks to Sebastian, Cooper, Wes and the others.” Blaine replies honestly

“So when did you two reconnected?” Charlie asks Blaine, gesturing towards Cooper with his head

“Why?” Cooper questions back

“Just curious”

“No you seem to have a problem with me so I want to hear it”

“Well as far as I knew you always made Blaine’s life more difficult”

“I’m not denying that…I was one of the worst big brothers you could find, but things change, people change”

“Charlie” Blaine starts, looking down at the bench, “For a while you were my big brother figure, my protector, but then you left and my life was hell until Wes and the guys,   
stepped in, then it’s been Bas, Coop and Sam who have really helped pull me out of some awful places, and I’m sorry if that seems weird to you, but you moved on and forgot about me, so I had to do the same.”

After a moment of silence, Charlie locks eyes with Blaine, “I’m sorry, I really am, I was scared and a coward and I did choose to move on…I blamed the circumstances but you’re   
right, I, I should have been there and I’m sorry I let you down.”

“And I’m sorry your parents had to deal with mine…it’s been a long day, and I want to go home, but I’ll see you in a couple of weeks, I’m sure there are other things we should   
talk about but I’m exhausted and really need to go home.”

“Sure…okay” Charlie smiles shakily and stands, “Thanks for not running away when you saw me”

“Thanks for helping me get closure”

Brandon turns to his boyfriend once the three are out of earshot, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah I guess…I just, he’s grown up”

“He was a high school freshman when you last saw him, not he’s a high school one”

“I know it’s just…he’s changed so much, he’s not the same boy who used…” Charlie trails off

“Who used to need you” Brandon finishes off, his boyfriend nodding in confirmation, “Come of…let’s get you home, it’s been a long one.”


	151. Some needed quiet

“Coop…I really don’t mean to sound ungrateful” Blaine starts nervously once they’re on the subway

“But you want some quiet time when you get home, i.e. just you and Sebastian”

“Just for a couple of hours if that’s okay” Blaine fully admits

“Of course squirt, I’ll go see Sam for a bit so I’m only a short walk away”

“Thanks for understanding”

“It’s okay Blainey”

Once up in their apartment Blaine starts undressing as he heads to their bedroom. Sebastian follows, undoing his tie, “Naked cuddles?”

“Naked cuddles” Blaine confirms, taking a deep breath, finishing undressing and getting into bed. 

They lie together, chest to chest, arms and legs tangled enjoying the comfort of feeling each other’s skin.

“What’s going on in that head of yours?” Sebastian asks, rubbing his nose against the tip of his boyfriends.

“You’re distracting me” Blaine grins cheekily

“Yeah well you’re poking me too….talk to me B then we can take care of our rather large problems” Sebastian waggles his eyebrows

“You don’t have to agree, and you should probably take some time to think about it…but…well…I’d really like to give you power of attorney and write a will. I think we were given a bit of a simplistic version of what my parents did to Charlie’s and if anything were to happen to me, I don’t want them having any power over me or what could happen to you.”

“Are you sure you want to give that power to me?”

“Without a doubt, because if I am ever in a position to not make a decision, you’re the person I can one hundred percent count on to carry out my wishes, and well you’re the only person who would know what I would want instinctively if a situation arises we hadn’t discussed before.”

“I’d be honoured my killer B…but I’ll only agree if you do the same for me, for all the same reasons, plus this way it keeps us as equals”

“How we always have been” Blaine finishes

“How we always will be” Sebastian adds

The couple share a passionate kiss and soon get carried away with hands roaming over bodies, practically drinking each other in.

“I need to feel you Bastian” Blaine gasps out between kisses, “All of you”

Immediately Sebastian rolls them over so he’s on top and reaches for the tube of lube in his top drawer, never breaking the passionate kiss they’re caught up in. Blaine bends his knees automatically and spreads his legs, cradling his boyfriend’s body between and can’t help the loud moan that escapes him as soon as he feels the first slicked finger enter his core.

Sebastian lovingly makes sure Blaine is prepared, the passion pouring out of them as their mouths remain locked in a battle of their own.

“I’m ready” Blaine practically growls with three fingers scissoring him open.

Sebastian coats his length then rests his forehead against Blaine’s before slowly pushing in. their eyes remaining locked until he fully bottoms out. Blaine leans up to capture his love’s lips as Sebastian sets a steady, slow and intense rhythm. A long while later they finally both reach their climaxes together and remain a tangle of sweaty limbs on their bed. For a short while the couple can forget what’s happened as they remain in a haze as if there is nothing in the world outside of them and their bed. 

Unfortunately that doesn’t last long as they become aware of Blaine’s phone, still in his pants pocket, ringing.

“Can’t we leave it?” Sebastian moans

“Given what’s happened today we best not” Blaine grumps sulkily  
“This is one of those times not having friends and family would be beneficial, I know it’s because they care but can’t they leave us alone sometimes?”

“Without you threatening them to you mean?” Blaine raises an eyebrow at his boyfriend as he finally gets hold of his phone and answers, “Hey Coop…I’m sorry I didn’t realise the time…no we didn’t hear Bas’s phone go off, we didn’t mean to worry any one…give us half an hour before you all come round…please”

“We won’t open the door before” Sebastian shouts so Cooper can hear him

“Yes that was Bas…and he’s right we won’t…see you soon” Blaine puts his phone down before sighing and turning back to Sebastian, I guess we better shower then.

The couple take their time so when their guests arrive their hair is still very wet.

“Oh…sorry” Cooper says when he sees them

“You’re here now” Sebastian opens the door wider letting Cooper, Wes, Patrick, Natasha, Tabatha, Sam, Xavier and Sarah in where they spot Blaine making coffee in the kitchen. 

“Was there any particular reason for your call Patrick?” Sebastian asks as they all settle with Wes going to help Blaine.

“Just us worrying when we shouldn’t have”

“Given everything, we get it”

In the kitchen Blaine looks to Wes, “You could have come earlier you know”

“To see Charlie?”

“Yeah…once Coop invited himself along, you should’ve come too”

“I…didn’t want to step on his toes”

Blaine stops to fully face Wes, “For a long time you were my only big brother and just because Cooper’s in my life, that doesn’t change anything between us, you’re still my brother Wes. I still need you the same as I always did and Cooper has to get that if he doesn’t already. Even if we weren’t playing tactics slightly with Kurt, you’d still be the one I’d want with me.”

“Come here” Wes replies and gives Blaine a gripping hug before the two take a tray of drinks through

“Not drinking coffee Blaine?” Tabatha spots

“No I’ve basically been cutting caffeine out. We’ve found some good decaffeinated beans but after lunch time I try to avoid that too”

Sam makes a point of falling of the chair he’s sitting on at Blaine’s lifestyle confession.

“Was that really necessary?” Blaine asks flatly

“Dude when Britt had that giant coffee that had seventeen espresso shots in I swear you nearly cried because you thought it was so beautiful…New York’s changed you”

“So are you all staying for dinner?” Blaine asks the group

“If we’re imposing you can say Blaine” Patrick reassures the young boy

“Not tonight he can’t…we all need some reassurance too” Cooper refutes 

“Cooper” Sebastian warns, “We’re getting takeout…well at least neither of us are cooking”

“We’re getting Burmese takeout” Blaine adds

“And when did we decide that” Sebastian asks amused

“We didn’t…I did and just now” Blaine smiles cheekily back at his boyfriend before leaning further into his chest, feeling tired from the day.


	152. Another obstacle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here we go. I'm feeling a lot of pressure for this one as it's been a long time coming. I hope it's not a complete let down!
> 
> As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

The next couple of days speed by with those not living in New York heading home but not without reinforcing that they’ll be there again in a flash if Blaine and Sebastian need them to be. Even with Wes staying with them, the young couple are glad to have some more quiet and normality back. They of course understand that they’ve been crowded because everybody cares and are very thankful to have that level of support, but it’s been overwhelming and not really allowed them to process everything.

“I knew this morning would come too soon” Sebastian sulks as he and Blaine eat breakfast while Wes showers, “No chance of you reconsidering?”

“Bas…” Blaine starts

“I know killer I know…and I’m sorry but I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t ask you not to see that pain in the ass again one last time.” 

“I know and I love you for it, but you understand why I’m doing this…even if you don’t like it”

“I do” Sebastian sighs through a half smile, looking lovingly at Blaine

“Is Hunter still coming over to study with you while this goes down?”

“He is…it will give us both something to focus on”

“Is he missing Kitty?”

Sebastian chuckles slightly, “Yes…and yes I’ve ribbed him for it a little, nothing he wouldn’t do to me”

“His apartment has got to be feeling quiet now…let’s face it, she makes her presence known.” Blaine teases his now absent friend.  
Before they know it, it’s time to go. Wes waits outside the front door to give the couple some privacy, knowing neither of them are looking forward to what’s about to unfold.

“Remember I love you Bastian, and nothing that happens today is going to alter that.” Blaine tells his boyfriend sternly as he stands on tiptoes with his arms wrapping around Sebastian’s neck.

“I love you too, more than anything…promise me not to let him hurt you…and call me if you need me and I’ll be there in minutes.”

“Hopefully this will be the end of this mess”

“Don’t beat yourself up if it doesn’t go that way killer” Sebastian presses one last, firm kiss to Blaine’s lips, “Wes” he calls through the door, “You better get him out of here before I lock him up” he only half jokes.

With one final stolen kiss, Blaine leaves the apartment with Wes.

“How are you doing Blaine?”

“Let’s put it this way we’re getting coffee on the way”

“I thought you were trying to ditch caffeine” Wes tries to tease

“Yeah but I feel like I’m going to need coffee to get through this, though don’t tell Sam or he’ll have a field day about me slipping back onto it.”

After deciding it’s best not to get a coffee for Kurt and Mercedes too, who Rachel had told them would be the fourth person, in case anything is read into it, the two make sure to drink theirs en route and ditch the cups before going to the bench where they’ve agreed to meet.

“Damn it I was kind of hoping we’d be first” Blaine comments when they see the duo already waiting

“I have a feeling he’d have been here for a while Blaine…he’s finally getting the time with you he’s been craving but has so far been denied. Just remember, you have all the cards here. You’re in control.”

“I’m in control” Blaine repeats to himself

As soon as Kurt spots Blaine and Wes approaching he stands, “Blaine” he says reverently 

“Hi Kurt…Mercedes, long time no see, I hope you’re well” Blaine greets politely, ever the Dalton boy

“It really has been a long time, and I’m great thanks. It’s good to see you looking well.” Mercedes replies, standing too for the greeting.

“Thank you…this is Wes, we were at Dalton together, and Wes this is Mercedes, I don’t think you two have ever met before.”

“You’re right in that, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Hi Kurt, it’s been a long time.” Wes politely greets the two, poker face firmly on with a mask of politeness and charm on top. The perfect picture of a classic Dalton boy.

“Yes well hello. Shall we?” Kurt replies almost snidely to Wes and gestures to the picnic table so they sit down. “I wasn’t sure if you wanted to grab breakfast first.”  
Blaine takes a semi-deep breath but manages to keep his façade on, “Oh sorry I thought Rachel relayed that we wouldn’t be needing food and that it would be best if we could just meet here.” 

“She mentioned it but I felt sure that you’d want to go to this cute little café, I described it to her. Did she not tell you about it?” Kurt ploughs on

“No she didn’t but probably because..”

Kurt interrupts Blaine, “Well I’ll have to have words next time I speak to her”

“There’s no need for that” Blaine defends his friend, “She’s really busy at the moment and was doing me a favour arranging this.”

“Busy with what? Her Broadway career has already failed and she’s not in school anymore.”

“That’s uncalled for” Blaine once again defends Rachel, not prepared to back down to Kurt how he used to

“You’re right…sorry, I’m just nervous…and you could have called me yourself you know.” Kurt tries to play off and chastises Blaine all in one

“I thought it was best not to” Blaine replies before taking a deep breath. “Did you two need to get some food before we get into this? We’ll wait here if you want to grab something” Blaine offers

“That’s so sweet of you” Kurt smiles overly sweetly, feeling positive about this meeting so far, with Blaine obviously still caring for him as he was worried about him being hungry. “Actually I’m okay for now”

“Well I could do with something” Mercedes comments, “Hey Wes, why don’t you come with me”

“I’m actually okay but thank you” Wes replies, not fooling for it for one moment

Kurt’s face shows how disgruntled he is at Wes’s reply. Luckily a pretzel kart bases itself not close by so Mercedes grabs something from there. 

“You really are looking good Blaine” Kurt smiles and places his hands on top of the curly haired boys, who quickly though not abruptly puts them on his lap.

“Thank you” Blaine replies lowly, clearly a little uncomfortable as he looks down at the bench once more, a slight wind picking up and blowing his curls about.

The breeze having drawn Kurt’s attention for Blaine’s hair he looks at the loose curls slightly judgingly, “You must be itching to grab some gel though, I know the perfect brand   
for you that smells amazing…I’ll get you some!” Kurt enthuses

“No…no thank you” Blaine corrects himself, determined to stay composed, “I don’t gel my hair anymore. I haven’t for a long time.”

“You don’t have to change for him Blaine” Kurt replies, putting lots of venom on ‘him’

“I take it by ‘him’ you mean Sebastian…if you can’t even be respectful enough to say his name I’m not sure there’s any point to today” Blaine defends his boyfriend as he’s not going to sit here and let someone who’s hurt him so much be so disrespectful to the one person who’s been his true rock and kept him going in times it felt easier to give up. Wes gently gives Blaine’s knee a quick squeeze to try and communicate his pride without Kurt seeing.

Before Kurt can make the situation worse for himself Mercedes comes back, “What have I missed so far?” she asks brightly

“Nothing much” Kurt replies breezily 

“Kurt was telling me about a gel he can buy me and not to let Sebastian change me” Blaine smiles false sweetly, not prepared for Kurt to control the situation by brushing things under the carpet

“Well Kurt has a point…there’s always some change to a person when they’re in a relationship but it should be natural and not because their partner wants them to change.”

“That’s a very good point Mercedes” Blaine replies, which lights Kurt’s face up, “And brings us I guess quite nicely back to why we’re here…to get closure…and to do that I think we need to start with things that happened while we were together and move on chronologically.”

“That sounds perfect” Kurt says reverently, “Thank you for recognising I need closure and giving it to me, I know you’ve had a difficult year.”

“Yes well…back to what Mercedes was saying…I guess gelling is a good example of how I changed myself when I was with when I shouldn’t.”

“I don’t follow” Kurt frowns

“Well I never gelled my hair outside of school before we started dating, and only did when we were together. Before I only put a bit of product in to avoid complete frizz zone. At school I put a bit of gel in so it was neater but it still had a wave in…I only changed it to try and make you happier, because you preferred it completely gelled down, even though it felt horrible and uncomfortable to have it like that.”

“Well the way you’re styling it now is okay but it looks cute and neat all gelled down, I thought you understood that and changed, as you say, because of that, I never asked you to do your hair like that specifically.”

“You weren’t as blatant as to ask for it but all the hints about me styling it like that, how you kept offering to show me how to do it properly until I said yes…it adds up Kurt and you shouldn’t have pushed it…in the same way you shouldn’t have brought a load of clothes on my card and redid my wardrobe, and you certainly never should have taken my clothes you didn’t like to a thrift shop.”

“I was matching your clothes to your bowties! Most people would be grateful to have someone go to that much detail and put that much effort in.”

“And in a way I was but it wasn’t healthy…and I shouldn’t have let it happen at the time”

“No and you can’t resent me for doing something nice for you, particularly when you didn’t tell me otherwise.”

“I don’t”

“Good then you can see I did it for you”

“Actually I think you did it for you…I was like an accessory for you”

“That’s not true”

“Isn’t it? Hair, clothes, slipping tanning products into my hand cream, giving me a moisturizing routine for my birthday…”

“Well excuse me for caring about your appearance”

“But that’s the point…if you loved me, my appearance shouldn’t have been the main thing…my happiness should have been.”

“You were happy”

“Not really”

“Yes you were Blaine…I know you and you were happy”

Blaine frowns at this and has to take a couple of deep breaths and remembers his therapist’s words, not to let anyone tell him how he feels, “No Kurt I wasn’t…I remember how I felt and you should respect that rather than telling me how I did”

Kurt isn’t quite sure how to deal with this Blaine so he results to his natural mode of getting defensive, “I loved you, I love you! You can’t tell me everything I knew then was a lie, I didn’t think you were that cruel Blaine. I did what I did for you. I helped you! If I didn’t care I wouldn’t have taken us to couples counselling with Miss Pilsbury, I wouldn’t have stepped back so you could shine. You can’t tell me we didn’t have good times together.”

“You’re right I can’t” Blaine admits, “And maybe rehashing everything isn’t going to help as much as I was hoping it would. I guess I was hoping you might have been able to see things from my point of view.”

“Like what?” Kurt questions curiously though really he’s miffed at how this is going, for now at least

“Like how I shouldn’t have transferred to McKinley, and you shouldn’t have pressured me to…you played on my feelings Kurt and made me feel guilty for being away from you though it was your choice to leave Dalton.”

“No you came so you could face my bullies”

“But don’t you see that’s wrong in itself?”

“No you wanted to protect me! You were my boyfriend, the love of my life and I the love of yours. It was natural to feel that way and want to make me happy. I didn’t question it because making me happy made you happy.”

Blaine’s chest is swirling with more and more emotion as this talk is going on but he’s here now and he knows leaving at this moment will only make things worse. “Does that sound healthy to you?” he asks after several moments and Kurt smiling too sweetly at him

“Of course, how can two people in love and happy not?”

“Because one shouldn’t sacrifice so much to make the other happy, but I shouldn’t have let that happen, I let what we had consume me too much.”

“The love we share does that though Blaine”

“It fits into first loves burning too bright and fast for sure.” Blaine takes a deep breath, “I was so desperate for someone to love me that I seemed to miss the love and support I already had around me.” Blaine looks at Wes from the corner of his eye then, trying to make it clear.

“It’s okay Blaine” Kurt tries to reassure seeing this conversation head in a different direction, “I know you can get overwhelmed…that’s why I want to help…it’s what I’ve been trying to do for months. You should have told me what happened to you at Sadie Hawkins, what actually happened.”

“I really don’t want to talk about that Kurt, and I tried” Blaine defends, “I really tried when we were arguing about me going to your prom. What I said in the here in the park that time was all true, you told me it was perfect that I’d been hurt.”

“I didn’t know the extent!” Kurt shrieks. “And I still stand by what I said, it made you face up to bullies and stop running away! Not everything that happened was my fault!”

“I know it wasn’t and I never thought it was but you’ve also never admitted to any mistakes that you made. You haven’t really now. What about Chandler?”

“What about him?”

“You cheated Kurt. You told me you’d told him you had a boyfriend but he didn’t have a clue! You carried on with him behind my back then went to New York and forgot all about me. I moved schools for you, I cut contact with my friends for you so when you left I was so isolated, I never want to feel that way again.”

“That’s no excuse for what you did either though Blaine, you went and had sex with some random stranger.”

“No I didn’t”

Kurt’s jaw actually drops at this, “Yes you did, you came here and told me that you had sex with someone”

“No I told you I was with someone...we didn’t have sex”

“Then why did you never tell me! I would have been angry for sure but we’ve lost so much time because you never told me what actually happened!”

“It went further than kissing but I never had sex with him and how could I tell you? You went on a rant about all your temptations then refused to talk to me for months! All the   
while you’d actually been acting on your temptations and sleeping with other people all along. I was physically sick I hated myself that much, was so disgusted with myself. You couldn’t even tell me you’d been having sex with a few other guys! How could you do that Kurt? How could you late me hate myself that much if you loved me!”

A lot of this is new information for Mercedes and she doesn’t know what else to do apart from sit there watching this scene unfold.

“Let’s take a quick break to grab some coffees” Wes cuts in gently, seeing Blaine building up in such a way he knows the younger boy will start shutting down if it continues this   
way, “Come on Blaine you can help me carry them back.” Wes subtly moves Blaine to go with him, not waiting for any protests, “What would you both like?”

“No we’ll go get them” Kurt argues back, pulling at Mercedes until she stands with him

Wes resists rolling his eyes at Kurt yet again trying to play power games, “Fine…we’ll keep this bench” Only after he’s sure they’re out of earshot does he turn to Blaine, “How are you going?”

“Okay” Blaine replies as he runs his hands over his face, “It hasn’t really got going yet”

Wes smiles sympathetically, “You’re doing well”

“I’m not so sure, he hasn’t been that bad yet and he’s already under my skin”

“Blaine he started attacking Sebastian and Rachel, that was enough straight away, you’re doing well though I promise. At least by the end of this you will have had a chance to get everything off your chest and out in the open. That alone has got to be good for you.”

“Jerry said something similar” Blaine half smiles, “I’ve got an appointment with him next week to discuss everything”

“That’s good, it was the sensible thing to do given what you’ve had going on” Wes glances over his shoulder and sees Kurt and Mercedes heading back, “Deep breaths Blaine, here we go again”

“You being here is making this easier” Blaine says quietly

“I’m glad”

Kurt stops abruptly to the side of Blaine, “I brought your favourite” and hands him the coffee before walking round to the other side of the picnic bench, being sure to sit opposite him

“Erm thank you Kurt” Blaine replies before pulling Sebastian’s beanie out of his pocket and pulling it on, finding a little comfort in it as he catches a hint of his boyfriend’s scent

“Come here” Kurt leans over and goes to adjust the beanie but Blaine leans back. “Don’t be silly, I won’t bite and it’s not as if I haven’t done it before” Kurt flirts and confirms Wes’s suspicion that he seems to be seeing the meeting going in a different way

Blaine can feel himself blush uncomfortably and mentally kicks himself for it. Only Sebastian, Wes and Sam are able to truly tell his blushes apart. He takes a sip of his coffee to buy a moment. “Is that a flat white?” he frowns slightly

“Yes…your favourite as I said!” Kurt flourishes, then looks to Wes, “We got you an Americano, figured black would be okay.”

“I got a couple of creamers in case” Mercedes smiles, trying to make the dynamics more comfortable

Blaine looks to Wes, “Can we swap?”

“How did I know you were going to ask?” Wes laughs before swapping their drinks over

“What?” Kurt splutters

“I’ve always preferred black coffee” Blaine replies

“No you haven’t” Kurt argues

“Yes I have, like my grandparents”

That gives Kurt a reminder of a conversation topic he’s itching to bring up, “So where were we?”

“Covering cheating I believe” Blaine replies flatly

“Can we not move past that?” Kurt almost whines

“Are you sorry for it?”

“Are you?” Kurt throws back

“I flew to New York to tell you as soon as possible…I sent you hundreds of messages saying I was…you’ve never said it once”

“I’m not talking about your hook-up Blaine, I mean the way you emotionally cheated on me”

“What?! With who?!”

“Smythe! And I meant it when I said we never officially split up, not when you started seeing him.”

“Don’t bring him into this Kurt”

“Why not?! He took you from me, he’s a boyfriend thief.”

“He didn’t take me from anyone, I’m not an object that can be passed around and anyway you pushed me away”

“No he was waiting for a moment of weakness and was there ready to swoop in and now he’s got you he’s not letting you go”

“Why would he? He loves me and I love him”

Kurt scoffs “Blaine he once told us about the love of his life, some guy he knew for fifteen minutes at Scandals, you can’t really think he’ll keep you around when he gets bored of you, or that he’ll stay faithful to you?”

“You really can’t comment on that Kurt”

“But I can! Because now I’ve had other experiences I know I would never look elsewhere again”

“You mean now you haven’t been able to find anything better?”

“It wasn’t like that! But I did learn how special you are Blaine, how what we had was so precious. You were my first and I was yours and nothing and nobody can take that away.”

“You’re right they can’t” Blaine agrees and Kurt smiles brightly, “But it doesn’t mean we can’t move on and grow past that”

“Some things you’re not meant to move on from though…I didn’t think you were coming here to attack me today”

“I’m not trying to attack you Kurt…I just want to talk things out so we can settle all this”

“So you’ve pointed out what you think are my faults…what about yours?”

“I know I’m not perfect and I’ve already said I’ve made mistakes…but go on”

“When you came to McKinley you couldn’t cope with not being the centre of attention anymore so I had to dampen down my own performances to let you shine and you never said thank you for it.”

Blaine frowns, “Is this going back to your comment about having to sit on a stool and watch me sing, because it’s still not my fault that Mr Schue liked my voice and the way it blended with others. I love performing, you knew that before you got me to come to McKinley so why didn’t you like me performing there?”

“I shouldn’t have had to sacrifice performances for you!”

“Did you? Because I’m not aware of any you did…I never auditioned for Tony because you wanted that role. I can’t help that I got cast instead…and if I remember for the Nationals   
finales the part we sang together was originally meant to be a solo for me, but it was made to a duet for the both of us as I wasn’t an original glee club member so why had I been given a part, let alone the fact that I spent ages on the music arrangement!”

“Wait you did the arrangement?” Mercedes cuts in “I thought Mr Schue did”

“Well that’s what you were all meant to think”

“Why?” Mercedes pushes

“Because he already had too many people falling over themselves for him and needed to learn what it’s like not to be in the spot light” Kurt spits out

“Here we go” Blaine mutters, “It took a lot of support from Wes and the guys to show me I could be in the spot light, you didn’t have to show me anything…I’d been taught all my life to stay in the background”

“Big brother issues again Blaine? Just because Cooper’s talented and everyone is drawn to him”

“Still think he’s the best looking man in all of North America?”

“Jealousy doesn’t suit you”

Blaine takes a deep breath, “I was never jealous of Cooper, that’s not why we had issues”

“Yes it is Blaine, and you didn’t like that he showed you your weaknesses and preferred me. You always had issues with my talent but that’s because you’re insecure and get feelings mixed up, which is why I had to show you things and teach you to deal with them.”

“Do you really think that?” Blaine asks disbelievingly, realising how little Kurt thought of him in many ways, “Then why were you ever with me?”

“It’s okay, we work because I can help you, if you let me…remember when I tried to help with you French homework but you’d swapped to Spanish. You don’t have to be embarrassed with me.”

“I wouldn’t have needed help with my French homework but thank you…and I still don’t get why you were with me if that is how you see me”

“Because despite all that…I can see that you’re special…like a rough diamond. People like you Blaine and I can make you shine if you let me and be with you every step so we can shine together.” Kurt takes Blaine’s silence as a good sign, when really Blaine is feeling anger and embarrassment as he takes in what Kurt’s words mean. “I told you I know you” Kurt’s hands make their way to wrap around Blaine’s as he’s clutching hold of his coffee cup tightly and he bristles with glee that the younger boy isn’t pulling them away, but Wes can see it’s because Blaine is starting to shut down. In some ways luckily for Wes, it’s Kurt who manages to pull Blaine back out of this state, completely by accident. “It’s why I should have been there for you after Thanksgiving and when your grandparents died…good job you already brought that apartment so you at least got that money, you should get Smythe to buy you out…I don’t want to be somewhere he’s lived, particularly with you, the thought makes my skin crawl but I’m willing to get over it”

Blaine finally looks back up again and slowly pulls his hands away once more, “What do you mean?”

“So we can be together again silly”

“That’s not what I meant…what did you mean about Thanksgiving and my grandparents?”

“Well I have it on good authority you were disowned at Thanksgiving at that your grandparents died when you were in hospital”

“Who’s authority? Who told you?” Blaine asks quietly, his voice monotone

“Mercedes did”

“I’m really sorry for both of those things Blaine” Mercedes says with sympathy

“Who told you?” Blaine questions her

“I don’t think I should say”

“Somebody told you private things about me and you won’t even tell me who, yet you were okay with telling others?” Blaine asks full of hurt that clearly someone he trusted had broken that trust

“She understands you need me” Kurt ploughs on, “So what happens with the inheritance? Is that why I never met your parents or is it your choice of partner that caused issues? If you let me speak to them I’m sure I can smooth things over”

“Inheritance? That’s what you’re worried about?”

“Well we need to make sure we get what’s rightfully ours?”

“Ours?”

“Well yes…you might as well call the meerkat and get him to come here now, I’m not going to let you talk to him again without me.”

Blaine feels like his chest is about to explode there are too many things trying to escape from him at once, so much so he starts physically shaking. “Bas is my boyfriend…you are not.”

“But…” Kurt starts but Blaine doesn’t let him go on

“No! The first thing you ask about my grandparents death is inheritance…how could you be so heartless? I lost two people who meant so much to me”

“Well if they did how come I never met them?!” Kurt challenges

“Because not everything is about you!” Blaine actually shouts back, “They died on their way to see me in hospital where I was in part because you ran away that night and didn’t get help. You left me to fight alone that night Kurt…you ran and didn’t even get any form of help. The police had to hunt you down and you expect me to believe that you love me?”

“I do!” 

“Then our definitions are very different. For what it’s worth I never gave a crap about the inheritance, I’d give everything to have them back and the idea that you seriously think you could sweet talk my parents is laughable. They’re completely homophobic and you love to use your sexuality as an excuse, as a reason why people should pander to you because being gay makes life that much harder, something that would make them detest you even more than they do me.”

“How dare you!” 

“I’m not done! You don’t give a crap about me…you left me to die and now only care about what money I could get and how you could get hold of it?! I’m not leaving Sebastian and even if we do ever split up I can promise you I’ll never go back out with you again Kurt!”

“Oh really” Kurt challenges clearly not believing Blaine, “Then how come you’re here?! How come you wanted to spend the day with me?”

Blaine calms himself back down, “Because Carole asked me to so we can bury all of this and you can stop fighting with Burt, who I hope is getting better by the way. From what I’ve heard it sounds as though he is.”

“He is thank you, and I love you for more than money”

“I don’t think you actually love me, not truly Kurt…please after today don’t try to contact me again” Blaine practically begs with tears in his eyes, “I really hope one day you’re happy so you can leave me to be happy.”

“I will never leave you to be happy with him”

“Please Kurt…I can’t do this anymore…I need to go” Blaine tries to stand but Kurt leans across and grabs his arms

“We’re not done Blaine”

“I am Kurt”

“Don’t you walk away from me” Kurt warns as Blaine tries to turn away. Without releasing his hold on Blaine, Kurt rounds the picnic table

“Please” Blaine asks again but Kurt takes this as an invitation and launches himself forward, locking their lips together, his hands grabbing Blaine’s face so he has to use more force to get out of the kiss.

After what feels like a lifetime Blaine manages to pull back from Kurt, only to receive a sharp slap across his face as Kurt then starts to hit his body, “You can’t walk away from me! We’re meant to be together! I won’t let you leave me again Blaine!” 

Wes surges forward as Blaine starts curling in on himself to form a protective shield, understanding that this assault could be sending Blaine into a panic attack. 

“Kurt stop!” Mercedes intervenes also and pulls Kurt back, allowing Wes to start getting Blaine away. Kurt dramatically collapses back onto the bench and starts crying, his face buried in his arms. Mercedes takes her chance to catch-up with Wes and Blaine. “I’m sorry Blaine, I know Kurt didn’t mean to lash out like that.”

“Please don’t defend him” Blaine asks tiredly 

Mercedes only just manages to swallow her words, “I am sorry for everything”

“Don’t be…but who did tell you?”

“It’s really best I don’t say”

“Whatever” Blaine resigns himself and goes to start walking again but Mercedes next question stops him dead

“How’s Sam? He hasn’t replied to my messages”

“Then there will be a reason for that”

“Could you maybe talk to him?”

“I’m not going to talk him into seeing you or talking to you Mercedes…I don’t manipulate the people I care about and walk all over them.”

With that Blaine and Wes continue on their way, not stopping for anything as they purposefully leave the park at a different entrance and get a cab.

After he’s calmed down Kurt turns to Mercedes, “I can’t believe he left me”

“Did you really think he was going to leave Sebastian for you in this one meeting Kurt? I didn’t know there was so much bad blood between you.”

“Sebastian is only going to hurt him.”

“You don’t know that. Perhaps if you do love Blaine, you’ll let him be, I didn’t realise how much he’d been through.”

“What about what I’ve been through?”

“I know you haven’t always had it easy”

Kurt scoffs, “When have I ever? I know Smythe will hurt him and I’m going to prove it, then Blaine will be mine again.”

Mercedes doesn’t say anything to that but is left with a feeling of dread.


	153. Seeing red

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I've split this chapter up so I could post something tonight as I had a real itch to so sorry it isn't longer.

“What time is he due back?” Hunter asks Sebastian after he spots him checking the time again

“There isn’t an exact time”

“Then stop torturing yourself by looking…come on we’ve been making good progress” 

“You’re right” Sebastian sighs

“I know I’m right as you know we’re doing this now so you don’t have to worry about it when Blaine’s back”

In the cab Blaine hasn’t said a word to Wes, but his breathing has calmed down slightly, meaning he’s no longer on the edge of a full on panic attack. The way Blaine is shutting down though is worrying.

When the cab stops Wes pays and the due make their way up with Blaine only pausing at the front door to his home, having been going through the motions before. “Please tell Bas everything” is the only request before they enter the apartment.

Blaine walks straight through to their bedroom, kicking his shoes off and getting under the covers.

“Sebastian wait” Wes tells him as he goes to follow his boyfriend

“Why?”

“Because I need to tell you everything before you see him so you understand what you’re facing…Blaine asked me to.” 

Sebastian sits back down at that knowing there will be a very good reason why Blaine asked Wes to speak to him first, and it’s filling him with dread.

“Shall I go?” Hunter asks knowing a very personal and difficult conversation is on the way

“You can stay but not a word to any of the others Clarington…I have a feeling I might need you to stop me from committing homicide” Sebastian leans forward towards Wes, making it clear that he should start telling them everything now.

Wes takes a deep breath and relays the whole encounter almost exactly word for word and throwing in observations of facial expressions and body language to try and help build the picture more. When he gets onto the final moments Sebastian already has a murderous look in his eyes and when Wes tells them of how Kurt started hitting Blaine Sebastian starts pacing the living room like a wild animal caught in a cage.

Sebastian continues to pace as he knows he can’t see his boyfriend in his current state and starts to process what’s just been said to him. “Hunter, can you work with Satan to find out who the fuck betrayed B’s trust as it’s obviously going to be one of the McKinley lot and she’ll have a better handle as to who.” Sebastian’s tone of voice is something not even Hunter has heard before with this level of hate.

“And what are you going to do about Hummel? Give me a heads up if you’re going to need bail and a legal representative so I can get your dad back out here” Hunter pushes needing to know what Sebastian is thinking

“Don’t be a fucking idiot” Sebastian snaps, “I’m going to make that piece of shit suffer but I’m not stupid enough to take myself down at the same time. Besides B would never forgive me or himself if I screw up my own future because of Kurt fucking Hummel.”

“Good. I just had to be sure because neither of us would blame you for wanting to go and tear him a new one…to be honest I do”

“As do I” Wes says with an anger neither Hunter or Sebastian have seen before, “But you’re right, that would only make things worse and there’s no way Kurt wouldn’t press charges for assault”

Sebastian finally stops and takes a deep breath before going to his bedroom where he finds Blaine lying on his front, facing away from the door with his eyes closed. Carefully, Sebastian slides himself under the covers and lying on his side starts rubbing a hand softly up and down Blaine’s back. Usually Blaine would find this comforting but all he does in response this time is shift to lie on his side away from Sebastian, knocking the comforting hand off in the process.

“Blaine please” Sebastian asks gently, watching Blaine’s face carefully for any change from the blank closed-eye expression currently on it but all that happens is Blaine screwing his eyes even tighter shut, but this allows the tears that had been building up to stream down his face. “Blaine, come back to me. You are Blaine Devon Anderson, you have overcome far worse than Kurt Hummel and you will this time. Don’t give him the power of hurting you killer.”

“Go away” Blaine’s voice breaks

When there’s no other movement or further words from Blaine, Sebastian starts to shift, “If that’s really what you want…” but before he can do more than sit up Blaine shoots a hand out backwards and grabs hold of his boyfriend and tugs until Sebastian has formed a protective cocoon around him, with Blaine’s back moulded to his chest. 

After twenty minutes of lying in this position Blaine turns around so he’s now chest to chest with his love but still in an all-encompassing embrace.

“Come on B let me see those eyes I love so much” Sebastian encourages and finally Blaine opens them. “It’s okay…I’ve got you and you never ever have to see him again. When we speak to my dad about giving each other power of attorney we can ask him if there are any official actions to keep him away. But…even if there aren’t I will keep you safe killer…not that you need me to really but I will because I love you and I care about you.”

“I love you too” Blaine whispers before his face crumples and he begins sobbing, shaking in Sebastian’s arms as all his emotions pour out of him. As Sebastian predicted, once Blaine’s cried himself out, he drifts to sleep, exhausted from what’s happened but given how he had shut down, Sebastian is just relieved that he let his emotions out. 

After not hearing anything for some time and with concern swelling Wes stands.

“I’m sure they’re okay” Hunter tries to reassure and receives a look in return, “Well you know what I mean”

“I do but…” Wes trails off as he makes his way to the couple’s bedroom and carefully opens the door a crack and hears Sebastian quietly singing ‘I won’t give up’ by Jason Mraz so silently backs away.


	154. A dangerous combination

The next day Hunter has just got out the shower when he hears a knock at the door. Knowing who it will be he wraps a towel around his waist and goes to answer, “You’re early” he greets before heading back to his room.

“Does Kitty know you answer your door in that state?” Santana teases

“I usually don’t”

“Should I feel honoured then? Just to be clear, you aren’t my type” The feisty Latina replies as she sets the coffees she’d picked up on her way on the coffee table and takes off her coat

Hunter, now dressed in blue jeans and a deep red waffle jumper comes back into the living room and picks up one of the drinks, “Compensation for being so early?”

“Whatever you want to talk to me about sounds serious and I was up early as Britt and Rachel left”

“Oh yes it’s their final auditions and interviews today correct?”

“That’s right, they’re both pushing for early admission so hopefully we can all find out what Blainer’s plans are” 

“You know Blaine was seeing Hummel yesterday..”

Before Hunter can utter another word Santana lets out a stream of Spanish expletives before looking back at him, “What did that son of a bitch do now Hunter?!”

“I can’t really say but everyone needs to give Blaine and Sebastian some space right now so while I appreciate Britt and Rach may want to reach out to him because of today, or to see how yesterday went, do what you can to deter them.”

“What am I doing here then if you can’t tell me about yesterday?” Santana sits back and crosses one leg over the other as her eyes sparkle with challenge

“It is linked to yesterday, but this goes no further than you, me or Sebastian. Though you should know Wes is aware of what we’re going to do.”

“And what’s that?”

“Find out who’s betrayed Blaine’s trust”

“What the fuck Hunter? You’re actually serious” Santana leans forward as she uncrosses her legs, elbows now on her knees

“It seems Mercedes told Kurt all about how Blaine’s parents disowned him and that his grandparents died while he was in hospital”

“Wait how did Mercedes find out?”

“That’s what Sebastian wants us to find out” Hunter replies before taking a sip of his coffee, “Now you can see why you can’t speak to anyone about this, as far as I’m concerned everyone should be under suspicion”

“Though it’s not exactly going to be one of the Dalton boys…they never knew Mercedes…it’s going to be an ex McKinley member”

“We know…but I wanted you to say it so it didn’t seem like we were starting an ‘us’ and ‘you’ scenario as we all know how much everyone coming together has meant to Blaine.”

“It’s meant a lot to us too” Santana defends

“I know…so any ideas?”

“Have you got any ideas?”

“Have you got some pens and paper?”

“I’ve got a whiteboard in my office” Hunter stands and Santana immediately follows

“Okay so we’ve got Mercedes and Kurt in the centre” Santana starts writing 

“But…we don’t know if whoever told Mercedes thought she’d tell Kurt”

“Point taken but they’d be an idiot not to”

“Hey I’m not going to argue as I completely agree”

“Then we’ve got Britt, Rachel, Sam, Tina, Artie, Quinn, Puck and Mike…though I’m not sure Mike knows exactly what happened with everything.”

“From bits that Blaine and Sebastian have both said they keep in touch fairly regularly even if Mike can’t always come to our gatherings. It’s not that he doesn’t want to, it’s that he’s on the West Coast.”

“Makes sense to me”

“Do we need to include any of the new New Directions?” Hunter asks as he looks at the board

“No…Kurt and Mercedes have never had anything to do with them…our blabber mouth is one of these”

“I’m impressed you put Britt on there”

“It was only fair but I’m about to cross her off”

“Explain” Hunter requests though Santana knows it’s him trying to get the whole picture rather than 

“Britt loves Blaine…more than the rest of you, minus Sebastian, probably realise. When everything started kicking off Blaine encouraged her not to break her friendships with those that clearly sided against him.”

“He didn’t want anyone to take sides or get stuck in the middle” Hunter fills in, knowing this much from conversations he’d had with Sebastian

“Exactly…but she saw what Blaine was going through when he hated himself for cheating…he basically started harming himself so when she found out what Kurt had done to Blaine, and then when he started lashing out at Blaine and Sebastian she couldn’t take it. Plus he called her stupid, which is something she’s very sensitive to and decided she didn’t need that negativity in her life. Then Mercedes made it clear she was with Kurt and questioned how Brittany could be supporting Blaine when she knew Kurt longer. The fact that Kurt and Britt had never really been friends didn’t seem to matter. Combine that with how Mercedes treated Sam, I can one hundred percent say she’s not had any contact with her since that day we bumped into them at the park, and even then, they didn’t speak.”

“Given the number of names up there, is there anyone you’d think would be more likely to spill to Mercedes. It would be quicker if we could look into them first and then rethink if we have to.”

“They’re our three” Santana replies as she circles the names

“Interesting”

“Not really, though to be fair to Rach I really don’t think it was her, but these are the three who were closest to Mercedes out of our group”

“Aside from Sam” 

“Hunter you know how things ended between him and Mercedes, plus he’d never do that to Blaine. Hell I don’t even think Mercedes has his new number”

“He doesn’t” With his response Santana looks at him, “Mercedes ran after Blaine and Wes to ask why Sam hasn’t been replying to her messages”

“What is it with people thinking they can treat others like shit but pick them up like nothing happened when they want?”

“They’re self-centred, petty and on the dumb side of life” Hunter replies flatly, “So what’s the plan of attack?”

“Leave it to me”

“Santana..”

“Trust me Hunter”

“Who are you going for first?”

Santana draws a bigger ring that encompasses two of the names, “This will be a case of two birds one stone, and my money will be on one of them over Rach at this point in time. If it was nine months ago that wouldn’t necessarily be the case.”

“If you need anything”

“I’ll let you know” Santana replies as she pulls her hair up into a pony tail

“Why do I get the feeling shit just got real?”

“Because it has...Nobody betrays or hurts someone I love”

“Why do I get the feeling that it’s not just Britt who loves Blaine more than most people realise?” Hunter questions as they walk back to the living room where Santana starts putting her coat on

“Because you’re observant and not an idiot. I know you don’t need me to say it because Blaine’s a good friend of yours now too so you get it, but he really was there for me in so many ways when I first came out, and his support didn’t waiver even when I was a complete and utter bitch.”

“And since he’s taken care of and helped Brittany in ways no one ever bothered to before” Hunter adds

“Precisely” With that Santana places a kiss on Hunter’s cheek, “I don’t need to say it…but look after them” and turns, leaving Hunter’s apartment with a determined walk


	155. No doubts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! That may or may not be a good thing but here I am! I am truly sorry for disappearing without any word for the best part of two months - I'm afraid work combined with a personal situation got in the way but I appreciate all the comments I received and hopefully some of you may still be interested enough to read. :-) I also apologise for this not being longer after such a delay but I was keen to get something up by this point.

“You can go in now” The receptionist tells Blaine and Sebastian so the couple stand and walk in to the room hand in hand.

“Thanks for fitting me in last minute” Blaine tells Jerry as he sits down, maintaining his gripping hold on his boyfriend’s hand

“No problem…when you called asking if we could see each other before our appointment next week I knew you wouldn’t be asking lightly” Jerry replies to Blaine before looking to 

Sebastian, “It’s nice to meet you”

“You too” Sebastian, “My being here won’t disrupt you will it?”

“Not at all…these are Blaine’s sessions so as long as he wants you here, you are welcome” At that answer Jerry notices Sebastian’s gaze lose its calculating edge so can tell how protective of his boyfriend he is, which given everything he’s been privy to, isn’t surprising. When Blaine doesn’t say anything Jerry goes to the kettle on the side table in the corner of his office, “Your usual Blaine?”

“Please”

“Sebastian, I have most types of tea, what takes your fancy?”

“Do you have ginger?”

“I certainly do…how spicy do you like it?”

“You can leave the bag in” Sebastian replies

“So very” Jerry laughs and finishes making the teas before bringing them over

“What combination have you got there killer?” Sebastian asks his love

“Guess” Blaine requests with a small smile and lifts his cup so Sebastian can inhale the fragrant steam

“Ginger….lavender….camomile and honey?” Sebastian asks after a few moments

“How did you do that?” Jerry asks

“Bas is good at everything” Blaine replies

“And I know better than to discount what might seem like an unusual combination when it comes to B” Sebastian adds lovingly, making Blaine smile and blush lightly

The interaction between the two gives Jerry reassurance that whatever may have made Blaine make that shaky phone call him asking to see him sooner than they had originally planned, has not impacted on their relationship in a negative way.

After taking a sip of his tea Blaine gives it to Sebastian to hold as he shifts back onto the couch, sitting cross legged. After passing back his tea, Sebastian also sits back and wraps an arm around Blaine’s shoulders, which he clearly takes comfort from. Jerry’s had enough appointments with Blaine now to know that getting comfortable is what comes before a deluge of feelings and recounts of events.

“I saw Kurt yesterday” Blaine starts

“Your ex?” Jerry asks, with Blaine simply nodding in confirmation, “I remember you saying you were sitting for a mediation with him, so what happened?” Blaine goes on to recount the verbal portion and his encounter with Kurt, becoming more and more emotional as he does. When Blaine finishes speaking Jerry leans forward, “What else happened Blaine? You’re not telling me something”

Sebastian gives Blaine’s shoulder a squeeze, “He hit me” Blaine confesses with a quivering voice

“Repeatedly” Sebastian adds with venom, “And didn’t stop when B curled in on himself”

“You weren’t there though right?” Jerry asks the taller boy

“No…this comes from Wes, the one who was there with Blaine and who’s word I trust completely…he’s not one to exaggerate, particularly on something like this.”

“Okay” Jerry replies softly before turning to Blaine, “Talk to me Blaine, that’s why you called me after all” he teases lightly, impressing Sebastian that Jerry’s obviously picked up on ways to get his boyfriend to talk, and not in the stereotypical shrink style that he himself had rebelled so much against.

“It gave me flashbacks” Blaine confesses before drinking some of his tea

“Of your first or second attack?” Jerry pushes gently

“Both a little…though the techniques you gave me really helped so it wasn’t too bad…I managed to stop going into a full panic attack...but I guess what really threw me was that he really lost it this time”

Blaine’s choice of words and Sebastian’s darkening face fill in the blanks for Jerry, but he wouldn’t be doing his job if he let the point drop, “So…how many times has he hit you before Blaine? I know I’m not usually this blunt with you, but this isn’t a conversation to tip toe around.”  
Blaine sighs and looks at Sebastian, who immediately wipes the tears running down his cheeks away. “A few times since we split up…and several when we were together” Blaine tells Jerry, “It would happen if we argued, or if he thought I was lying to him…or if he didn’t like something I did, which I guess is basically the same as when we argued as that’s how it’d start.”

“And was it a single hit on these times? I promise there’s a reason I’m asking” Jerry reassures

“Yes…and he’d always apologise after and promise it wouldn’t happen again…but…” Blaine closes his eyes and starts to shut down

“Do you want me to go?” Sebastian asks softly 

“No” Blaine replies, though his eyes stay closed, “Somehow it’d be turned around so it was my fault and…I was stupid enough to believe him” Blaine finally opens his eyes and looks to Sebastian, “Sorry…I should have told you that be before”

“No B…you don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to…and I can understand why you didn’t as we both know it took a lot of self-control for me to not go and beat the crap out of him, which wasn’t exactly a response that would have encouraged you to open up more so I’m sorry.”

“Thank you for knowing me” Blaine replies

“And thank you for knowing me too” Sebastian presses a firm kiss to his love’s forehead

By the end of the session, despite feeling completely drained, Blaine, and Sebastian, are both feeling better. Somehow Jerry had got Blaine to realise and admit that he’d been in an abusive relationship, yet once Blaine had said it out loud, a weight lifted as though part of his subconscious was free and he wasn’t having to keep something locked up.

Wes is still at the apartment when they return, having decided to catch a late train back so he could see Blaine again.

“How did it go?” Wes asks the couple gently

Sebastian looks to Blaine to answer, “It was worth bringing the appointment forward….for both of us I think” Blaine looks questioningly to his boyfriend

“Agreed” Sebastian smiles and wraps his arms around his love, “Thank you for everything Wes”

“Yes thank you” Blaine adds, “I know this wasn’t exactly a great weekend for you but you being here has made a real difference”

“Neither of you need to thank me…you know that”

“Still” Blaine replies then gives Wes a hug, “What time do you have to go?”

“In a few minutes actually, I just wanted to see you for myself before I had to leave...you know where I am if you need to talk…either of you” Wes looks pointedly to Sebastian who nods in reply.

After goodbyes the couple cuddle on the sofa, “So take out okay tonight?” Sebastian asks

“Chinese?” 

“Sounds good to me killer…what do you fancy?”

“I have no idea” Blaine laughs at himself, “Can you choose for me? I trust you…and love you”

“And I trust and love you too” Sebastian replies before placing an order and fully embracing Blaine again, “You should know Hunter stayed when Wes told me everything”

“I figured he did”

“What makes you say that?”

“Because you’d have needed someone else who could step back and calculate the situation…and physically restrain you if needs be”

“Well he didn’t need to do that but yes, you’re exactly right”

“I know he won’t say anything”

“Good because he won’t”

“But what have you got him to do?”

“What do you mean?”

“I think in some ways what’s hurt most is that someone I thought I could trust…well…turned out to be somebody I couldn’t”

“They betrayed you B”

Blaine sighs, “I know it just feels even worse to use that word”

“Sorry”

“No don’t be…it’s true…anyway…I know that you’d have picked up on that straight away, as would Hunter, and I know there’s no way you’d have let that slide and he’s proven   
he’s got a knack for getting information before…so what’s he up to?”

“Working with Satan to find the culprit because as much as you might want to think about it, it’s basically guaranteed to be someone you went to McKinley with”

“I know” Blaine admits quietly, “I’m so glad I have you in my life…despite all this crap, I’ve never doubted that you’d leave me…sometimes I thought it would be best for you if you did…but I knew you wouldn’t.”

“Good…because you’re stuck with me…no matter what”

“No matter what” Blaine smiles and holds out his little finger, which Sebastian promptly links with his own.


End file.
